Surgeons rely on their training, experience and skill, but none of that matters if they develop a problem with their hands - the most basic item needed to do their jobs. So, to protect their assets, a number of them insure their hands, according to a new poll.
A survey of 100 surgeons nationwide conducted by Truth On Call for msnbc.com found that 24 insure their hands, 39 don't currently but are thinking about it and 37 don't.
One of those who does is Dr. Nancy Snyderman, NBC’s chief medical editor. On Tuesday, during a TODAY segment, Snyderman said she insures her hands because “I’ve always thought that someday there would be an executive who would say, 'I don’t want her face on television anymore,' and my television career would be over. I could always put food on my table being a surgeon.” (You can watch the video here -- she makes the comment around the 7:08 mark.)
Dr. Joseph Colella, a bariatric surgeon in Pittsburgh, insures his hands for about $8 million.
“It doesn’t insure you for your salary; it insures you for your ability to do your job,” says Colella. “I could still be a neurologist or anesthesiologist, but that may not be what I want to do. If something happened to my hands, it may force me to a career choice that I’m not interested in.”
If you were going to insure a body part, which one would you choose?