Two types of doctors?

Question

Now in Scrubs, doctors are depicted as being either one or the other of a Surgeon, or a medical doctor (or is there a different term then this).

Now, it also shows that is rare for somebody to be both, surgeon and medical doctor. Now how true is this?

And also, is a cardiologist a surgeon who specializes in the heart (if there is such thing?) or the normal sort of doctor?

And do most surgeons have some sort of specialty, or do they just do whatever needs to be done, from heart transplants to sawing off a foot?

Answer 1

Doctors are classed as Medical Physicians & Surgical Physicians. The difference is that a Medical Physican ( Specialist ) is primarily responsible for diagnosis, and treatment recommendation or prescriptions. Whereas as A Surgical Physican ( Surgeon ) uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury.

Some doctors have degrees to qualify as both Medical Physicians and Surgical Physicians and are commonly referred to as " Physician and Surgeon "

The list of Medical Physicians and Surgical Physicians is as following :

- acute care specialist

- allergist

- allergologist

- anatomical pathologist

- anatomopathologist

- anesthesiologist

- anesthetist

- anesthetist-resuscitator

- autopsy pathologist

- biochemist, medical – medicine

- cardiac surgeon

- cardiologist

- cardiology specialist

- cardiothoracic surgeon

- cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon

- cardiovascular and thoracic surgery specialist

- cardiovascular surgeon

- child specialist

- clinical immunologist

- clinical immunologist-allergist

- clinical immunology and allergy specialist

- clinical pathologist

- clinical pharmacologist

- community health physician

- community medicine physician

- community medicine specialist

- cosmetic surgeon

- critical care medicine physician

- critical care medicine specialist

- dermatologist

- diagnostic radiologist

- diagnostic radiology specialist

- ear specialist

- ear, nose and throat specialist

- emergency medicine physician

- emergency medicine specialist

- emergency physician

- emergentologist

- endocrinologist

- environmental medicine specialist

- esthetic surgeon

- eye specialist

- forensic pathologist

- gastroenterologist

- general pathologist

- general surgeon

- geneticist – medical specialist

- geriatric medicine specialist

- geriatrician

- geriatrics specialist

- geriatrist

- gynecologist

- heart specialist

- hematological-pathologist

- hematologist

- hematopathologist

- hematopathology specialist

- histopathologist – medical specialist

- hyperbaric physician

- immunologist and allergologist

- infectious disease physician

- infectious disease specialist

- infertility specialist

- internal medicine specialist

- internist

- laryngologist

- lung specialist

- medical bacteriologist

- medical examiner

- medical geneticist

- medical genetics specialist

- medical microbiologist

- medical officer (specialist) – military

- medical oncologist

- medical oncology specialist

- medical parasitologist

- medical pathologist

- medical physiologist

- medical specialist

- neonatologist

- nephrologist

- nerve specialist

- neurological surgeon

- neurologist

- neuropathologist

- neuropsychiatrist

- neurosurgeon

- nose specialist

- nuclear medicine physician

- nuclear medicine specialist

- nuclear physician

- obstetrician

- obstetrician-gynecologist

- occupational health physician (OHP)

- occupational medicine specialist

- occupational physician

- oculist

- OHP (occupational health physician)

