It's a matter of honor. We live in an interesting time. The old rules of communication certainly seem to be different than past generations. Believe it or not, people, yes real humans actually used to regularly engage in verbal face-to-face communication. Yes, complete with facial expressions and emotional responses. The general population needed skills in face-to-face encounters to be successful in the business world and equally important, in our personal lives.
Times have changed and I'm not sure our social ethics have kept stride with the new cyberspace age dialogue. When was the last time you or your friends actually read an honest profile from any of the new "meet a mate" dot-com cyber fake social environment dot-net, dot-org...?
No face-to-face communication opens the door for anyone to fabricate, hallucinate, embellish or otherwise alter reality.
It's a matter of honor!
We all have to pay attention in this new regime where hallucinations are presented as fact. These changes are not only evident in social interactions, but perhaps even more so in the business profiles we encounter on the net.
What is real? I'm not sure people care anymore. We read a great website and make decisions based on what can be pure disillusion. No human contact is required or even more importantly, desired.
My life passion, Plastic and Reconstructive surgery, has been besieged by an army of pretenders. The poor reimbursements currently the norm doled out by the insurance industry have driven many insurance dependent physicians to the brink of bankruptcy. Attempting to stay afloat, many of these Board Certified physicians have reinvented themselves on cyperspace. They creatively design their websites to present themselves as something they are not. Smoke and mirrors!
Plastic and Reconstructive surgery is a very specific specialty. Usually the training period after medical school is seven to eight years followed by three years of extensive Board examinations before you can call yourself a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. There is no other way to become a Plastic Surgeon. No short cuts are available. It's a matter of honor.
Many cyberspace buzz words are rampant throughout the smorgasbord of websites for "Cosmetic Surgeons; Board Certified; Facial Plastic Surgeon; Lipoplasty Surgeon; Breast Specialist; Tummy Specialist; Liposculpting Specialist" to name a few that are commonly displayed verbal credential presented to the public.
These partial truth statements can make a variety of training backgrounds that may not have anything to do with surgery. For example, Board Certified can be in Obstetrics and Gynecology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Dermatology; Family Practice; General Surgery or even Psychiatry. All of these "specialists" can legally do anything to a patient who is naive enough to sign a permit if the surgery is performed at their own facility. These specialists cannot get privileges to perform any service, outside of their actual training background, in a hospital operating room. So an Ear, Nose and Throat or Facial Plastic Surgeon cannot do tummy tucks or breast enlargements or any other surgery below the neck at a hospital because they are not formally trained below the neck.
This loop hole in the law allows non-trained physicians to perform cosmetic surgery legally as long as it is performed in their office in-spite of no formal training.
Those of us that have finished the fifteen years of training after college to actually become Board Certified Plastic Surgeons have met every rigid requirement of the American Board of Medical Specialties, the governing body that determines the training requirements for all physicians.
We are required to be able to reconstruct any damaged or deformed part of the entire body regardless of cause; for example: congenital, disease process, trauma, or aging. Cosmetic surgery simply has evolved from the methods derived from these reconstructive efforts through the years. Most of us are well into our thirties by the time we finish training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Our lives have truly been dedicated to being the best we can be to serve you, the patient.
I'm of Sicilian American heritage with all four grandparents from the same village in Sicily. My father became a physician, as well as his younger brother. There are now seventeen Longo M.D.'s in the family. My father died at 87 years old still practicing medicine. His patients were all extended family. I have been a Plastic Surgeon for twenty-six years and certainly give myself entirely to my patients as is my family tradition. It's a matter of honor.
Charles T. Longo, M.D.
Times have changed and I'm not sure our social ethics have kept stride with the new cyberspace age dialogue. When was the last time you or your friends actually read an honest profile from any of the new "meet a mate" dot-com cyber fake social environment dot-net, dot-org...?
No face-to-face communication opens the door for anyone to fabricate, hallucinate, embellish or otherwise alter reality.
It's a matter of honor!
We all have to pay attention in this new regime where hallucinations are presented as fact. These changes are not only evident in social interactions, but perhaps even more so in the business profiles we encounter on the net.
What is real? I'm not sure people care anymore. We read a great website and make decisions based on what can be pure disillusion. No human contact is required or even more importantly, desired.
My life passion, Plastic and Reconstructive surgery, has been besieged by an army of pretenders. The poor reimbursements currently the norm doled out by the insurance industry have driven many insurance dependent physicians to the brink of bankruptcy. Attempting to stay afloat, many of these Board Certified physicians have reinvented themselves on cyperspace. They creatively design their websites to present themselves as something they are not. Smoke and mirrors!
Plastic and Reconstructive surgery is a very specific specialty. Usually the training period after medical school is seven to eight years followed by three years of extensive Board examinations before you can call yourself a Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon. There is no other way to become a Plastic Surgeon. No short cuts are available. It's a matter of honor.
Many cyberspace buzz words are rampant throughout the smorgasbord of websites for "Cosmetic Surgeons; Board Certified; Facial Plastic Surgeon; Lipoplasty Surgeon; Breast Specialist; Tummy Specialist; Liposculpting Specialist" to name a few that are commonly displayed verbal credential presented to the public.
These partial truth statements can make a variety of training backgrounds that may not have anything to do with surgery. For example, Board Certified can be in Obstetrics and Gynecology; Ear, Nose and Throat; Dermatology; Family Practice; General Surgery or even Psychiatry. All of these "specialists" can legally do anything to a patient who is naive enough to sign a permit if the surgery is performed at their own facility. These specialists cannot get privileges to perform any service, outside of their actual training background, in a hospital operating room. So an Ear, Nose and Throat or Facial Plastic Surgeon cannot do tummy tucks or breast enlargements or any other surgery below the neck at a hospital because they are not formally trained below the neck.
This loop hole in the law allows non-trained physicians to perform cosmetic surgery legally as long as it is performed in their office in-spite of no formal training.
Those of us that have finished the fifteen years of training after college to actually become Board Certified Plastic Surgeons have met every rigid requirement of the American Board of Medical Specialties, the governing body that determines the training requirements for all physicians.
We are required to be able to reconstruct any damaged or deformed part of the entire body regardless of cause; for example: congenital, disease process, trauma, or aging. Cosmetic surgery simply has evolved from the methods derived from these reconstructive efforts through the years. Most of us are well into our thirties by the time we finish training in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Our lives have truly been dedicated to being the best we can be to serve you, the patient.
I'm of Sicilian American heritage with all four grandparents from the same village in Sicily. My father became a physician, as well as his younger brother. There are now seventeen Longo M.D.'s in the family. My father died at 87 years old still practicing medicine. His patients were all extended family. I have been a Plastic Surgeon for twenty-six years and certainly give myself entirely to my patients as is my family tradition. It's a matter of honor.
Charles T. Longo, M.D.