The time and effort it takes to become a surgeon is enormous but the benefits far surpass the difficulties. First of all, you have to make sure you really want to become a sur
…geon. It takes at least 12 years of schooling and training after high school. In reality, the real training starts during high school. You have to make sure you earn solid grades and exceed in order to get into a college that you want to attend. At times the prestige of the undergraduate college helps in the future but more on that later. It helps to take science classes in high school, such as chemistry, physics, and biology. This will ready you for the intense science curriculum of college. The traditional path to become a surgeon is to attend and undergraduate college to receive a Bachelor's Degree (about 4 years), then you have to apply to medical school (about 4 years), and get into a residency and continue further training if you want to specialize in a field, such as heart surgery. During the undergraduate years, students typically take a year of general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and biology, all including a lab portion. It is very advantageous to get the best possible grades in these core classes as medical school admissions will look very closely into them. It is recommended to obtain experience in the medical field by shadowing doctors, volunteering in healthcare environments, or even working the front desk of a doctor's office. Admission officers want to see that students know what the responsibilities of becoming a doctor entails. Once students finish all of their core classes, they are advised to study and take the MCAT, the medical school entrance exam, shortly after since the information is fresh and you will have more time to take it again if you did not receive the score you wanted. After you receive your grades and MCAT scores, it is time to apply to medical schools. It is highly advisable to apply to about 15 medical schools since competition is fierce, however be aware that there are application fees. The applications will require a few letters of recommendations, written essays, and interviews from medical schools. Your application will be reviewed holistically. Admissions officers will observe if applicants are intelligent, mature, determined, and have a desire to become a doctor. Once accepted into medical school, the next 4 years will be comprised of additional knowledge, such as anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology, and students will be taken on rotations throughout a hospital to observe and obtain hands-on training in different specialties. This will help you decide what specialties to consider. During the last year of medical school, students will participate in a residency match. A residency takes place after medical school and it entails excessive training under a professional staff of medical doctors. They will interview with their preferred choices of residencies. Students will rank their preference of residencies and the residencies will rank their candidates in the same way. Then, the students will be matched with residencies but keep in mind that not all students will be match with their preferred residencies if not at all due to a number of reasons. The residency entails hours upon hours of doctoral training with limited nights of sleep. There will be tests to see how far the student has progressed and so forth. Residency takes about 2 or 3 years if students want to become a doctor but a surgeon entails much more training which lasts about 8 more years after medical school. This also includes about 2-3 more years if one wants to be surgically specialized. After all of the residencies and additional training, it all amounts to about 12-16 years. It is evident that becoming a surgeon requires a lot of hard work, time, and determination, but rest assured, you will be paid well in monetary values and also personal satisfaction knowing that you saved people's lives. (MORE) 
