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Yup. I had to get some surgery done a few years back, and I went surgeon shopping. The surgeons did not like that one little bit. They got quite upset with me when they realised I was talking to several different surgeons and checking out my options.

Of course, as you point out, it is very difficult to evaluate medical professionals from a layman's perspective. I ended up talking to surgical nurses in the hospitals the surgeons worked out of. It was not easy finding the nurses, it took persistence and physically going to the hospitals in question and asking real nurses which nurses I need to talk to. Then I had to track those nurses down, and convince them to talk openly. It helped that I have a cousin that is a nurse, and she gave me some contacts / introductions.

I was glad I did it though. One of the surgeons on my shortlist had a very poor reputation amongst nurses as to his skills in the operating theatre, so I managed to avoid him.

As an aside, considering just how critical the nursing staff where about this guy's skills, it is incredible to me that he is still allowed to practice...