In the last two weeks, I have done several high tech surgeries. This technology reminded me of where I had come from. I think many young patients have never known what it takes to be a doctor. Most of what patients see regarding the skills and abilities of the surgeons are what they can glean from the internet. Far too few have any appreciation of how doctors are trained. The three main components of becoming a gynecologic surgeon are study, intense training, and practical application of surgery skills. All of these were parts of the training of surgeons well into the 1980's and 90's.
Modern surgeons have seen the advent of technology and so called evidence based procedures. Most of the technology that is in use today is helpful and quicker and has become gradually reliable. But it wasn't always this way. In the past, countless hours of observing, participating with other doctors and finally mastering our own cases led us to the high point of training where many
In spite of all this, that many aspects of our technology have not retarded our growth as surgeons but in fact have underscored our basic training and forced us to look even deeper and learn even more. A case in point is in the new minimally invasive robotic surgery. I think it's clear that robotic surgery enhances our training. It forces us to fall back on our basic skills and rethink every single move and every single purpose. Everything we see through the scope has to be revealed. In this
Let me also mention that technology in