Thread: What education is recommended for the individual who wishes to be a surgeon?

The more specific the better. I wrote a short story about a man chasing his dream. I'm going to make him a surgeon and I need to know what he accomplished academically that allowed him to obtain his expertise as a surgeon.

If he is aiming to become a doctor he won't have any surgical expertise, after one has spent seven years qualifying as a doctor one may chose to specialise,, general practice obstetrics, cardiology, internal medicine, ear nose and throat ..... or maybe I'll cut people up while they are still alive.

Sorry not a lot of help.

I edited the question. Thx for answering.

Originally Posted by Olly Buckle

If he is aiming to become a doctor he won't have any surgical expertise, after one has spent seven years qualifying as a doctor one may chose to specialise,, general practice obstetrics, cardiology, internal medicine, ear nose and throat ..... or maybe I'll cut people up while they are still alive.

Sorry not a lot of help.

My story had the MC aim to be a doctor. But I'm going to change his goal from being a doctor to being a surgeon

You need a pre-med course. Any BS degree will do, though of course, it is preferred that you study health-related fields, e.g. Biology, Nursing, Med-Tech, Rad-Tech, etc. Then, you go to med proper. A GP (Gen. Practitioner) degree takes four years to finish. Then, you take on residency, another four years. Once you decide which field you're on, you specialize. Surgery specialization takes about four years as well. By that time, you have become a general surgeon. A specialist surgeon (e.g. neurosurgeon, gastro-, etc.) you take on a couple more years in that field.

Originally Posted by TheFuhrer02

You need a pre-med course. Any BS degree will do, though of course, it is preferred that you study health-related fields, e.g. Biology, Nursing, Med-Tech, Rad-Tech, etc. Then, you go to med proper. A GP (Gen. Practitioner) degree takes four years to finish. Then, you take on residency, another four years. Once you decide which field you're on, you specialize. Surgery specialization takes about four years as well. By that time, you have become a general surgeon. A specialist surgeon (e.g. neurosurgeon, gastro-, etc.) you take on a couple more years in that field.

Tarunerebel:
After reading the above, I hope your character has rich parents!

Heh. Usually after the general course you're a registered doctor, so you work and study at the same time. It's still expensive, but you can pay for it since you're being paid anyway.

In the British system, you do your A-levels (sort of like pre-med). Usually you're required to do science stuff in that (biology, chemistry, physics, math, that sort of stuff) and you go onto medical school. It's 5 years there, after which you get your MBBS degree, which is the general degree and you're a doctor. You spend a year as an intern, which means you're still supervised but you get paid. After that, you're free to become a house officer/resident in whatever field you choose, provided there's space available. It's a job like any other job, and there are interviews and all that like with anything. Specialising in surgery is the same as in the US and it takes about the same amount of time.