difficult to be a surgeon if you're not "aggressive"

[Dire Straits]

by that i mean if you're a laid back sort of person who isn't gungho about the profession. i'm not one who wants to rise through the ranks and make it as head of a department or as a big time attending. i'd just like to finish a gsurg residency so i can work locum jobs to make decent money and also do some surgical outreach missions overseas from time to time.

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[FutureOrthoDoc]

you sound pretty laid back to me. you don't sound like you want achieve any more than the bare minimums. practice what you preach. 😴

 

[Pembleton]

I was wondering about this also. How much of an aggressive personality do you need to be a surgeon? I'm not a med student yet but for my Master's I had to do some surgical procedures on animals and I've done some cadaver disection. Both were really enjoyable but I'm a laid back kind of dude.

 

[SocialistMD]

by that i mean if you're a laid back sort of person who isn't gungho about the profession. i'm not one who wants to rise through the ranks and make it as head of a department or as a big time attending. i'd just like to finish a gsurg residency so i can work locum jobs to make decent money and also do some surgical outreach missions overseas from time to time.

There are all types of people in surgery. The best thing for you to do is find a program that shares your philosophy or that has residents who have the same goals as you. Ask your program director where you could find such programs, but be careful to emphasize laid back doesn't mean lazy.

 

[Dire Straits]

There are all types of people in surgery. The best thing for you to do is find a program that shares your philosophy or that has residents who have the same goals as you. Ask your program director where you could find such programs, but be careful to emphasize laid back doesn't mean lazy.

how would i go about doing that without coming off as a undedicated?

 

[lovemydrhubby]

how would i go about doing that without coming off as a undedicated?

Telling the PD about your goals and where you see yourself in the surgical profession. I wouldn't say that you don't care about "rising through the ranks" but maybe more that you want to focus on a smaller community practice. Tell them that you enjoy the academic side, but don't see yourself teaching surgery forever. I think you will find alot of the community programs to match your needs.

As long as you love surgery and helping people, I don't (personally) think you have to be gung ho. You can make your career what you want, but like someone else mentioned...find a program that can help you.


As far as personalities. My husband (when I met him) was a laid back guy...but he wanted to achieve great things (if that makes sense). He never had to push really hard to get what he wanted I guess. When I first met him, some of my friends even said he was too shy. I knew otherwise, but he was always intense on his own likes/dislikes. When he wants something- he knows what he has to do to get it. This can vary from really studying his butt off to kissing up to the right people to simply knowing who to ask (and how). He's told me that he's had to become more assertive through med school.

 

[SocialistMD]

Telling the PD about your goals and where you see yourself in the surgical profession.

This is basically how. Most people who go into surgery don't want to be the chairperson of an academic program or do research; they simply want to operate. As long as you can show enthusiasm and passion for what you want to do, you won't sound lazy. I graduated with 6 people who have similar career goals to you who all matched at very good programs without selling themselves as future academic surgeons.

 

[Dire Straits]

would it hurt my chances of matching into a gsurg residency if i let it be known that after residency i will do most of my work internationally in developing countries? i have a feeling many PDs would be reluctant to take an applicant who wouldn't be contributing to the surgical workforce in the U.S. after their residency. like they'd be thinking why should we give a categorical spot to somebody whose not even going to be working most of time in the country anyway.

 

[maverick_pkg]

would it hurt my chances of matching into a gsurg residency if i let it be known that after residency i will do most of my work internationally in developing countries? i have a feeling many PDs would be reluctant to take an applicant who wouldn't be contributing to the surgical workforce in the U.S. after their residency. like they'd be thinking why should we give a categorical spot to somebody whose not even going to be working most of time in the country anyway.

by that account, as an IMG, I shouldnt mention in my personal statement that I want to return to my home country. is that so? I read somewhere that PDs would love to teach somebody who wants to carry american ideology and skills abroad. what say?

 

[fourthyear]

I agree that laid back can't mean lazy...and that is a fine line. I'm afraid the 80 hour workweek is somehow making people think that surgery is more lifestyle oriented now, but it is not - 80 hours x 5 years can still consume quite a bit of your life. No other residency specialty really works 80 hours x 5 years like we do - others may have some busy months, some easy, but surgery residents rarely have easy weeks even.

You need to be committed to learning the craft, taking care of your patients well, always taking every learning opportunity to do something, even if its 3 am when you get called for that central line consult - you are happy to have the opportunity to practice another procedure. If this is not you, general surgery is not for you.

You don't have to have desires to be a dept chairman or anything - we need the small town community surgeons maybe even more than academic powerhouses...but we need all surgeons to be committed to thier work to a certain degree b/c people's lives are in their hands. Its a real honor to train in surgery, but it's a real committment too.

 

[njbmd]

by that i mean if you're a laid back sort of person who isn't gungho about the profession. i'm not one who wants to rise through the ranks and make it as head of a department or as a big time attending. i'd just like to finish a gsurg residency so i can work locum jobs to make decent money and also do some surgical outreach missions overseas from time to time.

Hi there,
I am not an aggressive person by any stretch of the imagination and I am starting my PGY-4 year. I am decisive and I work very hard but I have never had much of an "edge" to my personality. I find it much easier to get things done with I have a tight team around me.

I do not think that you have to be "super arse" or "super bitch" to be a good surgeon. There are things about the residency that can be frustrating at times but you learn to roll with them and work around them. You do need to be interested in your work and a bit compulsive about getting everything perfect and optimized when you are in the OR but other than that, you can be as "laid-back" as you like.

My best attendings are not aggressive but are decisive and technically gifted. I have generally found that the "tools" in this specialty are generally trying to compensate for something that they lack academically or technically.

nbjmd 🙂

 

[factoid]

hello there

i am not an aggressive person at all ( i wish i were at times) and am doing surgery for one year. i am not at a univ based program which i think helps a lot as the ppl here are pretty cool and as laid back as any general surgery resident can be. that doesn't mean that they don't let the "typical" surgeon personality come out once in a while, but only when necessary (i got one of those today cuz i made a pretty stupid mistake...not fun).

so you can definitely find programs that fit this personality type. you just have to work hard...and not make too many stupid mistakes, hehe (still working on that second part)