What does a general surgeon do?
The General Surgeon's role is to perform operations to treat or prevent diseases, repair damage caused by injuries, and improve the functions of the human body through the use of different surgical instruments. They also assess patients and explain different diagnostic tests that are performed.
General surgeon responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real general surgeon resumes:
- Manage insurance authorization and hospital bookings for surgery.
- Provide preoperative diagnosis of patients, perform the necessary emergency or elective surgery, and provide postoperative surgical care and treatment.
- Provide patient ancillary testing such as EKG, NDX and NCV.
- Wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
- Assist the physician during angioplasty and endovenous laser ablation procedures.
- Clean operating room and wash and sterilize equipment, using germicides and sterilizers.
- Treat patients by performing procedures requiring no anesthesia, including addressing hernias and removing moles and other dermatological problems.
- Collect R/R, IME and QME as they come in thru the billing department without having the case settle.
- Answer busy phones, filing; type insurance claims and collect co-payments/deductibles as well as other administrative duties as needed.
- Generate billing and conduct follow-up calls.
- Schedule appointments, answering phone.
- Assist with scheduling appointments, phone calls, and preparing medical charts while working with a diverse patient population.
- Observe fracture plating, skin grafting, wind cleaning, amputation, and other Orthopaedic surgeries.
General surgeon skills and personality traits
We calculated that 34% of General Surgeons are proficient in Patients, EMR, and Medical Education. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Compassion, and Detail oriented.
We break down the percentage of General Surgeons that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 34%
Treated patients by performing procedures requiring no anesthesia, including addressing hernias and removing moles and other dermatological problems.
- EMR, 14%
Format of medical reports closely assimilated what is now the guideline of the current EMR format.
- Medical Education, 9%
Developed new training opportunities for staff in-house and outside of the Office for Continuing Medical Education.
- Patient Care, 8%
Helped to ensure optimal patient care and smooth daily functioning of office.
- Endoscopy, 6%
General surgery, endoscopy,colonoscopy, lap hernia, lap appy, lap chole, bx, vascular access.
- Private Practice, 3%
Employed private practice position with emphasis on reconstructive and cosmetic procedures of the breast, body, and skin structures
Most general surgeons use their skills in "patients," "emr," and "medical education" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential general surgeon responsibilities here:
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a general surgeon to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what general surgeons do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, a general surgeon resume shows how general surgeons use communication skills: "established trust with patients by using collaborative communication during consultations and throughout surgical care. "
Compassion. Many general surgeon duties rely on compassion. "patients who are sick or injured may be in extreme pain or distress," so a general surgeon will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways general surgeon responsibilities rely on compassion: "calm and educate patients regarding procedures performed, using special care and techniques with compassion to young children. "
Detail oriented. This is an important skill for general surgeons to perform their duties. For an example of how general surgeon responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "patients must receive appropriate treatment and medications." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a general surgeon: "register new patients and update existing detailed patient information including personal and financial information. ".
Dexterity. general surgeon responsibilities often require "dexterity." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." This resume example shows what general surgeons do with dexterity on a typical day: "gained invaluable knowledge of the medical industry and patient care; developed diagnostic and problem-solving skills through hands-on clinical experience. "
Leadership skills. A commonly-found skill in general surgeon job descriptions, "leadership skills" is essential to what general surgeons do. General surgeon responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." You can also see how general surgeon duties rely on leadership skills in this resume example: "delivered advice to surgeon general and executive leadership on public health policies, project implementation, and milestone establishment. "
Physical stamina. While "physical stamina" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to general surgeon responsibilities. Much of what a general surgeon does relies on this skill, seeing as "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of general surgeons: "managed referrals and remissions for patients c. performed routine physicals and examinations d. managed the diabetes and hypertension program"
The three companies that hire the most general surgeons are:
- The Medicus Firm
95 general surgeons jobs
- HealthTrust18 general surgeons jobs
- Presbyterian7 general surgeons jobs
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Compare different general surgeons
General surgeon vs. Doctor
A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between general surgeons and doctor. For instance, general surgeon responsibilities require skills such as "medical education," "endoscopy," "medical facilities," and "breast surgery." Whereas a doctor is skilled in "customer service," "emergency medicine," "surgery," and "strong work ethic." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Doctors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $178,767. On the other hand, general surgeons are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $184,732.The education levels that doctors earn slightly differ from general surgeons. In particular, doctors are 1.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a general surgeon. Additionally, they're 5.8% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General surgeon vs. Eye physician
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that general surgeon responsibilities requires skills like "patients," "emr," "medical education," and "endoscopy." But an eye physician might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "eye drops," "field testing," "consent forms," and "ehr."
In general, eye physicians achieve similar levels of education than general surgeons. They're 0.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 5.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General surgeon vs. Surgeon's assistant
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a general surgeon is likely to be skilled in "medical education," "patient care," "endoscopy," and "private practice," while a typical surgeon's assistant is skilled in "ortho," "epic," "general surgery," and "direct patient care."
Surgeon's assistants make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $199,491. On the other hand, general surgeons are paid the highest salary in the health care industry, with average annual pay of $184,732.surgeon's assistants typically earn similar educational levels compared to general surgeons. Specifically, they're 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 10.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.General surgeon vs. Foot and ankle surgeon
Types of general surgeon
Updated January 8, 2025
