The Surgeon’s Philosophy

Medicine should be a marginal science that combines natural and social sciences. Because the object of medicine is human life. The conception of medicine as pure science and pure nature inevitably leads to the path of mechanical materialism and existentialism. We often interpret patients’ illnesses or “life experiences” according to anatomical and physiological understandings, or the results of various tests and data. The patient himself sees the dysfunction or problem in terms of his life and his own experience, which are sometimes not the same. The basic humanism of a surgeon (or of all those who practice medicine) will come down to how one sees the patient, how one sees oneself, and how one sees and deals with the physician-patient relationship. It is never just technical excellence that a surgeon demonstrates, but also personality, i.e., his character, training and style. Pre-operative conversation is not only the art of conversation, but also the humanistic concept. It is a reflection of respect, compassion and care for people. On the operating table, we want to be: calm, flexible, wise and humorous. We do not want to: panic, scold or complain about assistants or nurses, drop and throw instruments, sigh and laugh. Surgery is a focused, critical step, and cannot and should not be distributed equally in terms of energy and time. Or the life of the person. With perfect surgery, skill is only 25% of the equation; 75% of it is decision making. Decision-making is based on correct diagnosis, correct selection of indications for the operation, rational design of the operation and its scope, precautions and countermeasures for possible problems, and even consideration of entry and incision, drainage and closure. If so, the operation can function. Decision-making depends to a large extent on thinking, judgment, and design. After surgery In a sense, it is appreciating your own ‘work’. Caring for the patient’s physical condition and functional recovery after surgery, identifying and dealing with problems that arise, encouraging and guiding post-operative life, etc. should give the surgeon great enthusiasm and responsibility, not just post-operation. Going with the surgery, not just doing the surgery; having completed the surgery, does not complete the entire treatment of the patient. Every step before, during and after the operation, if the “scientific and technical process” of the body is completed from the living person, a fundamental mistake may be made. Medicine is a science, but the process of healing is completely “scientific”, the surgeon becomes a mechanic, but the patient is not a machine with faulty “parts”. To be a moral and technical, literary and martial arts surgeon Self-cultivation is also like “sharpening” and “charging”, and it is different from the general knowledge update, those sharpening is with the fundamental, often beneficial for life. In addition to professional knowledge, books and knowledge of literature, art, ethics, law, psychology, and social subjects should be included. Pursuing and reflecting on the purpose of medicine or surgery, it is clear that treatment (including surgery) does not always mean treating a certain disease, but rather helping the patient to restore the individual’s spiritual, psychological and physical body integrity. In the doctor-patient relationship, it does not mean that we focus only on the process of the disease, but that we should consider the patient’s experience and wishes. In this way, we can “shape” ourselves into true surgeons.