A new study appearing in the next issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery looks at the career satisfaction of plastic surgeons. According to results of a previous study, there’s a link between high quality care and the physician’s satisfaction in his or her job. Obtaining these statistics can therefore give us a general picture of the “health” of the profession in America and how that affects the care you receive.
The authors mailed a survey to 708 doctors who are members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, half of them male and the other half female. They asked several questions about career satisfaction such as:
- Was a career in plastic surgery the right choice?
- Would you choose this career again if you had to do it over again?
Other questions inquired about income, switching specialties and retiring early. The results are very positive, i.e. it appears that plastic surgery is a generally satisfying career in the United States. 93 percent of respondents said it was the right career choice and 78 percent said they would make the choice again if they had to. Only a small percentage said they regretted the choice to become a plastic surgeon.
The most interesting outcomes of the survey were 1) the data regarding differences in satisfaction between surgeons who are “intellectually isolated” and those who are actively involved with their colleagues, and 2) the difference in satisfaction between surgeons who are focused primarily on reconstructive surgery and those who “balanced” their focus between reconstructive and cosmetic operations.
The study is published online ahead of print and you can access it through the journal’s website.
Source
Satisfaction with Career Choice among U.S. Plastic Surgeons: Results from a National Survey. Streu, Rachel; Hawley, Sarah; Gay, Ashley; Salem, Barbara; Abrahamse, Paul; Alderman, Amy K . Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery.
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