Stress is a double-edged sword. When managed appropriately, it can lead to peak performance in high-pressure professions, while the potential negative effects of stress are well documented, being directly related to seven of the ten leading causes of death in industrialized nations1,2. A major psychological manifestation of stress is burnout. Validated assessment tools, such as the Maslach Burnout Inventory, can be utilized to quantify the three components of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishment3,4. Early signs of burnout, described by Quick et al., include declining professional performance and morale, physical and somatic symptoms, and behavioral changes. More advanced signs include self-medication and serious self-doubt1. In 2006, the results of a national survey of orthopaedic leaders (past, current, and acting chairs of orthopaedic departments, in addition to program directors) were presented to the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) by Saleh et al.5. Numerous job stressors were identified, and the impact of these stressors was rated as moderate to severe in 70% of the leaders responding. High levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were noted. A number of disturbing trends were identified. Only 15% were satisfied with their personal-professional life balance, and the percent dissatisfied with their job was increasing with time. Thirty-seven percent stated that they were moderately, very, or extremely likely to step down from their chair position within two years 5. Stress and burnout have a substantial impact on patient care, especially an increase in medical errors. Fifty percent of physicians and 70% of the public believe that overwork, stress, and fatigue contribute to medical errors 6. A recent survey of members of the American College of Surgeons assessed burnout among 7905 responding surgeons, 700 (8.9%) of whom reported committing a recent major medical error7. The commission of a major error correlated statistically with all three major burnout domains. Each 1-point increase in the depersonalization score raised the risk of error by 11%, and each 1-point increase in emotional exhaustion raised the risk of error by 5%. In addition, surgeons committing errors were twice as likely to have findings indicating depression. Factors frequently thought to be major drivers of medical errors, such as number of hours worked, frequency of night call, practice setting, and compensation, showed no statistical correlation with the likelihood of committing a major medical error7. In the years since the topic of stress had been discussed by the AOA, the relevance of the topic has only increased in importance. From 2007 to 2009, the Department of Justice investigation of orthopaedic device manufacturers resulted in a negative public image of the orthopaedic specialty and was the source of immense scrutiny and stress among many orthopaedic surgeons and leaders dealing with the aftermath8. On the heels of the Department of Justice investigation, the redefining of health care in the United States is another major issue for most surgeons. Many of the stressors identified by orthopaedic leaders in the survey by Saleh et al., such as workload, overhead, and budget deficits5, are anticipated to increase in the new system. Fundamentally, lack of control is a major contributor to burnout and dysfunction among individuals who work in high-stress environments9. A national survey of sixty-four residency programs with 648 respondents (41% were faculty and 59% were residents) was recently completed10. The sample size was large enough to objectively comment on timely key issues identified by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) such as stress and burnout among women and minorities. In addition, orthopaedic spouses were surveyed for the first time