How to become a Cardiovascular surgeon?

How do I become a Cardiovascular surgeon?

• To start, I'm in the UK. So basically I want to become a Cardiovascular surgeon, it's something I have a great interest and passion for, having grown up around two doctors (my parents). I have put a lot of thought into and considered very carefully, knowing the lifetime commitment I will be taking on as well as the decade of training it will take. I love learning and I love science (especially biology). Now the issue I have, well it's not really an issue, more of a query- How do I become a cardiovascular surgeon? What path do I take to get there? I understand that once obtaining my AS and A levels (Chemistry(A-level), Biology(A-level), Maths (A-level) and German (AS-level)) that I will have to apply for a medical school (I think). The full length of my knowledge about becoming a C... Surgeon is that I undergo a 6 year course at medical school. But then what? After the 6 year course, then what do I do? I'm clueless at this point. Any answer is helpful, thanks!!

• Answer:

  If both of your parents are doctors, you would probably be best to speak with them - after all, they will have been through many years of training and will have some idea about the routes you have to take to enter into specialist training. But, to answer your question. You are right in saying that you will have to apply to study Medicine, which is an extremely competitive course to get into. You seem to have an idea about what sort of A-level grades you will need to be in with the chance of getting in, so all you can do now is work as hard as you can to get there. You should also think about the non-academic and extra-mural requirements for entry to Medicine. Once you have spent 5 years (or 6 if you intercalate) at Medical School, you will go on to undertake 2 years of training as part of the foundation training (formerly known as Pre-registration and Senior House Officer) programme, after one year of which you are eligible for registration with the General Medical Council. At the end of these 2 years, you would begin to decide what specialty to pursue as a career. If it is cardiovascular surgery, it would be that programme you would opt for. However, all surgical specialties are very competitive to get into and so, if you know that is what you want to do, you should take steps during your Medical School/ FY1 and FY2 career to ensure you get as much experience shadowing a cardiovascular surgeon. Even consider intercalating a BSc degree in anatomy or, if the university you go to can facilitate it, cardiology. Someone I know wanted to become a cardiothoracic surgeon and published research pieces in journals on the subject. He also did an intercalated BSc in cardiology (although the trend for aspiring surgeons is to do anatomy). This all goes towards giving you extra points when allocating FY1/FY2 training and, subsequently, specialist training. This will involve basic surgical training and then more advanced surgical training. Once you have spent anything up to (or over) 10 years, you will be awarded a certificate to show you have completed your specialist surgical training, and will be eligible to apply for Consultant-level posts in your specialty. During this period, you would be known as a Specialist Registrar. Be prepared for a long and difficult journey! But if it's what you want to do, you'll get there! Best of luck.