Question about Surgical Specialities

[surgeon_hopeful]

Hi,

I'm really interested in surgery, and my first choice would be orthopaedic surgery, but since its hyper competitive, I'm not sure if I will be able to get a residency in that, next would be ENT, Opthalmology, Neurosurgery in that order, but its the same story as orthopaedic surgery; very competitive and hard to get.

So I was wondering:

1. what are some specialities in general surgery? I've heard of things such as hand surgeon, but wouldn't that fit under an ortho speciality?

2. Do these specialists have better hours just because they are specialists? I don't care if they take a pay break, because I would rather make 225k than 250k if it means having better hours. After all, most surgeons make good money no matter what right?

3. In case even surgery doesn't work out, is there an internal medicine type speciality for orthopedics? For example, neurosurgery is the surgical version of neurology, so is there something like this for orthopedic surgery as well, except the non-invasive version?

4. (optional) I'm currently in high school, so I was wondering if you guys have any tips about what I should do to work towards becoming a surgeon. I know its early, but I like to have my goals established early.

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[mballs182]

im gunna go ahead and answer #4. the best thing you could do would be to enjoy the rest of high school and college. its way too early to be thinking about what subspecialty in surgery you want to go into.... you still have to get into college, and then get into medical school, and then do well enough in medical school to be competative for the programs your talking about, which by the way are the most competative programs in surgery. . so already we're talking 8+ years before you would theoretically get into a residency.... surgery will be a much different beast in 10 years.... the trend is towards minimally invasive surgery and its only going to continue that way. as for the rest of your questions ill give the short answers.
1- you can go into any surgical specialty through general surgery via fellowships.(vascular, colorectal, peds, CT, transplant, breast,plastics, surg-onc....etc etc. )
2- if you are really worried about the hours then surgery isnt the right choice. specialists hours arent any better because they either have to work in a tertiary care center to get the number of cases for their subspecialty or work elsewhere and fill in the gaps with general surg. cases, either way they are working thier asses off.
3- PM&R would be closest thing your talking about.

so my best advice is to enjoy your pre medical school life, the worst thing you can do is stress out about getting into med school so early. it will cause you to miss out on so much. hope that sufficiently answered your questions.

 

[NunoBR]

I agree with everything above...
just to add to it, another specialty which is not ortho but will put you in close contact with the general field of physical meds, rehabilitation, sports is the field of Rheumatology... (I think I spelled that right)...
hope it helps...
Focus on doing well in high school now... and I do agree with you, planning ahead is great, but right now you should be planning ahead for College and everything that goes with it (research, extracurriculars, maybe the MCAT if you are a bit of gunner) but med school and especially residency are not for now (please please take this advice... hahaha...). Do well in college, right now it's BY FAR your best bet... I'm at a great med school, and that is only because my hard work in college paid off.
take some time and let life run its natural course....
much luck to you..

 

[TxMed]

the best thing you can do is go out and meet some girls. seriously. highschool and college can be the best time of your life. have some crazy experiences so you have something to talk about during med school interviews. go to india and kick it with the dali lama, climb a mountain, start a rockband, make an indie movie and get john stamos to star in it (bringing about his comeback, which you can later take credit for...). if you're already motivated to do the whole medicine thing, chances are you will make the grades and all of the required crap work. so...just turn yourself into the coolest person possible. that is all.


-tm

 

[Winged Scapula]

...make an indie movie and get john stamos to star in it (bringing about his comeback, which you can later take credit for...
-tm

Too late - he's already "comeback" (see his now regular role on "ER").

 

[TxMed]

Too late - he's already "comeback" (see his now regular role on "ER").

wait a second...ER IS STILL ON TV?!?


-tm

 

[zinjanthropus]

wait a second...ER IS STILL ON TV?!?


-tm

yes, and it is actually pretty good this season!

 

[TxMed]

yes, and it is actually pretty good this season!

that's too bad. i already made the switch to grey's for those moments when i need to see some really great looking physicians.


tm

 

[drbruce]

Good God, surgeon hopefully will be mapping out his retirement plans before long, and I thought I spent too much time with my head in the future

Do well at high school, college and medical school. And show yourself to be a well rounded, articulate individual. That is all!

The chances are that you might have a change in heart during medical school. Most people do. How can you know that you want to be a surgeon without ever having been on a surgical rotation? You can't. And even those who enjoy the rotation sometimes make the mistake of entering a surgical career when it is not really for them. Experience is everything.

Ben Carson wanted to be a psychiatrist right up and til the final year of medical school before making a dramatic reversal in his career plans, and became a neurosurgeon instead.