ABSTRACT
The art of surgery is of vital importance to modern medicine and is a key component of modern healthcare. The art of surgery is governed by five constant factors; these require consideration in one’s thoughts, analyses and decision making when reflecting on a surgical problem or assessing a patient. These are patient safety and ethics; science, anatomy and research; operating environment and staff; the surgeon; and surgical training. Patient Safety and Ethics allows doctors and health practitioners to be in complete accord with their fundamental values, so that they will follow these regardless of their careers, undismayed by complex pathologies and dangerous diseases. Science, Anatomy and Research represents the knowledge of the human body, its diseases and treatments. Operating environment and staff comprises the context in which operations take place. The surgeon stands for the virtues of leadership, wisdom, sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. Enhanced surgical training can offer higher quality surgeons, improved patient outcomes and ultimately enriched patient well-being.
