How long does it take to become a surgeon?

[sshung]

Starting from the first year of medical school, how many years does it take for one to become a surgeon? Would it be impossible to date or even get married before early 30's?

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[iceman132]

Starting from the first year of medical school, how many years does it take for one to become a surgeon? Would it be impossible to date or even get married before early 30's?

Absolutely not.

They give you a chastity belt and lock you in the hospital until age 40 for a surgery residency.

And everyone wonders why surgeons are so cranky.

 

[orthomyxo]

bout tree fiddy

 

[CodeBlu]

4 years u grad

4 years med school

5 years general surgery residency including internship

then holler back to any fellowships you do..

total? 13 years after high school.

 

[gettheleadout]

4 years u grad

4 years med school

5 years general surgery residency including internship

then holler back to any fellowships you do..

total? 13 years after high school.

You could shave two years off of that depending on state residence if you had a boatload of AP/CC credit from high school and graduated college in half the time. Not that that would be smart or common, but it's possible.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Q7b-vHY3Q[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Doctor246853]

[YOUTUBE]H-Q7b-vHY3Q[/YOUTUBE]

 

[45408]

You could shave two years off of that depending on state residence if you had a boatload of AP/CC credit from high school and graduated college in half the time. Not that that would be smart or common, but it's possible.

Out of 200 people in my med school, I think 2 managed to shave any years off, and one had gone to school on another continent for a portion of her schooling.

Out of my residency program, I'm the only one who started residency at age 26. Don't plan on being done before 31-32 at the soonest.

 

[gettheleadout]

Out of 200 people in my med school, I think 2 managed to shave any years off, and one had gone to school on another continent for a portion of her schooling.

Out of my residency program, I'm the only one who started residency at age 26. Don't plan on being done before 31-32 at the soonest.

Oh trust me, I don't. I was just saying.

 

[Freigeist]

also, keep in mind diff surgery subspecialties have diff residency lengths. eg: neurosurgery is 7 years

 

[E46Chick]

Yep that sounds right! I am 31 and finishing up my last 3 years of undergrad (time off to work an excellent sales career and take care of mentally ill mother) and I am an aspiring general surgeon. The advice I would give is 1) Don't take your aspiration too seriously as this might change once you do your rotation. 2) If you are looking at how much time it will take you will get discouraged because being a doctor is a long, hard and expensive road to travel and we do it because we are science and math nerds who love it and/or we simply suck at everything else (both fit me). I know that I have 3 years undergrad + years of medical school + 5 years of residency = 12 more years! But I don't fret much. I take it one day at a time and just focus on the semester in front of me rather than looking always at the big picture. I find that if I focus on the big picture too long I find the thoughts tiring and discouraging.

Best of luck to you!

 

[goodolecountryboy123]

Yep that sounds right! I am 31 and finishing up my last 3 years of undergrad (time off to work an excellent sales career and take care of mentally ill mother) and I am an aspiring general surgeon. The advice I would give is 1) Don't take your aspiration too seriously as this might change once you do your rotation. 2) If you are looking at how much time it will take you will get discouraged because being a doctor is a long, hard and expensive road to travel and we do it because we are science and math nerds who love it and/or we simply suck at everything else (both fit me). I know that I have 3 years undergrad + years of medical school + 5 years of residency = 12 more years! But I don't fret much. I take it one day at a time and just focus on the semester in front of me rather than looking always at the big picture. I find that if I focus on the big picture too long I find the thoughts tiring and discouraging.

Best of luck to you!

So whats your opinion on a 35 year old with one year of school in starting this journey. I am currently planning on a doctorate for CRNA but the idea of surgery sounds awesome.

 

[redsox93]

So whats your opinion on a 35 year old with one year of school in starting this journey. I am currently planning on a doctorate for CRNA but the idea of surgery sounds awesome.

You might get better responses from a post thats not 5 years old

 

[themockjock]

So whats your opinion on a 35 year old with one year of school in starting this journey. I am currently planning on a doctorate for CRNA but the idea of surgery sounds awesome.

So you have one year of school. You're going to need 3 more to get a bachelor's, complete your prereqs, and take the MCAT. You'll be 38 when you start med school.

Graduate from med school at 42.

You'll do your GS residency in your mid 40's. Just as you're starting the very beginnings of physiologic decline, you'll have the 5 most intense years of your life. You will be exhausted and pushed to your limit.

Then you'll finish residency at age 47. More likely at age 48 or 49.

So we're now talking about 12 years of your most prime earning potential in mid-life that will be sucked up by this. You will be in your late 40's and have hundreds of thousands in non-dischargable educational debt. Unlike, say, psychiatry or radiology, you will not be able to continue practicing into your late 70s-80s - you'll have to retire long before then. So you're really looking at 15-20 years of practice at the most.

This is not to discourage you. This is more to be realistic about the journey that you would have. If you truly couldn't imagine doing anything else, go for it - there are people that go through the system at your age (although most non-trads, even if they come in thinking surgery, end up in fields with 3-4 year residencies after getting a taste of what med school is like).

But most importantly, if you're going to devote yourself to this, you better have a much stronger reason for picking surgery than "the idea of surgery sounds awesome."

 

[WedgeDawg]

Please don't bump old threads