The Daily Schedule Of A Paediatric Surgeon

Paediatric surgeons will see their post-operative patients in the wards and ICUs 1-2 times a day depending on the patients' needs. Since the physiology of paediatric patients differs to that of an adult, more aggressive monitoring needs to be incorporated. Therefore, these patients are placed in specialized paediatric units where the nursing staff are also specifically trained to manage them.

The office of a paediatric surgeon is located in the hospital so that they can quickly get to patients in the wards, ICUs and casualty department when a medical emergency arises. These specialists will also be consulted by paediatricians and other surgical specialists.

The paediatric surgeon will be on call during after hour and weekend periods to consult with patients. These specialists will have to manage emergency conditions needing surgical intervention such as traumatic injuries, acute abdomens due to issues such as appendicitis and severe dehydration due to excessive vomiting caused by problems such as intestinal atresias or pyloric stenosis.

A general paediatric surgeon may also make use of the services of paediatric surgeons of other surgical disciplines when managing certain patients.

Monday

Usually an administrative day, Mondays are used to manage clinical and non-clinical aspects such as attending of important hospital management, staff and surgical representative meetings. Once these issues have been finalised, the paediatric surgeon will begin consulting with their patients.

Patients seen by a paediatric surgeon can be for the first time, as they are referred by physicians such as general practitioners and paediatricians, or they are follow-up patients consulted after their surgeries. The first-time patients can be sent for further investigations, which are then followed up by the surgeon and discussed with the family of the patient, be admitted for in-hospital tests and management of surgical emergencies or they can be scheduled for an elective procedure at a later date.

Tuesday

The paediatric surgeon will spend the day performing surgeries in theatre. The procedures that are done can be laparotomies or laparoscopic procedures depending on the pathology. Emergency surgeries tend to be done via a laparotomy as this allows for better visualization of the intra-abdominal organs and tissues.

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Wednesday

Wednesday mornings will be spent operating in theatre and the afternoons will be used to consult with patients and perform other clinical administrative tasks. These can include sending motivation letters to medical aid companies for the authorization of certain surgical procedures or doing further research for the specialists own academic requirements.

Thursday

The mornings are usually spent performing surgical procedures again and the specialist will also be managing any emergency cases that come into the casualty department.

If the paediatric surgeon is involved with the academic curriculum of the local medical school, then they may offer training to the undergraduate medical students, the postgraduate surgical residents and paediatric surgery fellows.

Friday

The mornings are spent consulting with first time and follow-up patients. The surgical list for the following week will be confirmed and printed, and any other administrative tasks that need to be dealt with will be done so in the afternoon.

The work week can then conclude once all these aspects have been finalised.