What to study to become a plastic surgeon? What is the career path of a plastic surgeon? we answer. Plastic surgery is very popular all over the world. Specialists in this field are still sought after, who help regain a perfect appearance and self-confidence. What do you need to study to become a plastic surgeon?
Medicine first
Many people don’t realize that plastic surgeons are doctors. Therefore, the first step to the profession is to complete medical studies. There are many universities in Poland where we can study medicine. Studies last for years and are one of the most difficult majors. Students learn broadly understood anatomy, the basics of pharmacology and histopathology. Later, however, they gain knowledge in various branches of medicine.
Therefore, if you want to become a plastic surgeon, you cannot limit yourself to this field only. During the studies we will also learn neurology, oncology, orthopedics, paediatrics and other equally important things. It is relatively difficult to get into medical school. Usually we have to get very good results in biology and chemistry or physics. After graduation, we still have a diploma internship. It lasts a year and takes place in hospital wards.
A medical graduate is then already a doctor, although he does not yet have full rights to practice. He will obtain them only after he passes the state exam, the so-called LEP. Only then will he be able to choose a specialization, which will be plastic surgery. Nevertheless, the graduate still has a long way to go to work.
Specialization in plastic surgery
To get into the specialization in plastic surgery, we must have a high result of the medical exam. Why? Because there are usually more applicants than places. Unfortunately, it is not the case that every medical graduate can pursue the specialization of their choice. In fact, the best of them sell very quickly, and the reason for this is the limits of places.
Each hospital gets a different number of places for a given specialization. This is why sometimes, in pursuit of their favorite field of medicine, doctors have to go to the other end of Poland. Specialization in the field of plastic surgery takes years, but before that you need to complete a specialization in general surgery. This lasts for 6 years. The entire specialization path takes a graduate about 8 years, although this is an ideal case.
Typically, in the meantime, doctors take various types of leave or change their specialization. In general, anyone can choose a specialization in the field of plastic surgery. In practice, however, time verifies who is really suitable for this profession.
Above all, precision and manual skills are necessary. In addition, we will also need an aesthetic sense, which patients often rely on. The specialization ends with an exam that grants the right to practice the profession. Only after passing it can a doctor work as a plastic surgeon or open his own office and see patients.
Shorter way?
Many people wonder if there is a slightly shorter way to become a doctor with a specialization in plastic surgery. Ultimately, 6 years of study, a year of internship and about 8 years of specialization is quite a lot of time. Nevertheless, let us realize that there is no other way to become a plastic surgeon. Many people think that this doctor performs the same activities as a cosmetologist or even a person who has completed cosmetic courses. Meanwhile, nothing could be more wrong.
A plastic surgeon is a real doctor. The procedures he performs on a daily basis are normal surgeries. They carry the same risks as, for example, excision of the tumor or removal of the gallbladder. Treatments are usually performed with a scalpel. Currently, more and more efforts are being made to make plastic surgery procedures as minimally invasive as possible.
Nevertheless, most of them are still classic operations. They cannot be performed by anyone other than an experienced doctor. There is no shortcut to becoming a plastic surgeon. No courses or trainings intended for a wide range of recipients give, in principle, any rights. The view that a plastic surgeon is almost a cosmetologist came from the fact that many people still believe that a slight rhinoplasty or breast plastic surgery are minimally invasive procedures.
What after specialization?
A doctor who obtains a license in the field of plastic surgery can work in a surgical clinic. He also has the right to open his own office and see patients there. Generally, both ways are very profitable. Plastic surgeons make a lot of money. Their earnings oscillate around several thousand a month.
Let us not forget, however, that the road to the profession is long and very difficult. It is very difficult to finish medical studies alone, not to mention specialization. However, if we dream about the profession of a plastic surgeon, remember that we need about 15 years to become one.
