Itinerant Surgeons

ABSTRACT

Definition of Itinerant (Oxford dictionary) adj. 1 travelling from place to place; 2 (of a judge, minister etc) travelling within a circuit; 3 (of a teacher) working at more than one school. n a person who travels from place to place, esp. as a minister etc from Latin iter itiner-journey. I believe that there are two kinds of itinerant surgeon 1. The surgeon who enters a foreign place, performs surgery and leaves without proper follow-up care. 2. The surgeon who, in concert with a local surgeon, enters foreign country, performs surgery, has academic exchanges of skills and ideas and is satisfied that continuity of care is established and maintained. It is important that the distinction between the two is recognised and appreciated because, clearly, the second definition can be beneficial to all concerned (host doctors, patients and governments). Hopefully, a broadminded and objective view can be maintained during the discussions.(AU)