What is your job like?

○ – A typical day?

A typical day starts with rounding on patient’s in the hospital

that have been there overnight, then either we start surgeries ranging from 1-4 in a day, or
proceed to the office to begin seeing patients. A typical day of patients range between 21-28
patients with 40-60 minutes for lunch.

○ – What do you do? What are the duties/functions/responsibilities of your

job?

This varies among various physicians, most that are hospital based are
responsible for seeing the patients that are in the hospital on a daily basis. It involves
reviewing the patient’s chart, labs, vital signs, x-rays/CT scans, examining the patient,
documenting your exam and plan for the patient in an electronic medical record, and finally
ordering future medicines, tests, or discharging the patient from the hospital. Surgical
responsibilities involve evaluating the patient at there pre-operative assessment, consenting
them for the surgical procedure, explaining risk and hazards of the proposed surgery, as well
as alternatives to the surgery for treatment of the presenting complaint. The patient is required
to have a confirmatory exam in the pre-operative holding area, and to confirm the proposed
surgery. Once anesthesia moves the patient to the OR, the surgery is responsible to confirm
positioning for the proposed surgery, lead a time out period for the proposed procedure to
confirm everyone in the OR is of the same mind in the procedure. The surgeon then proceeds
with the procedure and proceeds with the patients safety as primary importance. Once the
procedure is concluded the physician is responsible for ordering the desired care for the patient
to include - diet, if fluid, activity status, frequency of vitals, pain medication and other
medications if necessary.

○ – What kinds of problems do you deal with?

As a surgeon most problems that are dealt with involve

alterations in patient’s anatomy that cause them discomfort or inconvenience in life, and my
role is either to correct there anatomical defect or repair their tissue to pre-damaged condition,
or to remove organs or structures to alleviate the discomfort or inconvenience.

○ – What kinds of decisions do you make?

Decisions are made constantly and vary from extremely important and
life saving to trivial. Decisions include how to open an abdomen, what to use to dissect
tissue-knife vas. Scissors vs. blunt dissection with your finger. It includes what drugs to give,
and how much, as well as what suture to use for repairs.Do I need to hospitalize the patient
after surgery or can they go home. Does the patient need to go to the ICU for post-operative
period or does the patient need a blood transfusion. Decisions are made about imaging
patient’s CT vs. US. Each patient probably involves 20+ decisions per interaction with a
physician.

○ – How does the time use vary? Are there busy and slow times or is the work
activity fairly constant?

Most successful physicians stay fairly busy if they are in a populated

area, and the only down time while work is typically waiting for others to complete their work,
weather it is drawing blood and running test, imaging patients and radiologist reading the
x-ray, or the OR staff to clean the room from one surgery to another. Physicians can always
spend “down time” reviewing chart, lab or x-ray test, or other paperwork.

● · What are the most important personal satisfactions and dissatisfactions

connected with your occupation? What part of this job do you personally find most
satisfying? Most challenging? What do you like and not like about working in this
field?

Personal satisfaction as a surgeon comes from performing surgeries that

improve people’s lives, and when they return for there post-of or follow up years later they
express their gratitude and what an impact their surgery had on improving their life.
Dissatisfaction comes in confronting a problem surgically where there is little improvement in
the patient’s life. Challenges exist in severely distorted anatomy, or abbreviations in normal
anatomy that result in longer more difficult surgeries with increased risk of bleeding and
complications. Another standard challenge amongst all surgeons is our increasing obesity in
the United States making surgery significantly more difficult. The thing I like most about
surgery is that there is plenty of variation in problems, anatomy, and people as patients to
prevent developing boredom in the job from repetitive task. The thing that I dislike the most
can not be solved and is a problem with all professions - change. Specific change in
medicine/surgery that I dislike is the corporatized medicine, electronic medical record,
constant yearly testing to maintain certifications and red tape bureaucracy.

● · How would you describe the working atmosphere and the people with whom
you work?

while there are times of seriousness, and times of some morrow, the majority of
individuals in medicine are lighthearted, kind and jovial - lending it self to a relaxed easy
going atmosphere. This is somewhat dictated by the surgeon of the room, and not necessarily
what you find in a training facility.

● · What are the major rewards aside from extrinsic rewards such as money, fringe
benefits, travel, etc.?

The major reward in medicine and surgery are being involved in intimate
aspects of individuals lives and their expressions of gratitude for your help.