"And I think that we can fix it": mental models used in high-risk surgical decision making.
OBJECTIVE
To examine how surgeons use the "fix-it" model to communicate with patients before high-risk operations.


BACKGROUND
The "fix-it" model characterizes disease as an isolated abnormality that can be restored to normal form and function through medical intervention. This mental model is familiar to patients and physicians, but it is ineffective for chronic conditions and treatments that cannot achieve normalcy. Overuse may lead to permissive decision making favoring intervention. Efforts to improve surgical decision making will need to consider how mental models function in clinical practice, including "fix-it."


METHODS
We observed surgeons who routinely perform high-risk surgery during preoperative discussions with patients. We used qualitative content analysis to explore the use of "fix-it" in 48 audio-recorded conversations.


RESULTS
Surgeons used the "fix-it" model for 2 separate purposes during preoperative conversations: (1) as an explanatory tool to facilitate patient understanding of disease and surgery, and (2) as a deliberation framework to assist in decision making. Although surgeons commonly used "fix-it" as an explanatory model, surgeons explicitly discussed limitations of the "fix-it" model as an independent rationale for operating as they deliberated about the value of surgery.


CONCLUSIONS
Although the use of "fix-it" is familiar for explaining medical information to patients, surgeons recognize that the model can be problematic for determining the value of an operation. Whether patients can transition between understanding how their disease is fixed with surgery to a subsequent deliberation about whether they should have surgery is unclear and may have broader implications for surgical decision making.
*Department of Medicine and †School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin, Madison ‡Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee §Department of Surgery, Center for Surgery and Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA ¶Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, University of Wisconsin, Madison ‖Department of Surgery and **Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada ††Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Jacqueline M
JM
Kruser
Kristen E
KE
Pecanac
Karen J
KJ
Brasel
Zara
Z
Cooper
Nicole M
NM
Steffens
Martin F
MF
McKneally
Margaret L
ML
Schwarze
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003657:Decision Making; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D057234:Preoperative Period; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D013043:Specialties, Surgical / Q000379:methods*; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000145:classification*; D013637:Tape Recording; D016896:Treatment Outcome