How to become a Surgeon

Before entering medical school, aspiring surgeons must complete undergraduate school to earn a bachelor's degree. Medical schools generally don’t require a particular college major in order to apply. However, applicants have to complete numerous undergraduate premedical courses, including physics, inorganic chemistry, biology and organic chemistry.

During your senior year of college, you will need to take and do well on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Your test scores will then be sent out to your various application schools and this, combined with your overall academic profile, will determine whether or not you are admitted.

Medical school usually takes at least four years to complete. Students will spend the first two years primarily in the classroom and lab, learning procedures and surgical practices. Then, they will transition to working on skills under the supervision of an experienced surgeon.  Students may enroll in an allopathic medical program, which results in a Medical Doctor (M.D.) degree, or in an osteopathic program, which results in a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree. While both prepare students to become a surgeon, osteopathic programs place more emphasis on preventative medicine and the musculoskeletal system.

While students are in medical school, they evaluate certain residency programs that have an emphasis on their desired area of specialty and apply for the program and spend somewhere between three to seven years completing it. Students will essentially serve as a surgeon under supervision.

After finishing the residency program students will have the option to continue their training as a part of a fellowship. Fellowship provides a student with the time to focus even more closely on a surgical subspecialty, like cardiothoracic measures. Many fellowships will also provide financial and academic support for publishing.

Along with extensive, formal training from an accredited medical school, all states require surgeons to obtain medical licensure. Licensure entails passage of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam (COMLEX).

A Bachelor’s degree is the first step to become a surgeon. These 4-year degrees do not have to focus specifically on medicine; however, curricula should focus heavily on the physical sciences to prepare students for the strong emphasis on science in medical school. Courses in anatomy, biology, chemistry, math, and physiology may be beneficial.

In this 4 year program, your first two years are spent taking basic science courses, such as biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and microbiology. Your last two years are spent gaining patient care experience and completing clinical rotations in family practice, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and psychiatry.