Some general questions

[GrantM]

Hi, I just finished my freshman year in high school about a month ago. I plan on being a surgeon. I just have a few general questions about a couple different things.

As I mentioned before, I just finished my freshman year. I did not get as good of grades as I should have (three B's and nine A's over both semesters), because I didn't work as hard as I should have. I take the highest level courses (honors, AP, and Pre AP) possible at my school, and plan on working much harder in the coming years. I have a little over a 4.0 GPA. My question is, have I already ruined a lot of oppurtunities for myself by messing up this year or will I be able to make up for it?

I plan on going to Emory University (for undergrad at least). From what I've read, Pre Med is NOT a major, correct? So if I plan to go to medical school, I am just a Pre Med student and major in something else (such as biology)?

Also, I don't really understand how medical school works. Do you take classes in the field you want to go into, or just general classes? And if you do take classes in your specific field, could anyone who has done it tell me what medical school is like for aspiring surgeons? What are some of the better medical schools for surgeons?

Do surgeons have to complete a yearlong surgical internship before completing their residency? Also, from reading a lot of threads here, it seems like most people do their residencies at university hospitals. Can you complete residencies at (I don't know what they would be called) "non-university" hospitals?

Also, I'm not sure what type of surgeon I would like to be. I'm debating between General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic, or OB/GYN. I know I have plenty of time to decide, but I would just like an idea of what each is like. What are some differences between each?

Also, for anyone who is a surgeon, what is the lifestyle like?

Sorry about all these questions, but any advice and answers would be appreciated!

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[Daedra22]

First, you're in highschool. Relax. If you get B's and above and have a decent ACT/SAT score, you'll be able to get into almost any college you like easy. Getting into college is not that hard. Once you get there, you can major in anything you like. A lot of people chose biology or chemistry of some kind, but that's really up to you. Take what you like and do well in the pre-reqs. Beyond that, you needn't worry.

Surgery has one of the most chaotic lifestyles, and you'll probably change your mind between now and ~12 years from now when you'll actually be getting into residency. In med school you will typically get to do electives in your fourth year, which can take place anywhere in the country. That is where your medical school education will become more "specialized," but not before. There are no medical schools specially made for surgeons; a good medical school is a good medical school, and will allow you to get into a residency you like (residency = 1 year as an intern + x years as a resident) -- note that surgery is one of the longest residencies, particularly if you specialize in something. Most residencies are completed in university hospitals, but recent legislation may open up residencies in more diverse environments. We'll see more of this in the coming years.

If you're interested in 7 year BS/MD or BS/DO programs, then you might want to look into shadowing some surgeons in a couple years (i.e., while still in highschool, which can be tough). Otherwise, shadowing in college will be just fine. If you go into a university the traditional way--as in, not a 7-year program--what you do in high school will NOT go on your med school application. Please don't forget that: highschool EC's do not go on your medical school application. Only 7-year programs will really look at that, since you apply right out of high school.

Enjoy highschool, and enjoy college. You have many years of training ahead of you, and currently you're in the earliest, most kick-back stages of your academic life. By the sound of it, you're doing just fine.

 

[deleted202457]

First, you're in highschool. Relax. If you get B's and above and have a decent ACT/SAT score, you'll be able to get into almost any college you like easy. Getting into college is not that hard. Once you get there, you can major in anything you like. A lot of people chose biology or chemistry of some kind, but that's really up to you. Take what you like and do well in the pre-reqs. Beyond that, you needn't worry.

Surgery has one of the most chaotic lifestyles, and you'll probably change your mind between now and ~12 years from now when you'll actually be getting into residency. In med school you will typically get to do electives in your fourth year, which can take place anywhere in the country. That is where your medical school education will become more "specialized," but not before. There are no medical schools specially made for surgeons; a good medical school is a good medical school, and will allow you to get into a residency you like (residency = 1 year as an intern + x years as a resident) -- note that surgery is one of the longest residencies, particularly if you specialize in something. Most residencies are completed in university hospitals, but recent legislation may open up residencies in more diverse environments. We'll see more of this in the coming years.

If you're interested in 7 year BS/MD or BS/DO programs, then you might want to look into shadowing some surgeons in a couple years (i.e., while still in highschool, which can be tough). Otherwise, shadowing in college will be just fine. If you go into a university the traditional way--as in, not a 7-year program--what you do in high school will NOT go on your med school application. Please don't forget that: highschool EC's do not go on your medical school application. Only 7-year programs will really look at that, since you apply right out of high school.

Enjoy highschool, and enjoy college. You have many years of training ahead of you, and currently you're in the earliest, most kick-back stages of your academic life. By the sound of it, you're doing just fine.

I agree with everything above. And one thing I strongly believe is scores are not the only thing that matter. Yes you should have the highest GPA and SAT/ACT you can get, but that ain't everything. Most ppl get so wrapped up in academics they forget to be a well-rounded applicant. Play a sport, join clubs, do community service, do something outside of the classroom. It's these things that will set you up for scholarship and admission to big schools. Also, sometimes these things can be continued into college (i.e. sports, community service, etc), which looks very good for med school and shows a huge commitment and that you are passionate about something.

Also, there is like a 90% chance you will change your mind at least once before it comes time to choose a residency, so don't stress about that so much. The pathway is the same whether you wanna be a surgeon or a dermatologist all the way up until residency. Try to enjoy life while you can b/c it gets harder to do so each step along the way.

And one more thing, major in whatever you want. A science major will give you no advantage over any other applicant and it won't better prepare you for the MCAT. When you pick a major do something you want to do. It's your last chance to do something non medical related, so if you have other interests persue them. When you pick a major you should be able to answer the question "why did you choose this major?" and the answer should be b/c you love it, or were interested, not "b/c I thought it would help with med school."

 

[mspeedwagon]

OP, you are too far away to think about many of these things. If you plan to apply to a BS/MD program then I agree with the poster that said to focus on making yourself a well-rounded applicant along with very high SAT scores and a great GPA (3.75+).

If you are not considering BS/MD programs than relax and have fun. High school won't matter for medical school. Maybe very slightly indirectly since it can affect the type of college you go to, but honestly it won't much. Have fun and enjoy life. Once you get to college you will need nearly straight As and will have to turn down a lot of tempation. For example: Friend: "Hi, all of us are going to the pub, there are going to be a lot of hot girls and you can score easily." Pre-med student: "Can't. O-chem exam tomorrow."

Definitely don't worry about speciality. There are many, many factors that will decide that. For surgery you need strong medical school grades, rankings, USMLE scores and recommendations from your surgery rotations. Without those things, surgery is not an option for med students (no matter how much you want to do it).

Also, Ob/Gyn is separate from surgery. And it's actually among the least desired jobs in medicine. Do a few google searches. Babies can born 24 hrs so you can end up on-call at odd hrs. There are some rather bad disease of the vaginal tract and they can be far from appealing: bacterial vaginosis for example. Pretty low on most peoples list.