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From: nd Date: 27 May 2006 Time: 11:00:09 +1100 Remote Name: 202.59.16.106 Comments: I cannot comment on the differences between being a *consultant* surgeon or anaesthetist, but having had three years' experience of both surgery and anaesthesia, I am somewhat qualified to answer. In terms of lifestyle, sanity, workload, backup/support, training support, and overall enjoyment of the job, there is NO comparison! I spent most of my three surgical years chronically depressed, tired and very unhappy. The hours were appalling, the backup non-existant, and the demands unreasonably harsh. In terms of money, to be honest as a reg there is not really that much difference- maybe $10k or so. But to get that extra $10k, the amount of effort required is exponential. Personally, I don't think money can buy you happiness! Whilst I enjoyed the technical aspects of surgery (ie the cutting), to be honest, that's only about 20% of the job. The rest is ward rounds, ungodly early starts and late nights, awful clinics, ed calls, ward calls, crappola. And the enjoyment I got from the 20% was not enough to make up for the rest of it. The telling thing is that I only very very rarely want to be back on the other side of the BBB. As regards the anaesthesia being boring, well! I remember one 24 hour period last year floating a swan for CABG, watching a baby being born by LSCS for which I had done the CSE, anaesthetising for ECT, and assisting with a 3 week-old's spinal for laparotomy. Anyone who tells you anaesthesia is the same thing day after day just doesn't have a clue. There is as much variety in anaesthesia as there is surgery. Seriously. Gallbladders and colons all start to lok the same after a while.