Becoming A Surgeon

Surgeons operate on patients to treat injuries, such as broken bones; diseases, such as cancerous tumors; and deformities. During the course of an operation, the surgeon must make important decisions about the patient’s health, safety, and welfare. Additionally, the surgeon must work to ensure cooperation among the other members of the surgical team and make sure everything runs smoothly in the operating room. There are several settings a surgeon can work in: a private practice, academic medicine, institutional practice, hospitals, ambulatory surgery settings, and government service programs. Working as a surgeon can be very stressful and is not a job for everyone. To be a surgeon someone has to be intelligent, creative, courageous and a leader. Being a surgeon is a life long process and you must have discipline and be as flexible as possible. Its very important that surgeons seek out all opportunities to be in the operating room. Becoming a surgeon is a very lengthy process. It requires four years of undergraduate school, four years of medical school and 3-10 years of residency and fellowship training. John Hopkins University, Harvard University, Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania are some of the best colleges to go to, to become a surgeon. The average cost of education to become a surgeon is about $150,000-$250,000 or more.
The salary for a general surgeon ranges from $107,000-$368,000.
But, the average salary is about $249,000 per year. Depending on different surgeon’s job and area of study, they can either make more of less money. Employment for surgeons is expected to grow 18% from 2012-2022, faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will occur because of the continued expansion of healthcare-related industries. The growing and ageing population is expected to drive the overall growth in the demand for surgical
services.