Becoming a Surgeon

Pugzilla

I'm only in Foundation Year medicine, but Surgery is by far the most interesting area of medicine to me. I just want to know how competitive is entry into the surgical training schemes ?

From my understanding, to become a fully trained surgeon you have to get into basic surgical training after your intern year followed by entry into Higher surgical training to specialise in an area of surgery.

What are the acceptance rates into these training schemes ?
How long on average is Higher Surgical Training ?
How important is research and publications when it comes to applying for training posts ?
Do they only consider candidates who finish at the top of their medical years ?
What qualities do they look for in applicants ?
What can I do to improve my manual dexterity ?

I'm willing to work HARD to make this a reality. I just need to know how high the bar is so I can aim for it.
Thanks

Vorsprung

Pugzilla wrote: »

I'm only in Foundation Year medicine, but Surgery is by far the most interesting area of medicine to me. I just want to know how competitive is entry into the surgical training schemes ?

From my understanding, to become a fully trained surgeon you have to get into basic surgical training after your intern year followed by entry into Higher surgical training to specialise in an area of surgery.

What are the acceptance rates into these training schemes ?

Very little demand for surgical spots at the moment, so getting on the scheme is almost guaranteed

How long on average is Higher Surgical Training ?

About 5 years I think - someone else may correct

How important is research and publications when it comes to applying for training posts ?

Very important. In variably, you will need to do some research after (or sometimes before) BST, to Masters of PhD level. see here http://www.rcsi.ie/index.jsp?p=133&n=583

Do they only consider candidates who finish at the top of their medical years ?

Not at all. Most medical students do not come out of college with a first, or anything close to it.

What qualities do they look for in applicants ?

Check out the above link

What can I do to improve my manual dexterity ?

wouldn't be too worried about that at the moment

I'm willing to work HARD to make this a reality. I just need to know how high the bar is so I can aim for it.
Thanks

Fair play. Keep in mind that many people change their mind about what it is they would like to specialise in through college, and indeed through their working like. It's worth keeping an open mind about careers, particularly until you get stuck into clinical medicine.

QueenOfLeon

Theres nothing you can really do right now to follow that path so I'd say just carry on working hard, get a high grade in your degree and know whats ahead after you qualify, then you can start worrying about getting into the programme. You might be able to email people involved in your college of medicine to be put in touch with people doing surgical training, I know we had a doctor for a seminar who was going this path who was happy to answer any emails about the course

At the same time, be open minded when you get a chance to work in all the different types of specialties, I don't think you can really choose til you actually get a taste of the work involved when you go on placements.

chanste

I'm curious about the physical demands of surgery. Can anyone shed any light on them? I mean for instance, is it a regular thing that people undergo exceptionally long surgerys requiring a surgeon to be on their feet, and focussed for extended periods of time. Does this become a barrier for many people who'd like to do it but then find they can't cut it (excuse the pun).