Want to be a surgeon, but I don't know if I could handle it or not

[SMad9]

It wasn't until recently that I realized that I have an actual interest in being a surgeon. I'm currently a senior in high school taking the Criminal Investigations pathway. I've always had a strong aspiration to help people and learned a little too late that being a cop wasn't going to cut it. In my classes we often see numerous horrific, gruesome events - all of which I emotionally can handle well. My problem is that I'm an emotional wreck when it comes to animals (a fault that attribute to my amazing grandmother). I distinctly remember my freshman year of high school walking out of my biology class before the frog dissections even started, all the while in tears. In all other aspects of the class I did exceptionally well. I feel by now that I have matured enough to push through it, but I don't want it to be something that holds me back. I have viewed autopsys and dozens of homocides and those don't bother me as much as animals. It sounds heartless, but I'm the kind of person who is affected more by animal trauma and death than that of human beings.

I think all I'm looking for here is advice and opinions of those pursing a career in surgery or are in the field themselves.

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[DesertPT]

If you are still in high school you have a lot of time to figure this out. Go to college. Then if you want to, be pre-med. If that works out and you decide you really do want to be a doctor, go to medical school. If you still have an interest in surgery and decide it is the field for you after your rotations and all your medical school experiences, then go for it. Basically, you are a minimum of 3 years away from even applying to medical school and a minimum of 8 years away from applying to surgery residencies. That's a long dang time, close to half the time you've actually been alive. So go into college and start doing some shadowing of various doctors (including surgeons of course) and other healthcare professionals and decide what you could see yourself doing for the rest of your life.

 

[Mad Jack]

The first thing you should ask yourself is "Do I want to be a doctor, even if I couldn't be a surgeon?" You can worry about the surgeon bit waaaaay later when you're on rotations, that's when you sort out what's right for you. Don't pick your specialty before you've even decided on what path to take- it's like saying you want to be a plant molecular geneticist when you haven't even started your bio degree. Figure out if the field interests you as a whole, then decide on what direction to enter within that field.

 

[Winged Scapula]

FWIW, I'm a surgeon and have the same feelings as you: my college boyfriend was pre-vet and I couldn't stand seeing the operative photos of animals. Humans? No problem but I can't stand seeing animals in pain.

 

[NeuResurgens]

You'll be fine as long as you don't become a vet!