E-ISSN: 1019-5157
ISSN: 2651-5024
Research
I COULD NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE, I QUIT: THE RESIGNATIONPROCESS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF RESIDENTS
ESEN NUR GÜNERHAN✉ ,
EMİN ÇAĞIL ,
MAHMUT SAMİ ÇOLAK ,
GÖKSAL GÜNERHAN
EDUCATION SCIENCE, HACETTEPE UNIVERSITY; beyin ve sinir cerrahi, ankara medicana hastanesi
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.51624-26.2
Accepted: 13/06/2026
Article in Press
Corresponding Author:
ESEN NUR GÜNERHAN (ingilizcesen@gmail.com)
Abstract
Aim
This qualitative study investigates the resignation processes of neurosurgery residents in Turkiye, a group widely recognized for experiencing the highest workload and clinical risk within residency training.
Material and Methods
Utilizing a phenomenological design, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen residents who resigned from their neurosurgery programs. Data were analyzed using content analysis following Miles and Huberman’s coding framework.
Results
Findings reveal four overarching themes: excessive workload and systemic dysfunction, hierarchical communication barriers and lack of mentorship, emotional exhaustion and psychological strain, and residents’ proposals for structural reform. Participants reported that service pressure routinely overshadowed educational objectives, while organizational ambiguity, insufficient supervisory support, and negative pedagogical climates deepened feelings of hopelessness, failure, and diminished professional belonging. Emotional exhaustion—consistent with Maslach and Jackson’s burnout model—emerged as a central determinant of resignation decisions.
Conclusion
The study highlights that resignations are not merely individual choices but reflections of accumulated structural, educational, and psychosocial challenges within Turkiye’s residency system. Implications underscore the urgent need to rebalance service-education priorities, strengthen mentorship mechanisms, ensure clear role definitions, and implement nationwide standards aligned with residency programme capacity and educator availability. The findings contribute to the growing body of literature on physician well-being and provide a context-sensitive understanding of attrition among surgical residents.
This qualitative study investigates the resignation processes of neurosurgery residents in Turkiye, a group widely recognized for experiencing the highest workload and clinical risk within residency training.
Material and Methods
Utilizing a phenomenological design, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen residents who resigned from their neurosurgery programs. Data were analyzed using content analysis following Miles and Huberman’s coding framework.
Results
Findings reveal four overarching themes: excessive workload and systemic dysfunction, hierarchical communication barriers and lack of mentorship, emotional exhaustion and psychological strain, and residents’ proposals for structural reform. Participants reported that service pressure routinely overshadowed educational objectives, while organizational ambiguity, insufficient supervisory support, and negative pedagogical climates deepened feelings of hopelessness, failure, and diminished professional belonging. Emotional exhaustion—consistent with Maslach and Jackson’s burnout model—emerged as a central determinant of resignation decisions.
Conclusion
The study highlights that resignations are not merely individual choices but reflections of accumulated structural, educational, and psychosocial challenges within Turkiye’s residency system. Implications underscore the urgent need to rebalance service-education priorities, strengthen mentorship mechanisms, ensure clear role definitions, and implement nationwide standards aligned with residency programme capacity and educator availability. The findings contribute to the growing body of literature on physician well-being and provide a context-sensitive understanding of attrition among surgical residents.
Keywords
Resident physicians
resignation process
burnout
residency training
working conditions.