Medical Career List (Cont'd)

In this continuation of our medical career list, we explore several more doctors' career choices.

Surgeons. Surgeons are physicians who specialize in the treatment of injury, disease, and deformity through operations. Using a variety of instruments, and with patients under general or local anesthesia, a surgeon corrects physical deformities, repairs bone and tissue after injuries, or performs preventive surgeries on patients with debilitating diseases or disorders.

Although a large number perform general surgery, many surgeons choose to specialize in a specific area. One of the most prevalent specialties is orthopedic surgery: the treatment of the musculoskeletal system.

Others include neurological surgery (treatment of the brain and nervous system), cardiovascular surgery, otolaryngology (treatment of the ear, nose, and throat), and plastic or reconstructive surgery.

Like primary care and other specialist physicians, surgeons also examine patients, perform and interpret diagnostic tests, and counsel patients on preventive health care.

A number of other medical specialists also work in clinics, hospitals, and private offices. Here is the medical career list:

• Allergists, who care for people with allergies and sometimes asthma.
• Cardiologists, who care for people with heart problems.
• Dermatologists, who treat skin problems
• Emergency physicians, who work in emergency rooms
• Gastroenterologists, who treat digestive tract diseases
• Ophthalmologists, who treat eye problems
• Pathologists, who work in laboratories and morgues
• Radiologists, who work in x-ray and nuclear medicine departments and facilities

If you didn't find the medical career descriptions you were looking for, try Googling it:

Doctors Career Working Conditions

Many physicians—primarily general and family practitioners, general internists, pediatricians, OB/GYNs, and psychiatrists—work in small private offices or clinics, often assisted by a small staff of nurses and other administrative personnel.

Increasingly, physicians are practicing in groups or health care organizations that provide backup coverage and allow for more time off. These physicians often work as part of a team coordinating care for a population of patients; they are less independent than solo practitioners of the past.

Surgeons and anesthesiologists typically work in well-lighted, sterile environments while performing surgery and often stand for long periods. Most work in hospitals or in surgical outpatient centers.

Many physicians and surgeons work long, irregular hours. Over one-third of full-time physicians and surgeons worked 60 hours or more a week in 2004. Only 8 percent of all physicians and surgeons worked part-time, compared with 16 percent for all occupations.

Physicians and surgeons must travel frequently between office and hospital to care for their patients. Those who are on call deal with many patients’ concerns over the phone and may make emergency visits to hospitals or nursing homes.

I hope you found this page with more for the medical career list to be helpful. If you want to read more about the salary scale, job outlook, and training concerned with a doctor's career, check out the Labor Department page here:

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