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When Surgeons Blog About Themselves 5/5/2014 3:25:56 AM
Five themes come forth when researchers evaluated blog posts by surgeons. These comments reflect the value and real challenges of 21st century surgical practice. This information should help patients to understand how to deal with surgeons. The reality of the modern surgical world is that there is too much to do for too few surgeons in caring for an increasing number of people with surgical illnesses. A recent assessment of surgeons' blogs provides insight into how surgeons think about their practices and how you may benefit knowing how difficult it is to continue in practice today. My forthcoming ebook, "FIFTY FACTS YOU MUST KNOW BEFORE YOU HAVE SURGERY" (yes, a name change from the last blog) will expand on the theme of how to optimize the surgeon-patient relationship. So, here are the themes and the recorded surgeon comments from Knox, Reddy, Mema et al in the Jan/Feb issue of the Journal of Surgical Education in an article entitled, "Back in the day"...What are Surgeon Bloggers Saying About Their Careers?:
1, REWARDS OF BEING A SURGEON:
Personal fulfillment and surgery as a calling were noted as well as surgery as stimulating work requiring focus in a practice of unmitigated intensity; it was noted to be a privilege to operate on folks and to be provided a sense of respect and prestige - all of this was positive.
2. THE PRACTICE ENVIRONMENT
Pay was not consistent with the sacrifices surgeons felt they had made (4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, 5-7 years of surgical training, 2 years of fellowship training); discrepancies in income among specialties was bothersome; lawsuits produce defensive and expensive care with American society expecting unreasonable results; the health care system itself is seen as totally dysfunctional with increased hassles; too many administrative chores (paperwork) eat up time better spent with patients; this is getting worse with time;
3. THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
Most practicing surgeons feel training today with restricted work hours produces less well trained surgeons unable tolerate the rigors of real practice and creates residents who now have a 'shiftwork' mentality; surgeons still insist in these blogs that fatigue does not impair their outcomes (many scientific studies support this contention despite the whining of the sleep lobby); surgeons encouraged medical students to find out what general surgery practice is really about before applying for residency;
4. TOLLS OF BEING A SURGEON
Surgeons express a sense of duty and an obligation to their patients that they do not see in the younger generation of surgeons; with less commitment by new graduates who don't buy into self-sacrifice and with a challenging, very sick older patient population, surgeons see a 'perfect surgical storm' arising; surgeons commented on the high stakes nature of practice, the sorrow of losing patients, and feelings of guilt and failure they must deal with;
5. NOSTALGIA
In the end, surgeons reflected on the 'good old days' when money was less important and the hard work was expected of everyone. I see the change in some of my colleagues who do not take their on-call duties seriously and who at times refuse to come to the hospital in the middle of the night to operate on deathly ill patients. There needs to be a middle of the road philosophy between excessive work and 'my family comes first'. My own family went days at a time without seeing me when I was on-call and today we have ongoing loving relationships with grandchildren to boot!
My own thoughts remain anchored in a need for dedication and reasonable pay for surgeons; the move to more and more third party insurers and government interference in daily practice will push our aging surgeons into retirement and turn our current dangerous surgeons shortage into a crisis of unimaginable proportions.
