What does a Neonatal Surgeon do

Practical Adult Insights; Madison (WI); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Practical Adult Insights is seeking a skilled Neonatal Surgeon to join their team in Madison, Wisconsin. The successful candidate will be responsible for performing complex surgeries on newborn babies and overseeing their post-surgical care.

This role requires advanced training that goes beyond pediatric surgery, with responsibilities including assessing newborns, discussing surgical needs with families, and collaboration with healthcare teams to ensure the best outcomes for vulnerable infants.

Qualifications

• Completion of college and medical school.
• Passage of a licensing exam.
• Five to eight years of general surgery residency.

Responsibilities

• Perform surgeries on newborns to correct medical conditions.
• Evaluate and diagnose newborn patients.
• Discuss abnormalities with parents and prepare for surgery.

Skills

Advanced surgical skills

Diagnosis and evaluation

Communication with families

Education

Medical degree and surgical residency

Completion of pediatric surgery specialization

Job description

Neonatal Surgeon

A neonatal surgeon performs operations on newborn babies. Such surgeries require the level of knowledge and skill a doctor acquires through years of extra training. These doctors work to correct serious medical conditions and disorders that affect newborns. A neonatal specialist often performs surgical operations on infants who have birth defects that affect the chest and abdominal region. This type of doctor may work to repair defects of the urogenital tract as well.

Overview

When a doctor specializes in neonatal surgery, he is a type of pediatric surgeon. This means he specializes in treating children. A neonatal surgeon, however, has received advanced training beyond that required to become a pediatric surgeon. This advanced training has prepared him to provide care for infants, for whom surgery is often very risky. Once trained, a neonatal surgeon works with a team of health care professionals that is skilled in providing the best possible care to these vulnerable, young patients.

Responsibilities

Besides the actual surgery a neonatal surgeon performs, he is typically involved in other aspects of a patient’s care. He usually evaluates and diagnoses newborn patients and then determines the treatment required. In some cases, he may provide an evaluation of a baby before he is even born, using an ultrasound machine to look for physical abnormalities in the developing baby. He may discuss any abnormalities with the unborn baby’s parents and prepare them for the child's medical needs after birth. A neonatal surgeon is responsible for overseeing the patient's preparation for surgery and for overseeing the patient’s care during the critical post-surgical period.

Qualifications

In order to become a neonatal surgeon, a person typically completes college and spends four years in medical school. He is then required to pass a licensing exam to gain the right to practice medicine in his jurisdiction. An aspiring neonatal specialist usually goes on to complete on-the-job training in general surgery (residency), followed by specialized training in pediatric surgery with neonatal surgery as his focus. The residency often takes five to eight years to complete, and the specialty surgical training may last for an additional two years.