[Infographic] Hospitals vs. Ambulatory Surgery Centers: Where to Practice?
Unlike several decades ago, today’s physicians have options about where they choose to perform their surgeries. Hospitals and outpatient surgery center both act as viable, safe environments for patients who can receive surgery and can go home the same day. Surgeons who are looking into performing surgeries at an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) should consider how this choice might affect the types of procedures performed, career path goals, and their personal lives.
TYPES OF SURGERIES PERFORMED
Certain types of surgeons are limited mostly to hospitals simply because their specialty often requires patients to have an overnight stay. However, outpatient surgeries are becoming more common as patients recover quickly and the cost of an overnight hospital stay continues to rise. As a surgeon, it is up to you to decide if your patients are candidates for surgeries to be performed safely and effectively on an outpatient basis.
Popular surgeries performed at ambulatory surgery centers include:
Cataract surgery
Muscle, tendon, and small joint repair
Hernia repair
Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy)
Spinal surgery
Tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy
Ear tube surgery
For surgeries that are able to be performed away from a hospital environment, many patients find that they are more comfortable and less anxious in the calmer environment of an outpatient surgical center. And having happy, healthy patients is certainly the ultimate goal of any surgeon.
YOUR CAREER PATH
Understanding where you are in your own career path—and where you want to be—may play a role in whether you choose to perform your surgeries in a hospital or ASC. Hospitals almost always have more to offer along the lines of education and research, as well as connections with other surgeons and administrative staff. Surgeons employed directly by a hospital may also find that they have fewer hassles with administrative duties, as well as the less financial risk involved than with running a private practice.
On the other hand, hospitals often also have a great deal of bureaucracy (and possibly micro-management) that comes along with those opportunities. Practicing at an ambulatory surgery center means that your private practice is very much that: private. You make the decisions that you want for your career, without the schedule or management of hospital staffing getting in the way. Private practice surgeons who perform surgeries at ambulatory centers can claim more autonomy over their business choices.
YOUR PERSONAL LIFE
Scheduling surgeries through hospitals are often less flexible than at an ambulatory surgery center. In addition, hospital emergencies always have the possibility of throwing a kink into your plans. ASCs provide much more flexibility and freedom by scheduling in blocks and offering back-to-back surgeries with adjacent operating rooms. Plus, ambulatory centers are known for their ability to run on time.
Physicians whose work-life balance is currently off-kilter or hospital hours are too demanding may find that an ambulatory surgery center provides the key to a healthier personal life. Working the night shift at a hospital may not be ideal for those with a family at home, particularly once the kids are in school full-time.
Read More: Practicing at MSC: Providing the Work-Life Balance Physicians Deserve
Another important consideration when comparing hospitals to ambulatory surgery centers is location. Even simply navigating the long corridors of a hospital to get from the parking lot to the appropriate wing can be time-consuming. ASCs are often located in suburban areas, with ample parking and fewer stresses and anxieties related to traffic and commuting when compared with hospitals.
YOUR IDEAL ENVIRONMENT
As much as some doctors enjoy the fast pace of a hospital, others very much prefer the calm, less frantic environment of an outpatient surgery center. If you don’t mind working weekends and holidays, then a hospital environment might be fine for you. But if you would thrive in a more intimate environment where you have the autonomy to create your own preferred schedule, an outpatient surgery center offers more options for work-life balance.
If you’re a surgeon in New Jersey considering the positive and negative aspects of hospitals vs. New Jersey surgery centers, schedule a tour of our Mountain Surgery Center facilities. MSC provides doctors with a convenient, stress-free environment, enabling them to offer quality outpatient surgical procedures in facilities equipped with the latest technology, research, and treatments.
