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TRUSTED SURGERY Congress

Leading Teams to Excellence in the Operating Room

In modern surgery, technical skill alone is not enough.
How can communication and team performance in the OR improve surgical outcomes?

The first international TRUSTED SURGERY Congress 2026 brings together leading international experts to explore exactly this — and translate evidence into practical, real-world change.
Built on findings from the multicentre randomized STOP? II trial


WHEN:
Tuesday, 26 May 2026, 08.15 – 17.00

WHERE ON-SITE:
sitem-insel, Freiburgstrasse 3, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland.
The sitem-insel building is directly across from the Inselspital, Bern University Hospital.
Google Maps sitem-insel – Google Maps

WHERE ONLINE:
On Congress Platform with Live Streaming

REGISTRATION RATES for On-site and Online Participation:

  • Regular: CHF 300
  • Resident/In-training: CHF 150
  • StOP? II Study participants: Free
  • Recordings of all Sessions (until 25 June 2026): CHF 50

Awarded:

  • Swiss Society of Surgery (SGC/SSC) – 6 CME credits
  • Swiss Society of Anaesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (SSAPM/SGAR) – 6 CME credits

Questions?
Ask contact@trusted-surgery.org

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Our Partners

Speakers

Learn from internationally recognized experts in patient safety, surgical teamwork, and operating room performance.

Minou Afzali

Nidau, CH

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Paul Barach

Philadelphia, US

Guido Beldi

Bern, CH

Salome Dell-Kuster

Basel, CH

Annemarie Fridrich

Zürich, CH

Brigid Gillespie

Brisbane, AUS

Teodor Grantcharov

Stanford, US

Sandra Keller

Bern, CH

Julien Maillard

Geneva, CH

Tanja Manser

Olten, CH

Peter McCulloch

Oxford, UK

Hugo Guillen Ramirez

Bern, CH

Robert Slipac

Chur, CH

Franziska Tschan

Neuchâtel, CH

Matthias Weigl

Bonn, DE

Program

It is a focused, high-impact program designed to help:

  • Improve team performance in the operating room
  • Reduce errors and enhance patient safety
  • Apply structured communication strategies in daily practice

A central focus of the congress will be the first public presentation of results from the multicentre StOP? II trial — a major Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) research project conducted in collaboration with leading Swiss universities and clinical partners.

The congress is designed as a practical and evidence-based forum focused on real implementation in surgical care:

  • How teams perform under pressure?
  • How communication influences outcomes?
  • How safer perioperative systems can be developed in daily clinical practice?

Accredited with 6 CME Credits by the Swiss Society of Surgery

Morning Topic: Non-technical skills in the OR
07:45 - 08:15•Welcome Coffee
08:15 - 09:30

Guido Beldi - Bern, CH
08:30 - 09:00

Trust and Safety in the OR: an international perspective

Paul Barach - Philadelphia, US
09:00 - 09:30

Teamwork in the OR: a nursing perspective

Brigid Gillespie - Brisbane, AUS
09:30 - 10:00

Communication under pressure: Lessons from the OR and beyond

Franziska Tschan - Neuchâtel, CH
10:00 - 10:30•Coffee Break
10:30 - 11:00

Do Intra-operative briefings improve patient outcomes? First results of a multicentric randomized controlled trial

Sandra Keller - Bern, CH
11:00 - 11:30

From insight to action: Implementing efficient teamwork

Peter McCulloch - Oxford, UK
11:30 - 12:15Roundtable

Leadership Roundtable: Patient Safety a system perspective

Moderated by Tanja Manser - Olten, CH
Annemarie Fridrich
Salome Dell-Kuster
Robert Slipac
Matthias Weigl
Guido Beldi
12:15 - 13:30•Lunch Break
Afternoon Topic: Let’s make it happen
13:30 - 14:00

Determinants of Team Performance: What does it take to excel

Matthias Weigl - Bonn, DE
14:00 - 14:30

Inside the Black Box: Measuring performance in the OR

Teodor Grantcharov - Stanford, US
14:30 - 15:00

From insight to action: Training teams for real ORs

Julien Maillard - Geneva, CH
15:00 - 15:30•Coffee Break
15:30 - 16:00

Data as a Team Member

Hugo Guillen Ramirez - Bern, CH
16:00 - 16:30

Designing Trust: How space, tools, and systems shape OR teamwork

Minou Afzali - Nidau, CH
16:30 - 16:45

Wrap-up & Perspectives

Franziska Tschan - Neuchâtel, CH
16:45 - 17:30•Farewell Apero

Trusted Surgery 2026

The first international TRUSTED SURGERY Congress in Bern brought together experts from healthcare, research, and industry to exchange ideas on patient safety, teamwork, communication, and innovation in surgery.

Throughout the day, inspiring discussions, valuable insights, and new connections highlighted the shared commitment to improving surgical care and strengthening collaboration in the operating room.

The successful inaugural edition marks an important milestone for the TRUSTED SURGERY initiative. We sincerely thank all participants, speakers, partners, and supporters who contributed to making this event possible.

About us

Trusted Surger Congress 2026

    • TRUSTED SURGERY Congress 2026: A Successful First Edition in Bern

    The inaugural international TRUSTED SURGERY Congress took place in Bern and brought together experts from surgery, patient safety, healthcare management, research, and education to discuss the future of teamwork, communication, trust, and safety in the operating room.

    The congress featured a diverse and inspiring program with internationally renowned speakers and leading experts from Switzerland and abroad.

    Highlights of the congress included:

    • The first public presentation of the StOP? II trial results by Sandra Keller, marking the culmination of years of collaborative research across Swiss and Austrian centres, supported by the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF).
    • A keynote by Paul Barach on trust and safety in the operating room, providing an important framework for the discussions throughout the day.
    • Franziska Tschan shared insights into communication in and beyond the operating room and its impact on team performance.
    • Peter McCulloch addressed the challenges of translating knowledge and evidence into sustainable clinical practice.
    • Teodor Grantcharov presented the concept of the Surgical Black Box and demonstrated how systematic measurement can drive continuous improvement.
    • Matthias Weigl explored the factors that enable healthcare teams to perform at their highest level.
    • Julien Maillard discussed innovative approaches to preparing teams for the realities of modern surgical environments.
    • Hugo Armando Guillen-Ramirez highlighted the growing role of data as an active contributor to team decision-making.
    • Minou Afzali examined how physical spaces, tools, and systems influence teamwork and collaboration in the operating room.

    A leadership roundtable moderated by Tanja Manser, featuring Annemarie Fridrich, Salome Dell-Kuster, Robert Slipac, and Matthias Weigl, provided valuable system-level perspectives on communication, leadership, and collaboration in healthcare.

    The congress was made possible through the support and collaboration of numerous partners, including Insel Gruppe, the University of Bern, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, sitem-insel, the Swiss Patient Safety Foundation, Medtronic, B. Braun, and the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds (SNF).

    The first TRUSTED SURGERY Congress demonstrated the importance of interdisciplinary exchange and international collaboration in advancing patient safety, surgical quality, and team performance. Planning for the next edition is already underway, with further details to be announced in due course.

    We thank all speakers, partners, participants, and contributors who helped make this inaugural congress a success.

    TRUSTED SURGERY Congress 2026 | Operating Room Excellence