Professional Identity and Stewardship: Surgeon Interview Report

This report summarizes an interview with a general surgeon, focusing on their professional identity and stewardship within a healthcare team. The surgeon describes their role, which involves performing elective and emergency surgeries and collaborating with various healthcare professionals in the operating room and surgical clinic. Key themes include teamwork, leadership, and the importance of patient safety. The surgeon emphasizes the significance of upholding the highest levels of commitment to patient safety, maintaining good relationships with colleagues, and providing the best level of care. Furthermore, the surgeon discusses the concept of stewardship in relation to limited surgical resources, advocating for patients, and influencing healthcare decisions. The report highlights the surgeon's views on professionalism, including how they handle interactions with other professionals, the importance of teamwork, and their role in influencing decisions in healthcare to improve working conditions and uphold patient safety.

Interviewing a surgeon 1
Professional Identity and Stewardship
Students Name
Institutional Affiliation

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A General Surgeon was interviewed as one of the members of a healthcare team. He
mentioned that his job involves performing both elective and emergency surgeries commonly in
the abdominal region. He works closely with other members of the tem both in the operating
room and outside in the surgical clinic. In the operating room he works with a co-surgeon,
anesthesiologist, certified registered nurse anesthetist and the operating room nurse. He is
involved in planning for the surgery in consultation with the other professions to ensure that they
manage a patient’s condition. His role includes, among others, leading the surgical team during
surgery. The whole team is responsible for the success of the surgery. Teamwork is very critical
in the process. He also ascertains the crucial role of leadership he plays in influencing all the
members to work towards a common goal. More importantly noting that the members of the
healthcare team belong to different professions.
He defines professionalism in surgery as upholding the highest levels of commitment to
patient safety and maintaining good relationship with the other people involved in the care.
According the best level of care to the patient is the most is the only satisfaction he can get from
his job (Jorm, 2016). He mentions that being available when the patient need him is a way of
acting upholding his duties and mandate. He also says that according the patient dignity in
service is a way empowering them and making them feel satisfied with the services they receive.
His perception of professionalism also involves the way he deals with other professionals
(Thistlethwaite & Spencer, 2016). He feels that a bad interaction with other professionals may
compromise the level of care. appreciating the role of each member of the team creates a very
strong and cohesive team dedicated to patient safety.
According to his job description and the way he described the style of leadership among
the surgeons, it is evident that they are stewards in their own right. Just like any resource,

Interviewing a surgeon 3
surgical services are limited in supply while the demand is overwhelming. Surgical facilities
such as the operating rooms, equipment and personnel are necessary for patient to be managed
efficiently. However, there ought to be a balance between the demand and supply. In an attempt
to make this work efficiently, they have set guidelines to determine surgeries which require
urgent attention and those which can be done on a future date (Carroll, 2019). This helps manage
the few resources allocated to this department.
Professional advocacy and authenticity is important to both the patient and other
professionals in the field. The government is made aware of the challenges in the department and
this helps influencing the decisions on health care allocation (Davoodvand, Abbaszadeh &
Ahmadi, 2016). It also helps in the formulation of policies and laws that improve the working
conditions and uphold patient safety. Power and influence forms a very important and critical
aspect of the society. Influencing decision in healthcare has an effect in the working conditions
of other colleagues. He described advocacy as one of the avenues of gaining power and influence
in healthcare.

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References.
Davoodvand, S., Abbaszadeh, A., & Ahmadi, F. (2016). Patient advocacy from the clinical
nurses' viewpoint: a qualitative study. Journal of medical ethics and history of
medicine, 9.
Jorm, C. (2016). Reconstructing medical practice: engagement, professionalism and critical
relationships in health care. Routledge.
Thistlethwaite, J., & Spencer, J. (2016). Professionalism in medicine. CRC Press.
Carroll, K. (2019). Examining Medication Stewardship: A Nursing Perspective. Nursing science
quarterly, 32(2), 112-112.