Becoming a Surgeon

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

So, I've decided I want to set some goals and do something. I'm pissed at where I'm currently at. I'm thinking maybe I could perhaps go to some cheap community college, take some classes and slowly move up from there. I am pretty intelligent I like to think and while thinking about what career field I would like to go into the medical field seems cool particularly the surgery field. Can anyone give me the low down on how I could actually obtain this goal?

[Pioneers_Violin]

It depends on your location, I think.

Here in the USA it's bad.

You have to do College and then go through Medical School.
And then probably spend a long time as an Intern which is well, tough.
All at your expense.

Unless of course you decide to join the military, which my brother did to get in the medical field.
I can't recommend that option.

And then, IF you succeed, you have to focus very much on making a lot of money, even if you're not greedy by nature. Why?
So as to pay off your staggering student loans, malpractice insurance, staff, facility expenses, etc... the burden of being a Surgeon or even a G.P. is not an easy one.

You end up having to become 80% business and maybe 20% helping people.
Worse, if someone can't pay, you end up putting them out of the hospital on their own and untouched because you don't dare assume the liability of touching them. This still happens in 2011!

Our system is better at producing Commercial Medicine doctors that choose the medical field as a way to make money rather than help people.
As it is now, only the most determined healers make it through the process.

Perhaps it is possible to make it through the system at a community college level and work at a county hospital. That might get around a lot of the commercial aspects.

Hopefully the Universal Healthcare initiative does something to make it easier for those that wish to dedicate their lives to helping others and maybe to discourage profiteering from illness.

Perhaps it might be a good idea to talk with a Guidance Councilor or maybe even your own Doctor?

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

Reality sucks. :(

Duly noted, the long education process was fine with my but the financial aspect of the equation is what would trip me up.

[Pioneers_Violin]

Don't give up hope..... the times are changing.

My grim assessment is based upon the past couple of decades. I could easily be out of date.

Keep up on events and pay attention to the Universal Healthcare mandate.

I've got a feeling that Commercial Medicine as we know it is going away one way or the other.... if for no other reason, nobody being able to pay for it.

It sucks right now though.... I've got a friend whose spouse was kicked out of an Emergency Room for lack of Insurance.
They basically had to carry him out and dump him in her car.

Those weren't Doctors, or even Humans.

My brother was so sickened of this (and the military) he quit his "good job" in the hospital.

[Susurrus]

Defect to Cuba.

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

Don't give up hope..... the times are changing.

My grim assessment is based upon the past couple of decades. I could easily be out of date.

Keep up on events and pay attention to the Universal Healthcare mandate.

I've got a feeling that Commercial Medicine as we know it is going away one way or the other.... if for no other reason, nobody being able to pay for it.

It sucks right now though.... I've got a friend whose spouse was kicked out of an Emergency Room for lack of Insurance.
They basically had to carry him out and dump him in her car.

Those weren't Doctors, or even Humans.

My brother was so sickened of this (and the military) he quit his "good job" in the hospital.

That's fucking bullshit. I plain on talking to some college people or whatever here soon. I was thinking about maybe stopping by before or after work tomorrow or something. I just wish I wouldn't be raped financially just for trying to pursue a career in which I could help people and in which would be highly intellectually stimulating and ultimately fufilling. I highly doubt I would join the military to con them into paying for my med school expenses; I honestly don't think I could do it. I could not directly aid an organization that is currently opressing and murdering my people.


Defect to Cuba.

I've been contemplating this for awhile, it's close and seems better but now I have 3 other people in my life so I can just vanish and it seems more difficult in light of this.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

How would someone even defect to Cuba? How would someone get into their medical program?

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

How would someone even defect to Cuba? How would someone get into their medical program?

I'm thinking maybe, I could renounce my US citizenship, go back to France then try to go that way. As for the medical program, I have no idea, I assume it'd be easier to do given that economy than in the states.

[o well this is ok I guess]

Yeah how come nobody said we could defect to cuba earlier

[o well this is ok I guess]

I'm thinking maybe, I could renounce my US citizenship, go back to France then try to go that way. As for the medical program, I have no idea, I assume it'd be easier to do given that economy than in the states. Don't they pay their students a wage at certain French schools?

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

Don't they pay their students a wage at certain French schools?

I'm not entirely sure.

[Dogs On Acid]

Take your course in Columbia.

[Susurrus]

How would someone even defect to Cuba?

http://cache2.artprintimages.com/p/LRG/12/1294/AR5O000Z/art-print/quint-meza-the-old-row-boat.jpg

[MarxSchmarx]

Well, taking the anatomy/chemistry type classes at your junior college is a logical starting point. Another thing you should do is volunteer at clinics and see if you can shadow an MD. Most likely they won't be surgeons at free clinic type places but you should understand what the day to day life of a doctor involves.

Another route to consider is nursing/physician assistant. These programs aren't nearly as onerous as getting a medical degree and certification, and are increasingly given greater responsibility in their profession.

Finally, an alternative to practicing in the US if you are worried about things like malpractice insurance and having to turn people away is to join an NGO esp. abroad in a place where your services are needed (unlike Cuba, which has plenty of doctors). They can usually put up medical staff for extended periods of time.

[La Comédie Noire]

I'd suggest volunteering or getting a job at a hospital first to see if you would like that work. I know some fellow nursing students who have gotten halfway through their education only to realize being around sick people all the time is too depressing for them or that the work is far too stressful. Not to mention the long hours and bureaucratic hoops you have to jump through when you are a medical professional.

EDIT:

I'd also like to add being a medical professional takes huge amounts of dedication and time, no matter what you do. It's not one of those jobs you can leave at the door when you go home. You're also going to be responsible for peoples' lives and saving them from time to time, even low level cnas must be certified in cpr. I know it may seem like a no brainer, but there is a reason why you have to pay so much into insurance when you are a medical professional, it's because you are being entrusted with a great amount of responsibility and sometimes things don't always go according to plan, sometimes you lose patients.

I just say this because I know a lot of people who expect to become a nurse or a paramedic and expect to sit back and collect 70,000 to 90,000 a year (yeah right) and not have a care in the world.

But if you are the type who can work in a high pressure environment and you can take something serious and be diligent and meticulous, the medical field maybe just for you, but in my opinion it's a way of life rather than just a job.

[Pioneers_Violin]

Several good suggestions so far. Especially if you can afford the time, volunteer for awhile to see what you'e getting into.

So far as your own Doctor, try to find one that is an old-school Healer rather than a pill-pushing Business Doctor. They're scarce, but out there.

My Doctor studied in Asia as well as America and can help nearly anything from spinal alignments and broken bones to internal medicine.

Only problem: he's really, really old, and near broke.
This came from helping any and all without regard for ability to pay.
As a result, he works out of a dumpy old medical building, which might be the kind of place for you to find an excellent Doctor both for your own needs and to talk with regarding your career.

This is not unique to the medical profession... often the "Best" end up in dumpy old places while the hacks and quacks have a fancy clinic with a full staff.

If you're in this forum, you'll probably end up as one of the "Best" ones. ;)

PS. After a few weeks of being practically bedridden, my friend recovered from his sports injury well enough.
Of course the Hoodlums at that "Hospital" sent him a bill for $2,000 for roughly 30 minutes of treatment, which was about how long it took them to figure out he didn't have any money.
Now that's a place that needs to be sued or demonstrated at.

[Nox]

I would never, ever trust my life with someone whose primary motivation for helping me is money, and sadly with America's mostly privatized healthcare that's often the case.