How can I avoid having a rookie surgeon work on me?

You're well within your rights to ask how many times the surgeon has performed the specific surgery and to ask whom he or she will delegate certain parts of the operation to. (You remember Hawkeye on M*A*S*H saying "Close for me" to the nurse, don't ya?)

Now, would you mind too terribly if the 29-year-old resident performed his first operation ever on you? Or performed a part of it under a more experienced surgeon's watchful eye? You would? Well, how do you think we get new surgeons in this world? Somebody has to be the first patient.

But I'm with you all the way. I wouldn't let a new surgeon work on me, either. Smart patients know that it's a possibility (especially during the summer months), but they're in the educated minority.

When you go in for surgery, kindly ask the surgeon if he or she will actually be performing the surgery and request that residents or others only assist. One thing a smart patient doesn't do, however, is insist that a surgeon do everything. It sounds prudent, but you don't want the surgeon personally inserting your IV if he or she hasn't done it in 14 years.