Should I be a surgeon? Advantages and disadvantages of the profession

Should I be a surgeon? Advantages and disadvantages of the profession There are hardly a dozen professions that are as important as the profession of a doctor, especially a surgeon. Only they can save human lives when other doctors can’t do anything. However, the surgeon's profession is not only honorable, but also responsible. This dilemma implies many advantages and disadvantages of this specialty. If you want to work in medical sphere but do not know what some specialists do, look at the Medical Jobs by Function.

Features of the profession The burden of responsibility for the lives of other people, which surgeons take upon themselves, leaves a big imprint on this profession. Surgery is a great physical and psychological stress for both the patient and the doctor. But the work of surgeons includes not only directly surgical intervention (the operation itself) and postoperative support, but also the diagnosis of the disease. A lot depends on the correct diagnosis, and again, the surgeon takes all the responsibility.

The specialty "surgery" is very wide, divided into many areas, divided according to different criteria. Surgeons are profiled on certain types of diseases (oncologist, gynecologist), on diseases of a certain anatomical area (cardiac surgeon, neurosurgeon), etc. But highly specialized surgeons are required not only to be well-versed “in their subject”. The knowledge of doctors should be as extensive as possible, if necessary, to help the patient with a problem that is not related to their profile, or correctly redirect him to the right specialist.

Arguments in favor of the profession The most significant advantage of being a surgeon lies in the social significance of the profession. The health and life that people entrust to the hands of surgeons is the most valuable. Because they are trusted, appreciated and respected, this profession is in demand at any time. Any state needs surgeons, they are offered a lot of places of work: polyclinics, hospitals, sanatoriums, dispensaries, emergency rooms, emergency departments, rescue services, sports and scientific organizations, etc. So there are problems with the subsequent employment of a surgeon student should not arise. Another thing is the financial side of the issue. The salaries of doctors of surgical specialties also differ in some variety. It all depends again on the profile of the specialist and on the type of medical facility. So, for example, private and prestigious / demanded clinics can afford to more generously pay for the work of surgeons. As for the most highly paid specializations of a surgeon, among them plastic, dental surgery, etc. can be distinguished.

Disadvantages of the profession One of the main drawbacks of the surgeon’s work is that people who want to take this proud profession are faced at the very beginning of the journey, on the approaches to the profession. This training, obtaining a specialty: long (medical higher education longer than many others), a complex, debilitating and multi-component process. In addition, obtaining a diploma does not give the right to immediately engage in surgical practice, it should be supported by subsequent practical education - internship and residency. Not only the duration and difficulty of getting an education can scare future surgeons. A doctor specializing in surgery should have, in addition to knowledge and skills, certain characterological features. The surgeon’s professionalism is his strong-willed qualities: without self-control, stress resistance, endurance and scrupulousness, you can’t become a good specialist in this profession.

Costs of the profession But even if all the necessary qualities are there and there are enough forces / time to get a specialty, the shortcomings and features of the profession of a surgeon do not end there. During the practice, the surgeon's health (physical and psychological) is repeatedly endangered. At the same time, it can be hidden both in visible and in hidden threats.

The former include the probability of contracting dangerous diseases from patients (AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis). Surgeons during surgical intervention and diagnosis of this group of patients, of course, follow special precautions, but the risk is still great. Also, patients of surgical departments often become socially dangerous individuals (for example, victims of scuffles under the influence of alcohol and drugs or members of gangs after shootings). The second, hidden risks include the imperceptible, but significant harm that the psychological state of the surgeon does to his work. An irregular work schedule, moral exhaustion, constant psychological pressure and a burden of responsibility, as well as guilt with a negative / fatal outcome of a patient’s treatment, all this threatens the psychological well-being of the surgeon.