Plastic Surgeon: Required Education And Training

A career in cosmetic surgery can be both rewarding and challenging as well. With a little hard work, you will soon be employed in the medical field as one of the highest paying specialist in surgeries.

The first thing you want to do is to look at what working in the medical career entails. You want to be sure that this is the field you want to enter and that you are completely dedicated to putting in hard work and long hours. Getting into the medical field is not easy, but in the end you'll be well rewarded.

If you are still in high school, talk to the career counselors at your school about your interest in a medicine. If you know which college or university you want to attend or are already attending a college or university, you want to have a talk with the career counselors there as well about your goals. You will need to know which classes are a required prerequisite for getting into medical school. Be sure that when you are choosing your classes each year at college, that you fit these prerequisites into your class schedule.

You will need to take and pass the MCAT, which is also known as the Medical College Admission Test. The test is designed to test your knowledge and help you get admitted into medical school. You want to look around at different medical schools. Once you are in your last year of college, you will need to apply for admission at the medical college that you have chosen. You will also need to determine how you will pay for medical school. You can use money you have saved, money from relatives and family members as well as grants, scholarships and loans.

Before deciding on your plastic surgery specialty, you should finish your third round of clinicals first. You can look into the different kinds of plastic surgeon classifications by going on to the website or calling the American Board of Plastic Surgery. You may also want to think about doing an externship alongside a cosmetic doctor. This way you can learn what it's like to be a cosmetic physician and how certain procedures are performed.

There are two different ways for you to become a plastic surgeon. There is the independent model and the integrated model. The independent model consists of three years in a residency program for general surgery followed by an additional three years of residency in a cosmetic surgery program. With the integrated model, you will do six or seven years in a residency program which includes all the training you will need in surgery. You will then enter into the residency program, depending on if you choose the integrated or independent model.

Once you are in the early part of your last year in your residency program, you want to start looking for plastic surgeon job opportunities in the cosmetic surgery field. It is important that you adhere to all the requirements that are needed to become board certified. The American Board of Plastic Surgery determines the requirements needed for board certification.