Should i be a surgeon?

Question

What type of determination does it take to be a surgeon?
How will i know what type of surgeon i should be?
How long would i be in school?
I love examining models and disecting them and learning muscles and functions of organs. I love drawing the human body. I love how things are put together inside of it.
How would i know i had what it takes?
Could someone give me the real deal on being a surgeon?

Answer 1

You need determination and skill, intelligence and dedication. You need top grades in HS and need to get into a tier 1 school, preferably a top 25. 4 years of undergrad in PreMed, then 4 years of Medical school. Then the internship, then the specialty. You'll probably be around 31 or 32 when you're done, and then you need to work with established doctors. The truth is at that level, you will be expected to continually read journal articles and literature to stay on top of your field, plus contribute (write, lecture, etc.) In essence, you will be expected to learn all you can, continually, for the rest of your life. Your schooling will never be done (thought the finals will end, mercifully). It makes sense, for a surgeon.

Also, surgery is a job you never leave at the office. Most surgeons are on call all the time, and have to forgo drinking, vacations, etc., especially if someones life is on the line. It's not easy.

Upside is a $400K/year salary, and the knowledge that you are saving lives and touching people's lives daily in a way very few will ever understand.

Answer 2

The real way to find out about this is to work all your contacts until you find a surgeon who is willing to talk to you about his/her job. You might even be able to 'shadow' them in the hospital.

To become a surgeon you first have to graduate from med school. That means graduating from a good college with excellent marks, including especially good marks in the prerequisite courses for med school. Once you are in med school you are trained first to be a physician, then after you graduate from med school you get to choose which area of medicine you want to specialize in. For surgery you would need to do 5 to 7 years of extra training after med school.

Surgeons make a lot of money and they can be under a lot of stress. They have to do difficult procedures every day, and if they mess up someone is going to die. That's not an easy thing for some people to deal with. You have to be the right kind of person to have the self confidence to do that.

Answer 3

Before being a surgeon, you have to be an internist, which requires you to have a very good memory and learn fast.
The best bet for you to be sure is to pick up a copy of Torta's "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology" (which you can an older edition for cheap in any book store), and see if you find it easy or difficult. If the work is easy and/or can be memorized quickly, you might want to go for a medical career.

Answer 4

yes