Virtues in Surgical Training: A Taxonomic Approach

After identifying specific virtues in the training program, we looked for themes to categorize them. It appeared helpful to use well known categories, already available in virtue ethical theory. We distinguish between cardinal, intellectual, and moral virtues. This classification dates back to Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle [38 ]. Some of the virtues identified did not fit into any of these classic categories. We labelled them as professional virtues because these virtues resemble qualities deemed laudable in the profession and practice of the ENT surgeon. See Table 1 for more information about these virtue categories which are based on literature [9 38 39 (link)]. Although such categorization is also widely debated, these four categories served the purpose of providing an insightful overview. Furthermore, any categorization can lead to discussion, as it is almost never completely exhaustive.