I’ve been very interested in medicine and I’ve realized that I might want ti become a surgeon. I realized that sometimes you feel a little awkward when watching some surgeries like slight numbness. How do I still know if I can perform surgery if I was to become a surgeon. I am really interested in it and I am totally fine dissecting animals does that mean I should be good with performing surgery on a human being?
Too early to say. Focus on graduating high school first.
Hard to say. Bring a surgeon requires a certain amount of hubris, I think. You need to be confident that you can cut into a person and fix their problem. But you don’t have to pick a specialty until late in med school – there are so many options. You don’t need to pick one now. You’ll get a chance to figure out if it is for you later on if you make it to med school at all.
It’s hard to say. The ability to dissect animals has absolutely zero to do with having the right stuff to become a surgeon. other than showing you have the minimal hand dexterity needed. (BTW, the amount of hand dexterity needed to become a surgeon is fairly low.)
No one knows if surgery is “for them” until they actually get in the OR and spent 8 or 9 hours straight snipping away disseminated cancerous tumors or tying off dozens upon dozens of tiny blood vessels while removing a part of the liver or intestines. Surgery is tedious, painstaking work, requiring intense concentration.
Then there’s pre- and post-operative management of you patients. And clinic and rounds and consults. Probably only 1/2 or less of your “doctoring” time is spent in the OR.
When and if you get to med school, during your 3rd year every med student will spend 4-8 weeks doing a surgery clinical rotation. You either like surgery or you don’t. And even if you like surgery. you may not want to pursue it as your specialty. A surgical residency is extremely demanding (some call it toxic) with very long hours and very little time off and lasts 5 years. (Longer if you sub-specialize–which about half of surgeons do.)
So–for your immediate future, concentrate on doing well in your classes and getting into college.
@raclut @intparent @WayOutWestMom thank you I’m asking because I’m thinking about going to a 7 year medical program straight out of high school. If you have any opinions on them please share. Thanks!
Whether you can perform surgery has nothing to do with a 7 year program. You will still go through rotations like every other med student and then decide what is best for you.
^And the overwhelming majority of surgeons did not graduate from direct admit programs.