Being A Surgeon
Surgeons are highly educated and trained medical professionals that perform all kinds of operations, from broken bone repairs and baby deliveries to liver transplants and tumour removal. Starting with college, surgeons typically spend around 13 years in school, and those who specialize in a specific type of surgery spend an additional two or three years completing their fellowship program. Surgeons need a very specific set of skills to be able to handle the gruelling academic work and heavy demands of the job.
Surgery is a challenging and rewarding career, requiring commitment, discipline and compassion. Surgical training usually takes five to six years following completion of a medical degree.
- Characteristics and Skills Required There is no single set of characteristics that makes a good doctor. Medicine includes a wide range of people, working in very varied roles. - Duties and Responsibilities
- Pay and Working Hours Starting salary: $120,000 P/A
Senior salary: $400,000 P/A Average salary: $207,000 P/A * Wages will vary according to your level of skill, experience and employer Surgeons typically work four and a half to five days a week on a regular basis, plus any time being on-call for emergencies or urgent situations. Like most physician jobs, being a surgeon is more than a forty-hour per week job.
Most surgeons work 50-60 hours weekly, including on-call time, administrative duties, and other responsibilities. - Training and Education A surgeon, like other physicians, must first complete an undergraduate, or bachelor’s degree, before attending medical school to complete a doctorate of medicine (M.D.) or a doctorate of osteopathy. (D.O.) Obtaining both the undergraduate and medical degrees is typically an eight-year process, unless one participates in a combined undergraduate and medical school program which is usually about six or seven years instead of eight. After school, the future surgeon attends a surgical residency program which is typically 5 years. There are several different types of residencies including general surgery, orthopaedic surgery (bones, joints, tendons), neurosurgery (brain, spinal cord) and more. If a surgeon would like to further subspecialize in a particular type of surgery, the surgeon could attend additional years of training, called fellowships, wherein he or she would learn additional techniques and procedures pertaining to a specific part of the body, or learn highly complex surgical skills which more generalized surgeons do not provide.
- Work Environment
Surgeons spend most of their time in an operating room (OR), either at a hospital or outpatient surgery centre. The non-surgical time is typically spent in an office setting for the pre- and post-operative patient visits and consultations.
- Types Of Surgeons
- General Surgeons: (5 Years of residency, no fellowship required) Perform appendectomies, hernia surgeries, and other types of surgeries including liver, spleen, intestinal, and some head, neck, chest surgeries, excluding
hearts. General surgeons may decide to specialize in other types of surgeries by completing fellowship training in vascular surgery (operating on veins and arteries), thoracic surgery, cardiac surgery (heart surgery), hand surgery,
paediatric surgery, and more. Average Compensation: $330,215, according to the MGMA.
- Orthopaedic surgeons: (5 Years of orthopaedic surgery residency training) Orthopaedic surgeons, or “orthopods” specialize in surgery of the joints, bones, tendons, and muscles. This includes arthroscopy, joint replacement or reconstruction, bone fusions, operating on broken or shattered bones, and more. For further specialization, orthopaedic surgeons can choose fellowships in sports medicine, hand surgery, foot and ankle surgery, spine surgery, and others. Average compensation: $475,781.
- Neurosurgeons: (5 Years of neurosurgery residency training) Neurosurgeons specialize in brain surgery and spinal cord surgery. They are the highest paid of all surgeons, with incomes that can reach as high as $800,000-1,000,000 annually. Average annual compensation: $623,936 according to the MGMA.
- Plastic surgeons: (Three years of general surgery residency, plus 2-3 years of plastic surgery residency training) Plastic surgeons are well known for their cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, breast augmentation, face lifts, and more. Plastic surgeons also work with victims of accidents or burns to reconstruct damaged areas. Because most surgeries performed by plastic surgeons are elective surgeries for cosmetic purposes, plastic surgeons are able to earn
more than many other types of physicians who are at the mercy of the insurance companies. Plastic surgeons receive full payment right away from their patients, as opposed to waiting for the insurance checks to arrive. Average
compensation: $408,065.
Surgery is a challenging and rewarding career, requiring commitment, discipline and compassion. Surgical training usually takes five to six years following completion of a medical degree.
- A concern for people
Do you care about the people around you and what happens to them? - An enquiring mind
Do you always want to find out more about things that interest you? And do you analyse and update the knowledge you already have? - An interest in people
Are you curious about how other people think and feel? Do you generally like other people and take an interest in what they say and do? - A rational approach
Are you keen to establish facts, test ideas and find out how things work and why they go wrong? Do you approach problems in a logical way? - An open mind
Do you get along well with people whose attitudes and background are very different from yours? Can you see things from other people's point of view? - Imagination
Can you see around problems to find new solutions? Do people look to you for ideas? - Ability to handle pressure
How have you coped with pressure situations such as the build-up to exams? Does it affect your behaviour significantly or can you handle it? - Hard work
Can you cope with hard work over sustained periods? - Patience
Do you get impatient with other people easily, or are you willing to go along at their pace? - Determination
If something doesn't come right first time, do you give time and effort to sorting it out? - Decisiveness
Do you make decisions with a fair degree of confidence, based on what you know? - Humility
Are you comfortable with recognising the limits of your ability and knowledge, and willing to look to others for help? - Academic Skills
- Interpersonal Skills
- Communication Skills
- Technical Skills (Good eyesight, colour vision and manual dexterity.)
- Performs first assist duties
- Assists with surgical procedures
- Conducts daily hospital rounds
- Write orders and progress notes
- Performs all admission history and physicals
- Orders appropriate laboratory and radiographic tests
- Performs appropriate laboratory and diagnostic studies
- Evaluates and clarifies clinical conditions
- Formulates and implements treatment and therapeutic plans for hospitalized
patients - Handles discharge planning and dictates discharge summaries
Senior salary: $400,000 P/A
Most surgeons work 50-60 hours weekly, including on-call time, administrative duties, and other responsibilities.
- Work Environment
Surgeons spend most of their time in an operating room (OR), either at a hospital or outpatient surgery centre. The non-surgical time is typically spent in an office setting for the pre- and post-operative patient visits and consultations.
- Types Of Surgeons
- General Surgeons: (5 Years of residency, no fellowship required) Perform appendectomies, hernia surgeries, and other types of surgeries including liver, spleen, intestinal, and some head, neck, chest surgeries, excluding
hearts. General surgeons may decide to specialize in other types of surgeries by completing fellowship training in vascular surgery (operating on veins and arteries), thoracic surgery, cardiac surgery (heart surgery), hand surgery,
paediatric surgery, and more. Average Compensation: $330,215, according to the MGMA.
- Orthopaedic surgeons: (5 Years of orthopaedic surgery residency training) Orthopaedic surgeons, or “orthopods” specialize in surgery of the joints, bones, tendons, and muscles. This includes arthroscopy, joint replacement or reconstruction, bone fusions, operating on broken or shattered bones, and more. For further specialization, orthopaedic surgeons can choose fellowships in sports medicine, hand surgery, foot and ankle surgery, spine surgery, and others. Average compensation: $475,781.
- Neurosurgeons: (5 Years of neurosurgery residency training) Neurosurgeons specialize in brain surgery and spinal cord surgery. They are the highest paid of all surgeons, with incomes that can reach as high as $800,000-1,000,000 annually. Average annual compensation: $623,936 according to the MGMA.
- Plastic surgeons: (Three years of general surgery residency, plus 2-3 years of plastic surgery residency training) Plastic surgeons are well known for their cosmetic procedures such as liposuction, breast augmentation, face lifts, and more. Plastic surgeons also work with victims of accidents or burns to reconstruct damaged areas. Because most surgeries performed by plastic surgeons are elective surgeries for cosmetic purposes, plastic surgeons are able to earn
more than many other types of physicians who are at the mercy of the insurance companies. Plastic surgeons receive full payment right away from their patients, as opposed to waiting for the insurance checks to arrive. Average
compensation: $408,065.