how many years would I have to stay in college and what degrees would i have to get in order to become a surgeon?
How long would I have to stay in school? If I wanted to go to community college is there some that may help me pursue my dream of being a surgeon? What degrees would I need to become a surgeon? What is some advice I could get? #doctor #healthcare #surgery #college #medicine
4 answers
Angelica Kennedy, BFA, MEd, MA
Angelica’s Answer
The answer to this question begins with where you would like to ultimately be in your career. Since you know that you would like to be a surgeon, I would encourage you to meet and engage with a mentor who is a surgeon. Ask him or her how they began their career, follow their example but make changes to meet your goals.
All schools and paths are different. So the best advice that I can encourage is to find an area in the field that you would like to concentrate on and a medical college that will help you to reach your goals. Find out the requirements for admittance and you will know where to begin. However, most students start with a science degree, go on to a medical college for their medical degree and concentration of surgical science. The amount of years it will take will depend on your career goals, your college and medical school choices.
I hope these words encourage you!
Angelica recommends the following next steps:
Richard’s Answer
In the US, to apply to medical school, you need a bachelor's degree. Any 4-year university should suffice.
Pick a major that interests you so you don't mind devoting a majority of your hours to studying. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.
Aside from this, any major is acceptable as long as you complete the prerequisite courses. I chose to major in biochemistry because there was overlap with the premed requirements and I wanted to complete my degree in 3 years.
Typical medical school prerequisites include:
Biology: Lecture – 4 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
General Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Organic Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Biochemistry: Lecture – 1 semester
General Physics: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Math: Statistics – 1 semester
English: Rhetoric (Composition) and Literature – 2 semesters
Try to find opportunities to pursue research.
Volunteer at your local hospital or low-income clinic. Ask physicians, PAs or other clinical providers if you can shadow them.
During college study for and complete the MCAT. Devote an entire summer to studying for the MCAT and consider paying for a prep course if you can afford it.
Apply to medical schools during your last year of college.
Medical school takes 4 years to complete.
After medical school surgeons complete a 5-year residency for additional training. These are sometimes followed by an additional year or two of fellowship subspecialty training.
Eric’s Answer
I would think at least 8 years.
Medical School is where you complete the degree work to become a doctor, the residency portion is where you decide what type of doctor you want to be an specialize in that. The pre-requisite for medical school is any undergraduage degree. Some lean towards biology, chemistry or health sciences - but any will do. It's the MCAT that gets you end.
The first 4 steps as I understand them:
Step 1: Earn a Bachelor's Degree. ...
Step 2: Take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) ...
Step 3: Earn a Medical Degree. ...
Step 4: Complete a Residency Program. ...
Felicia G’s Answer
Hi Candy! I would suggest talking to your school counselor so that can give you direction on who to talk to at the college level.
Felicia G recommends the following next steps: