The first thing to know is that surgery is a competitive field in which you need to be able to stand out from others. You will be assessed on the whole picture of you as a potential surgeon, not just your intelligence or technical skills alone. A large part of this picture is your personal qualities. It's important to think about what makes someone a good surgeon: someone who can perform well under pressure, has excellent interpersonal skills with patients and colleagues, and is great at communicating their thoughts both orally and in writing.
If you're motivated by a desire to improve people's lives through your work, it's likely that surgery is a good option for you. You'll also need the confidence and resilience necessary to deal with setbacks—the more difficult the challenge, the more rewarding solving it feels when it's done. Finally, it's important to remember that surgery is not just about treating diseases and injuries. Part of being a good surgeon involves educating patients.
It takes a special kind of person to become a surgeon
Surgeons work long hours, and they're often on call when they're not at the hospital treating patients. They have to deal with great pressure and stress: when an operation goes wrong, it's their fault. But when everything goes right, the surgeon is showered with praise by grateful patients and their families, who will often remember the surgeon for the rest of their lives.
People who are drawn to this career tend to be perfectionists who are highly motivated by the desire to make things better for others. They have to have confidence in themselves and their skills - this is a specialty where you can't be modest about your own ability. Surgeons need to have a high level of empathy - they have to be able to connect emotionally with their patients.
In order to fulfill all these requirements, surgeons need something else that many other doctors don't need: an almost superhuman level of resilience.
Surgery can be intellectually challenging but very rewarding.
You may also wish to read: What Does A Surgeon Do And Is Becoming A Surgeon Hard?
