General Surgeon

General Surgeon

Do you want to save someones life? Can you work under pressure? Can you work sixty hours or more a week? If any of this sounds interesting to you, then you might want to become a general surgeon.

What exactly is a surgeon you ask, surgeons are doctors with highly specialized training that can perform surgery on any part of the human body to correct deformities and problems caused by injury or disease. For example, an orthopedic surgeon might perform surgery to repair torn knee cartilage, while a cardiovascular surgeon might do open-heart surgery to save a heart attack victim.

There are many different kinds of surgery. Neurosurgery involves operating on the brain, nerves, or spinal cord, possibly to remove a brain tumor or repair damage done in an accident. Pediatric surgery is performed on children and adolescents. Laser eye surgery is performed to reduce vision impairments caused by problems such as cataracts. Plastic surgeons improve people's appearance, or the function of certain body parts. This type of surgery may be performed as a result of a congenital condition or an accident, or purely for aesthetic reasons.

Like other doctors, surgeons must complete a four-year Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) from an approved medical school. Applicants to medical school must first complete at least three years of study at a college; however, most applicants have at least a four-year degree. Although undergraduate degrees can be in any subject, most applicants take a large number of courses in the basic sciences--biology, chemistry, and physics. They must also pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Then, they must complete a four-year Doctor of Medicine degree (MD) from an accredited medical school.

Once the MD is obtained, graduates must complete a surgery residency, which takes a minimum of five years. During the course of the program, students are trained in general surgical procedures related to many parts of human anatomy, as well as in a