- oncologist

- oncologist, pediatric

- oncologist, radiation

- ophthalmologist

- orthopedic surgeon

- orthopedics specialist

- orthopedist

- otolaryngologist

- otologist

- otorhinolaryngologist

- pathologist – medical

- pathologist, autopsy

- pathologist-hematologist

- pediatric oncologist

- pediatric surgeon

- pediatrician

- phoniatrician

- phoniatrist

- physiatrist

- physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist

- physician, community health

- physician, community medicine

- physician, critical care medicine

- physician, emergency

- physician, infectious diseases

- physician, nuclear medicine

- physician, occupational health

- physician, preventive medicine

- physician, pulmonary medicine

- physician, sports medicine

- physician, tropical medicine

- physiologist, medical

- plastic surgeon

- plastic surgery specialist

- pneumologist

- police surgeon

- preventive medicine physician

- preventive medicine specialist

- proctologist

- psychiatrist

- psychoanalyst

- psychopharmacologist

- pulmonary disease specialist

- pulmonary medicine physician

- pulmonary medicine specialist

- pulmonologist

- radiation oncologist

- radio-oncologist

- radio-oncology specialist

- radiologist

- radiologist, diagnostic

- rehabilitation specialist

- respiratory disease specialist

- respirologist

- rheumatologist

- rhinologist

- skin disease specialist

- skin specialist

- specialist doctor

- specialist in cardiology

- specialist in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery

- specialist in clinical immunology and allergy

- specialist in community medicine

- specialist in critical care medicine

- specialist in emergency medicine

- specialist in environmental medicine

- specialist in epidemiology and community medicine

- specialist in geriatric medicine

- specialist in hematopathology

- specialist in infectious diseases

- specialist in infertility

- specialist in internal medicine

- specialist in medical oncology

- specialist in nuclear medicine

- specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation

- specialist in plastic surgery

- specialist in preventive medicine

- specialist in pulmonary disease

- specialist in spinal injuries

- specialist in sports medicine

- specialist in vascular surgery

- specialist physician

- specialist, children

- specialist, ear, nose and throat

- specialist, ears

- specialist, eyes

- specialist, heart

- specialist, lungs

- specialist, nerves

- specialist, nose

- specialist, occupational medicine

- specialist, rehabilitation

- specialist, skin

- specialist, throat

- spinal injury specialist

- sports medicine physician

- sports medicine specialist

- surgeon ( general )

- surgical pathologist

- surgical physician

- surgical resident

- thoracic surgeon

- throat specialist

- tropical medicine physician

- urologist

- vascular surgeon

And the following are whom will be in the Dentistry section of medicine :

- dental officer – military

- dental surgeon

- dentist

- dentist, public health

- doctor of dental surgery

- endodontist

- general practice dentist

- implantologist – dentistry

- oral and dental surgeon

- oral and maxillofacial surgeon

- oral medicine specialist

- oral pathologist

- oral pathology and maxillofacial surgery specialist

- oral radiologist

- oral surgeon

- orthodontist

- pediatric dentist

- pedodontist

- periodontist

- prosthodontist

- public health dentist

- specialist, oral medicine

- stomatologist

- surgeon, dental

- surgeon, oral

- surgeon, oral and maxillofacial

To know in details who does what, Please post another question and keep it brief.

Wish You All The Best !

Answer 2

In centuries past, there was indeed a sharp delineation between surgeons and physicians. Part of the Hippocratic oath even prohibits performing surgery.

There are different systems in different countries, and in some it's striking; in others, there's a tradition of separation without real practical importance. For instance, in the UK, surgeons are addressed as "Mister" rather than "Doctor," even though they've had all the same medical training prior to specializing.

In the US, there's less of a distinction, but the medical specialties and the surgical specialties are definitely different. Cardiology, since you mentioned that, is a medical subspecialty: one completes a residency (specialty training) in internal medicine and then a fellowship (subspecialty training) in cardiology. The equivalent surgical subspecialty is cardiovascular surgery. You might want to look at http://www.abms.org .

Answer 3

Generally speaking there are two big branches, "Medicine" and "Surgery". The former  requieres training in "Internal Medicine", while the former  requieres training in "General Surgery".  There are however other specialties that are not usually considered in one or the other, such as psychiatry, gynecology/obstetrics, and pediatrics.

The common medical specialties that you are likely to hear mentioned, such as cardiology, gastroenterology, oncology, etc, are usually "medical" specialties. However there are also many specialties and subspecialties in the surgical branch, neurosurgery, cardothoracic, plastic, etc.

As far I've observed there is a tendency for m.d.'s to become more and more specialized. The general practitioner and the general surgeon are becoming less and less common. I

Answer 4

You have to remember, Scrubs is just a show, and a comedy show at that. If you want to know how the surgery specialty works in a TV-show form, watch Grey's Anatomy. They do a better job of it.

Anyway, it goes like this. All surgeons are medical doctors, but not all medical doctors are surgeons. Surgery is just a specialty of medicine, and that specialty branches off into sub specialties.

And yes, most surgeons do end up in a specialty.

But no, cardiologists are not surgeons of the heart. Those are called cardiac surgeons. Sometimes they are called "cardiothoracic" surgeons, but that is when they do work on the heart, the lungs, and anything inside the chest.

Some specialties are:

-Cardiothoracic

-Neurosurgery

-Pediatric Surgery

-Bariatric Surgery

-Orthopedic Surgery ("Ortho")

-General surgery

-Plastic surgery

And there are many others.