A young surgeon's perspective

The environment of health care delivery is responding to a variety of external forces that are changing the practice of surgery. Only when we look back at this period can any assessments be made to determine whether the changes were beneficial or detrimental. The observation that surgeons are retiring at an earlier age may be a reflection of the negative effect of the changing culture of surgery on career satisfaction. As a young surgeon who anticipates an additional 20+ years of a surgical career, these changes are important to me and will clearly affect my practice as well as my satisfaction. This special article provides my personal perspective on some of the current and anticipated changes in surgery that are a manifestation of cultural changes in health care delivery.