Cosmetic Surgeons

There are advantages to working in the different work arrangements available to a plastic surgeon (private practice, group practice, hospital department, or government or academic setting). A surgeon's preference may depend on how he or she works with others, as well as geographic location. Hospital plastic surgery departments are usually structured with department chairs and supervisors. Although a hospital setting generally means more rules for a physician to work under, it also offers the advantage of a structured environment, less individual financial risk, and the ability to share information and learn from colleagues daily. Those who prefer to be "their own boss" generally assume greater risk in a private or group practice, as does any small business owner. Plastic surgeons in private or group practice should be business oriented or hire someone who can tend to marketing, accounting, and personnel concerns.

As with many specialists, cosmetic surgeons generally practice in big cities or smaller urban areas, but not rural areas. Big city settings generally bring advantages, such as proximity to colleagues and shorter traveling distance to seminars and the hours of continuing education required of board-certified surgeons every year. Urban life brings increased cultural and recreational opportunities, but it can also mean headaches such as traffic and a higher cost of living.

Cosmetic surgeons, compared with other specialists, are not in frequent contact with contagious disease or hazardous chemicals. Some cosmetic procedures require the use of chemicals for injections or surface application, but surgeons are well trained and well regulated in their use of these materials.

The profession is not without its opportunities for service to humanity, but it is often these situations that put a cosmetic surgeon in contact with some dangers. Areas where people suffer from contagious disease and political violence in remote parts of developing countries are often the areas of greatest need for reconstructive surgeries. ReSurge International is a humanitarian, healthcare organization that sends U.S. surgeons to such areas. Surgeons perform vital work there on people who had no hope of getting help in their own country, but the surgeons' accommodations often include only the bare essentials. Extreme weather, insects, and the sound of shots being fired in the distance are situations some surgeons have encountered. ReSurge-affiliated surgeons have provided more than 138,490 surgeries to those in need.