We all know that medical professionals or medical practitioners are responsible for ensuring that the well-being of every person is their topmost priority in their jobs. Some of the known medical professionals we all know today are doctors, nurses, surgeons and psychologists although there are actually more with their own expertise and roles for the health benefit of the people. These said professionals work within the medical establishments such as hospitals or their own clinics.
Due to the amount of medical professionals with different specialties or field of expertise, some people get confused with their roles and how they should be addressed.
In this article, we will specifically talk about the roles of surgeons and clinicians inside the medical establishments or in the medical field.
What is a Surgeons and What are their Roles?
Before we point out the difference or commonalities of the two medical practitioners, we should have a background of knowledge about the two first. In this segment, we will be talking about surgeons.
Surgeons are one of the most popularly known medical professionals due to some famous television shows that portray them in medical shows. Plus, they are also known for the kind of responsibility or field they work on and that is to operate on patients in order to treat their injuries, disease, conditions, and disorders.
Before becoming a surgeon, a person must undergo medical undergraduate studies first and get a degree, then they can proceed with taking their licensure exam for the course they chose, after that, a medical student will have to pursue training in medical establishment for the sake of experience for several years until they can finally be a certified licensed surgeon and start performing practices of a surgeon.
There are multiple types of surgeons. Yes, surgeons have different specialties which varies based on the different systems of the body like the skeletal system, muscular system, integumentary system, circulatory system, respiratory system, digestive system, urinary system, reproductive system, and the nervous system. Medical could choose either of the nine expertise in order to focus on that specific type of system to operate on once they become licensed surgeons in the future. Take note that the number of years for training on the different system may vary; some could go up to 5 years, while the others could take up to 7 years.
Although there are different types of expertise in the field of surgery, there is such a profession such as a general surgeon which is a type of surgeon who focuses on operating on all systems of a person.
What is a Clinician and What are their Roles?
Now, for this next segment, we will talk about what a clinician is and what are the responsibilities of a clinician that they should fulfill.
First of all, clinicians are another type of medical professionals that are responsible for giving intensive care to patients. Basically, they are the caregivers of patients who are admitted to a hospital, at a clinic, or even at home. They are medical professionals who work directly with the patients because they have to provide their caretaking services instead of working with other medical professionals such as medical technicians inside laboratories for researching.
Just like the previously discussed medical professional, surgeon, clinicians are also subdivided to different types of clinicians. Some of the known clinicians are doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners who approach patients and work directly with them.
Are Surgeons Clinicians?
Now, circling back to the main question of this topic, can surgeons be considered as clinicians as well? The answer is, yes.
If you think that surgeons are only cooped up inside the operation room in the long duration of work hours, well then you are wrong. Besides operating on patients for so many hours and sometimes staying inside laboratories to request the medical technicians about a specimen from a surgery, surgeons also approach patients.
Before starting a surgery of a patient, it is compulsory for surgeons to get to know their patients first in order to earn their trust and calm them down before the surgery. Surgeons also ask a lot of questions toward their patients regarding their condition or any past conditions to help in the assessment of their condition. Added to this is that surgeons also ask their patients about any suggestion or wishes during the surgery in order to retain their dignity. Lastly, surgeons do not just approach their patient but the patient’s relatives or loved ones as well.
The next reason as to why surgeons are considered as clinicians is very obvious. Surgeons operate on the patients, which simply means that they do work directly with their patients through the process of surgical operations. Unlike some of the basic rules of clinicians regarding providing care for patients such as the food and drinks, surgeons provide their care through their expertise in curing a person from their disease by the process of surgery.
Basically, surgeons are extremely diverse and they are considered as clinicians but they are more advanced in the level of skills and knowledge. Just as long as they work with the patient and provide the basic or foundation of health needs to a patient, then they can be considered as clinicians.
The Bottomline
In conclusion, despite the different roles of every different medical professional in the medical field, it is no mistaken that all of them still have a lot in common. Just like what is based from the article, the roles of any professional is not just limited or bound to the responsibility that most people know them such as a surgeon who is mostly known for only operating on patients who have illnesses but if we were to look deeper and widen our comprehension on the topic at present, we will realize that they are not just simply removing the disease but it is their way of providing care for the patient.
All of these medical professionals may have different roles but at the end of the day, they are still interconnected with the purpose of saving lives and giving people the best health services.
Sources:
https://www.medicinenet.com/surgeon/definition.htm
https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Quality-Initiatives-Patient-Assessment-Instruments/MMS/QMY-Clinicians
