the future of general surgery

[mikeshana]

Where do you think general surgery is headed? Ive talked to a few surgeons and they say that there is no such thing as a general surgeon

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[Varblade]

but certainly that holds true only if you're talking bout big city hospitals right? rural areas still benefit from an able "general" surgeon especially if superspecialised surgeons are unavailable in a short context of time etc etc.

In less developed countries, General Surgeons still hold a huge part to play in the make-up of an efficient delivery of health care.

But seriously, if you're living in a metropolitan-ish area.. do General Surgeons exist? hmm.. doubt it.... comments?

 

[deleted9493]

I'm not a resident or even a medical student yet but I definitely know that general surgeons subsist in "metropolitan-ish areas." Certainly they aren't as extensive in number as they once were...with the expanding of specializations...but to suggest their extinction in these regions of the country is inane.

 

[Pilot Doc]

The relevant question is not, "Do general surgeons exist in metropolitan areas," but "Are new general surgeons successfully establishing practices in metropolitan areas?"

Anybody know? I don't.

 

[zensurg]

it's really dependent on how you're defining general surgery. the majority of practicing general surgeons in metropolitan areas are actually trauma surgeons. without equivocation, trauma surgeons are certainly the most "general" surgeons practicing. they perform the normal bread and butter GI, endo, breast, vascular, even transplant but get to work in the chest, neck, pelvis and more in trauma cases. a good number of trauma surgeons are academic staff, but many exist in non-academic positions at level II trauma centers. these individuals can split time for a private practice as well, but as far as independent private practices, you need to specialize in some area of general surgery to find your niche.