Surgeon Business Pty. Ltd.
A friend just found out his Dad has cancer. It’s an epidemic.
When our car breaks down, we go to a mechanic. When a drain pipe bursts, we get a man in. If we burn out our engine or find all the sinks blocked after a big rain, it’s a big job. John’s Auto Repair and Mike’s Plumbing will make an nice profit while hopefully, fixing the problem. But if they can’t fix it – they can come back and have another go. No such guarantee with Surgery.
Very sick people are prepared to pay an awful lot of money to get better and Surgeons know it. Let’s call a spade a spade. It’s why they went into medicine in the first place. There is no Hippocratic oath. Who, in their right mind, would be an Oncologist? I would recommend that job to someone who wants to watch human beings die slowly. And I’d want a staggering amount of money to do it.Unlike John and Mike, we need a different kind of reassurance from our Surgeon. We evaluate them by saying things like “He’s a lovely man,” “she has a great bedside manner,” or worse, “he has a nice smile and his father was in the army.” We choose a surgeon after meeting him / her once or twice. We forget that all surgeons – are running a business. For some reason, we treat surgeons like they are very busy friends. This isn’t the case. They are in business. You are not a friend. You are a client. Your surgeon has lost many clients like you on the operating table. And yet, they continue to cut.
Are you getting this, reader?
Your surgeon can’t afford to get close to you. And yet, from your point of view – your life is in their hands. Surely they are somewhat like friends? No. John or Mike are either in business or, if they read their marketing books, working on their business. Maybe if John does a bad job of fixing your car, he might be partly responsible should you hit a tree, but he’s not directly responsible. And, possibly, you can actually be friends with John or Mike. Your Surgeon is in a different kind of business.
So – just like John and Mike, you should get a quote and ask some questions before you let any surgeon cut. here are some questions for your surgeon:
- How many times have you performed this operation?
- How many times was the operation you performed successful?
- How many of those people died within 5 years of having the operation?
- Which other surgeons are performing this particular operation?
And then proceed to the next surgeon and ask the same questions.
Never judge a surgeon by bedside manner. I’d rather have an expert technician who can hardly speak English, but who has a 90% success rate in his field remove a lump from my abdomen than one who speaks softly while metaphorically stroking my hair.
I remember sitting quietly with Mum in Dad’s ward. 4 sick men were asleep in their hospital beds as two nurses charged in, chatting away. When one saw us she said, “Oh! I didn’t realise, there were people in here.”
All business is personal. Some is more personal than others.
