4 ms·

Anecdote here, but my friend who is an anesthesiologist (MD) says:(1) anesthesiologists know exactly who the good and bad surgeons are (they see the outcomes an

Anecdote here, but my friend who is an anesthesiologist (MD) says:(1) anesthesiologists know exactly who the good and bad surgeons are (they see the outcomes and also must manage fluid loss), and (2) bedside manner by surgeons has no correlation to good surgical technique so patients have no idea.

rscho 4y ago
Am also MD and anesthesiologist. This is partly true. The true part is because anesthesiologists are more able to appreciate medical abilities than the layman is. The false part is that people, including colleagues, tend to judge on what they see and hear. Oftentimes, you won't work every day with the same surgeon, so you actually have no idea regarding success/failure statistics. That's why I said you're what people say you are. Heck, I don't know my own statistics and I don't know where I stand in comparison to my colleagues. Yet I enjoy a very good reputation with colleagues, but patients often are weary of me because I'm socially awkward.
- pnutjam 4y ago
  I believe "wary" is the work you're looking for. This means the are guarded and maybe suspicious. Weary means tired.
  - rscho 4y ago
    Yes thanks, autocorrect :-)
    - slowhand09 4y ago
      *"ought-to-correct""
spaetzleesser 4y ago
I work at a medical device company and I also had reps warn me of certain surgeons when I looked for one for a friend.
HelloMcFly 4y ago
Judging surgeon competency is much easier than judging physician competency, and physicians make up a much larger share of "medical doctors" than surgeons. Physicians sometimes jokingly refer to surgeons as "technicians" because what they are doing is often more discretely defined, clearer boundary conditions, clearer indicators of performance/success/quality (especially over X number of cases when you know the national averages for outcomes), and ultimately of a mechanical nature. The work physicians do can sometimes be described similarly, but much less frequently and it can be much harder to do. The physician/surgeon distinction is a critical one in medicine that is under-appreciated in most conversations about "doctors".

rscho 4y ago

Am also MD and anesthesiologist. This is partly true. The true part is because anesthesiologists are more able to appreciate medical abilities than the layman is. The false part is that people, including colleagues, tend to judge on what they see and hear. Oftentimes, you won't work every day with the same surgeon, so you actually have no idea regarding success/failure statistics. That's why I said you're what people say you are. Heck, I don't know my own statistics and I don't know where I stand in comparison to my colleagues. Yet I enjoy a very good reputation with colleagues, but patients often are weary of me because I'm socially awkward.

pnutjam 4y ago
I believe "wary" is the work you're looking for. This means the are guarded and maybe suspicious. Weary means tired.
- rscho 4y ago
  Yes thanks, autocorrect :-)
  - slowhand09 4y ago
    *"ought-to-correct""

spaetzleesser 4y ago

I work at a medical device company and I also had reps warn me of certain surgeons when I looked for one for a friend.

HelloMcFly 4y ago

Judging surgeon competency is much easier than judging physician competency, and physicians make up a much larger share of "medical doctors" than surgeons. Physicians sometimes jokingly refer to surgeons as "technicians" because what they are doing is often more discretely defined, clearer boundary conditions, clearer indicators of performance/success/quality (especially over X number of cases when you know the national averages for outcomes), and ultimately of a mechanical nature. The work physicians do can sometimes be described similarly, but much less frequently and it can be much harder to do. The physician/surgeon distinction is a critical one in medicine that is under-appreciated in most conversations about "doctors".