Cardiac Surgery *** Maybe you guys could help?

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Futurepsych77

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So I have been doing very well in pre-med. I have a 3.9 overall GPA and am doing pretty well in my practice MCATs. My orthopedic surgeon let me meet a few of his friends who are also surgeons and I researched what the differences in branches are like.

I find cardiac surgery the most interesting and wondering if you guys have any advice about going into this field specifically. I want to know where I could find out what its like and if anyone knows a cardiac surgeon. I want to know what types of people tend to end up cardiac surgeons and what types of lifestyles they have. I am very excited and wonder if anybody has any tips for someone who wants to do this specifically like places to volunteer or specific people to get in contact with.

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Keep shadowing the surgeons. That would be the best place to get that kind of information...right at the source. Their lifestyles won't differ drastically from other surgeons in other specialties.

I know that this was your first semester, so good work with the grades. Keep it up.
 
Keep shadowing the surgeons. That would be the best place to get that kind of information...right at the source. Their lifestyles won't differ drastically from other surgeons in other specialties.

I know that this was your first semester, so good work with the grades. Keep it up.

Agree with most of it. Just shadow more and see what it is like first hand.

I don't really agree with the lifestyles not differing. The two cardiac guys I know take far more call than a lot of fields. The call pool is just so much smaller and they seem to be much more neurotic about their clinocal outcomes. Specialties will differ a lot in many areas.
 
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Agree with most of it. Just shadow more and see what it is like first hand.

I don't really agree with the lifestyles not differing. The two cardiac guys I know take far more call than a lot of fields. The call pool is just so much smaller and they seem to be much more neurotic about their clinocal outcomes. Specialties will differ a lot in many areas.
Aye, you are definitely right. I was more implying that, perhaps, a CT surgeon's lifestyle will be more like that of a colorectal surgeon than the lifestyle of a PM&R doc will be to that of the CT. Thanks for pointing that out!
 
It's awesome that you're excited about a possible future field, but remember that you don't need to choose right now. No need to go crazy just yet, heck most M2s and M3s are still trying to figure out what they want to do. Keep exploring lots of fields and learn as much as you can, but there is absolutely NOTHING you need to be doing now to ensure a career in CT surg except for getting into med school.

Remember to enjoy college and do whatever it is you youths do nowadays for fun.
 
So I have been doing very well in pre-med. I have a 3.9 overall GPA and am doing pretty well in my practice MCATs. My orthopedic surgeon let me meet a few of his friends who are also surgeons and I researched what the differences in branches are like.

I find cardiac surgery the most interesting and wondering if you guys have any advice about going into this field specifically. I want to know where I could find out what its like and if anyone knows a cardiac surgeon. I want to know what types of people tend to end up cardiac surgeons and what types of lifestyles they have. I am very excited and wonder if anybody has any tips for someone who wants to do this specifically like places to volunteer or specific people to get in contact with.

Most cardiothoracic surgery programs are transitioning into an integrated "I-6" model in which you apply directly after medical school (similar to integrated plastics/vascular). Beware though, and make sure you do your research. CT surgery lifestyle is very poor (comparable to or even worse than neurosurgery, worse than ortho, and much, much worse than urology or ENT). The job market for CT surgeons is also very bad right now, with interventional cardiologists controlling the patient base and bypass surgery becoming less and less frequent.
 
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