title: Reducing the need for surgeons by reducing pollution-derived workload: is there a role for surgeons?
abstract: The need for additional surgical workforce personnel is likely to increase dramatically at a rate beyond our capacity to train them. As surgical training programmes cannot be rapidly expanded, this paper explores an alternative solution to the quandary, a reduction of the disease burden by a war on pollution. Highlighting the role of pollutants in increasing the surgical workload, it identifies potential roles for surgeons in the battle against pollution and draws attention to the need to research out agents which could protect humans against their carcinogenic effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Section of Urology, Aga Khan University, Stadium Road, Karachi, Pakistan. jamsheer.talati@aku.edu
authors.forename: Jamsheer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Talati
authors.forename: Riaz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Agha
authors.forename: Maliha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Agha
authors.forename: Richard David
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Rosin
mesh_terms: D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011634:Public Health; D016526:Workload