How much can you limit your practice post-residency?

[DrDude]

---

Members do not see this ad.

As a general surgeon post-residency, is it possible to limit your practice strictly to the "basics" such as only hernias, appys, choles, lumps&bumps, and minor breast cases?

Or to stay afloat in the current surgical environment are you required to do a wide variety of cases that fall under the umbrella of general surgery?

 

[Castro Viejo]

As a general surgeon post-residency, is it possible to limit your practice strictly to the "basics" such as only hernias, appys, choles, lumps&bumps, and minor breast cases?

Or to stay afloat in the current surgical environment are you required to do a wide variety of cases that fall under the umbrella of general surgery?

The somewhat sad reality is that private practice General Surgery is exactly as you defined it, bread-n-butter cases such as hernias, appys, choles, lumps/bumps, and breast diseases. You might throw in some trauma a la MVAs and other such nonoperative nonsense as well as some vascular surgery (primarily AV access and some infrainguinal reconstructions for arterial occlusive disease), depending on the community to round it out.

The typical General Surgeon in private community practice won't be doing hepatobiliary cases, advanced laparoscopy, endocrine, or complex vascular surgery. There are always exceptions to the "rules" though.