What Does it Take to Become a Plastic Surgeon?

Though often glamorized by popular media, plastic surgeons serve not only to improve the aesthetic appearance of a person but also to reconstruct and repair the physical structures of a person's body that are irregular due to congenital defects or pathologies such as burns or diseases. Plastic surgeons study for several years to acquire the skills necessary to repair, replace or modify the anatomy of their patients.

Understanding and Desire

The foremost and unfortunately often overlooked reason to become a plastic surgeon is a desire to do so. Some potential plastic surgeons enter undergraduate school with the intention of plastic surgery for reasons such as financial gain and prestige. Although these things may be found with a career in plastic surgery, they are by far the worst reasons to enter the training path needed to become a plastic surgeon. Plastic surgeons routinely work 36-hour rotations and are always on call for their patients. Furthermore, the educational time, costs and dedication required are very high, and as such only those who truly have a sincere desire to be a physician should attempt to complete the educational and professional requirements to do so.

Undergraduate School

Although there is usually no specific degree required for acceptance into medical school, there are fields of study that must be undertaken during undergraduate work in order to be prepared for medical school curriculum. Study in biology, anatomy, physiology and organic chemistry are often mandatory for entrance into medical school. Furthermore, it would be in a student's best interests to take any classes relating to histology, microbiology, pathology and genetics that are available to an undergraduate student.

Graduate School

Graduate school for plastic surgeons is not unlike other graduate schools in as much as only the first year or two are spent in actual classroom study. However, where other graduate studies would start graduate research, medical school starts internships. Internships are where student begins learning to practice medicine in hospital settings with actual patients. Usually a university-associated hospital will assign a supervising doctor, often called a chief resident, to teach interns useful hands-on medical practice. Plastic surgeons, as opposed to medical doctors, enter a surgical internship where they observe, practice and are often tested in real-life medical situations that take place in an operating room.

Residency

Residency is a progression in graduate medical study where a student focuses more on the diagnosis and application of treatment to medical pathologies. The residency, unlike an internship, is less about acquiring new information than it is about practicing techniques and growing proficient in a specific area of plastic surgery, such as treating burns, cosmetic surgery or facial reconstruction. Residency lasts five to six years after one has received a medical degree, with the first half being general surgery and the last half being plastic surgery. Completing a successful residency is mandatory in many jurisdictions to become fully licensed to practice privately.

Fellowships

Even though after a surgeon's residency is complete one may practice privately, it is not necessarily the end of the educational track. The purpose of a fellowship is to hone your skills in a subspecialty of plastic surgery. For example, a plastic surgeon may have chosen to focus on cosmetic surgery during his residency. The plastic surgeon may now decide that he wants to focus solely on breast augmentation and make that his area of expertise. As such the plastic surgeon will accept a fellowship where he will study and perform this specific surgical operation alone for several years. A fellowship may last anywhere from one to seven years.