Surgeon

Surgeons are medical doctors who perform surgical operations.

Surgeons typically work long and irregular hours in operating theatres, as certain surgeries can go on for hours, especially the highly complex ones. You must also practise a very high standard of accuracy and precision in carrying out surgical procedures, as any tiny mistake can put patients’ lives in danger. It is a specialty with stress around the corner all the time, especially when the surgery takes a bad turn. You need to able to think logically, act fast and keep your hands steady.

The medical field is always evolving. Surgeons need to keep themselves updated with the newest research findings, as they may always present a more effective, or an entirely new approach or solution to certain health issues. This means that outside your already long working hours, you need to make time to study medical journals and attend related conferences. That said, it is challenging to achieve work-life balance in this line of work, you may feel burnout juggling with the overwhelming workload. The workplace settings can be private practice or academic medicine (teach and do research) or hospitals.

Albeit challenging, as a surgeon, what you do is literally life-changing. There is no other satisfaction that can top the one saving lives.