subject: A Typical Workday For A Plastic Surgeon [print this page] Many people are under the false impression that a plastic surgeon is only responsible for performing surgical procedures. In their minds, these professionals come to work, conduct 1 or 2 procedures and then go home. However, this is far from the truth. There's much more to the job of a plastic surgeon than meets the eye. Take a moment and imagine that this was your field of work.
A typical workday for you would usually start around 7 AM or 8 AM, with hospital rounds. You would check on your patients who you previously performed work on, checking to see if they are making any progress towards healing. Depending on how many people you have to see about, this could take anywhere from 10 to 45 minutes. Besides the number of people you must check on during your rounds, the time length could also depend on whether or not patients ask questions. Some of them may be curious about their progress as well. So, you might be held up a few extra minutes trying to clarify and disperse some information to your patients.
After making your rounds, you would then have to prepare for surgery. Contrary to what some may believe, these preparations aren't just physical. Of course, you would have to put on your scrubs and prepare your tools, among other things, but you would also have to make sure you are mentally prepared for the process. Surgery of any kind has its risks. Therefore, you must be able to mentally handle the pressure.
Once you are done with your surgeries, it would then be time for you to meet up with some of your new and prospective patients for consultations. This could be a difficult task as well. That's not because the task in and of itself is hard to accomplish. However, you would be trying to complete the consultations after having gone through a full day of surgeries. So, you would most likely be tired, and your brain might even be on shutdown mode, but you would have to force yourself to push through it.
Being a plastic surgeon involves much more than some people may realize. Performing surgical procedures is only half the battle. These specialists must also endure a morning and evening of consulting with patients, both old and new. By the time many of these professionals are finally able to go home, it might be 6 PM or 7 PM. That means they worked anywhere from 10 to 12 hours total.
