There used to be surgeons too …

Abstract

The days of the conventional physician seem numbered and one can almost see the day when surgical operations will be performed by robots possibly monitored by a surgeon initially. Surgical emergencies will be dealt with by mobile surgical units that are self-contained and whiz around town performing operations quietly and efficiently. After all, most of the time diagnoses are based on symptom clusters and a well-programmed robot can do the same, with no room for errors due to anxiety, substance misuse, anger, exhaustion, etc., effectively using advanced imaging techniques. It seems increasingly likely that with rapid progress in science we as physicians may be a dying breed. All except, possibly, psychiatry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)