why do people become proctologists?
Well, somebody has to do it.
It’s a niche market.
I’m not aware of the existence of this specialty per se. There are gastroenterologists who deal with the whole digestive tract and there are colo-rectal surgeons.
The joke answers may continue now.
Assk somebody else.
…Butt don’t be surprised to get some more joke answers.
Even a half-Assed one like this.
[We praise the colorectal surgeon
Misunderstood and much maligned
Slaving away in the heart of darkness
Working where the sun don’t shine
Respect the colorectal surgeon
It’s a calling few would crave
Lift up your hands and join us
Let’s all do the finger wave](http://www.bowserandblue.com/clips/colorectal.rm)
The question was already assed. Therefore, it must be **ass-**umed that there is an answer to be found. Or perhaps the OP is just being too anal.
I remember the last time someone asked another doper had a friend who had that job (IIRC) and they said one of the perks was that you almost never get called in the middle of the night about an emergency.
But when you do get called in the middle of the night, it must be really, really unpleasant.
Likewise, I’m in medical school and I have never met or heard of a proctologist. I know plenty of colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, and urologists who spend a lot of time in that region. But they also deal with a lot of stuff elsewhere. Colorectal surgeons do a lot of relatively interesting surgeries; gastroenterologists see a wide variety of complaints, many not even involving poo. Nearly every male will one day need a urologist to deal with benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostate cancer, infertility, varicocoeles, or a number of other relatively interesting things.
They’re a perfect match. She’s a proctocologist, and he’s a pain in the ass.
Well someone has to be at the bottom of the pile.
Julie
Fundament-ally speaking, the hole thing reeks. It’s a slippery slope when you’re a proctologist, you have to keep your hand in, so to speak. Outcome does not always equal input. Astronomy aside, Uranus isn’t that wonderful. Where does it all end?
My father (a cardio-vascular surgeon) once told me that this specialization has one rather unique advantage.
You have the most thankful patients of all doctors.
They suffer very hard from their illnesses and often have nobody to talk about it. Once you help them you found a new friend for lifetime. 
Keep in mind that other specializations are not necessarily as nice as they look a first glance either.
Btw. At least in Germany proctologist is an accepted formal specialization.
Sounds like a re-title of the job descripton, like secretaries being renamed administrative assistants.
I did a search of my insurance, looking for a proctologist. They don’t even list proctologist as a specialist. But, they also list abortion as “Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy”.
However, if I look in my local Yellow Pages, I find several doctors listed under Proctology.
And I find too many references to “fecal incontinence” to continue my Google searching this early in the morning…
In all seriousness, I would imagine that doctors who are looking for a specialty in which there is relatively little competition and do not require extraordinary skills (like, say, neurosurgeons) might look quite favorably on this. They are unlikely to have emergencies and can set their own hours.
It’s steady work. In that particular specialty, there are always plenty of openings…