Medical vs Surgical

Medical
1. Patients are older, complicated and have more than 10 regular medications. Their drug chart is 3 pages long and they don't even remember what they're taking. They have renal failure & heart failure all of which complicates any treatment that we intend to give them for the reason they're in hospital.

2. Treatment is with manipulation of pharmacological agents. Lots of waiting to see if it works or not. If it doesn't work; must try something else.

3.  Lots of delirious, demented, psychotic patients

4. Multiple issues to deal with including social issues!

5. Ward rounds last forever

6. Patients stay for ages and ages. Longest stay recorded: 400 days!

7. Reasonable starting time (8 or 9 am) and humane working hours - but at the expense of lower pay

8. Training time is not that long - 5 years or so


Surgical

1. Simple clear cut (excuse the pun) cases - open up, cut, problem solved. Sorta.

2. Treatment is by operation. Anything that doesn't need an operation is dumped on the medical doctors. Any patients deteriorating, dying, delirious are transferred to the medical team. Kesian.

3. Not that many issues to deal with. Wound care, clot prevention, bleeding, infection. Anything other than that; dump to medical again. No need for social issues!

4. Ward rounds are short. About 30 seconds at each bedside. (The surgeons are quick because they want to rush to theatre).

5. Patients don't usually stay for long. Only if there's complications.

6. Ridiculous starts (as early as 6am is possible) and unreasonable hours. But very lucrative pay.

7. It takes at least 10 years to train as a surgeon