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Study: What makes surgeons happy?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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A team of researchers from St Michael's Hospital found that surgeons' overall dissatisfaction with their profession may be due to irregular working hours that lead to problems in their personal lives, as well as inadequate operating theatre equipment and other resources.
According to research by the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Canadian Medical Association, there is a trend toward a decline in the number of surgeons due to the profession's declining popularity and early retirement. The decline in popularity of this profession is due to the difficulties associated with it, including poor working conditions.
Experts predict that demand for surgical services will increase in the coming years, so it is important to understand what exactly is behind people's reluctance to engage in this work.
For surgeons, the social side of their profession is important, it inspires them and gives them endurance in difficult work. By solving their patients' problems, as well as interacting with their colleagues, surgeons receive professional satisfaction from doing their job.
"The surgeons surveyed enjoy their professional activities. They help people and, observing the results of their work, they understand perfectly well that the most valuable thing is in their hands - life," says doctor and lead author of the studies Najma Ahmed.
Among the negative factors that surgeons voiced were insufficient supplies for operating rooms, as well as disagreements with the administration of clinics. This has a negative impact on the morale of doctors and also makes it impossible to provide high-quality patient care.
One of the study participants noted: "All everyone wants is to do as little work as possible and reduce their working hours as much as possible. No one thinks about the fact that someone's mother, sister or father is sick. They just look for advantages in patients that they can exploit."
According to Dr. Ahmed, many doctors are unwilling to sacrifice their personal lives for the sake of their careers and financial well-being.
The greatest impact of the looming shortage of surgeons will be felt in rural areas. In some parts of the United States, the very existence of surgical departments may soon be in question. And without surgical departments, emergency departments will not be able to function properly. But there are not enough resources even to provide general surgical consultations.
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