When an operation is in progress, it is not only the surgeon who is operating on the patient. The surgeon has apprentices, which help comfort the patient and make the operation easier and more accurate. However, most operations happen while the patient is sleeping or is at least given anesthetics.
To be a surgeon you need to know a lot about the positioning of the parts of the body, and even where all the veins and arteries are. In fact you pretty much need to know everything about the human body. All this would be learnt at the courses they would take before joining the NHS.
After an operation, patients may need to progress in recovery by seeing a physiotherapist. Every surgeon should be able to recommend a physiotherapist for every type of injury or illness. It is there where physiotherapists will formulate a treatment programme that would improve the patients condition, and to help the patient get back into every day life.
Training:
- Knowledge of all the parts of the body.
- Manual operations on a surgical practice dummy.
- The medical and surgical conditions for which physiotherapy may be used.
- Handling patients psychologically, as well as physically.
The constant viewing of the patient after the procedure is always vital. No matter how good or bad they are feeling. If absolutely necessary, you may have to even go and visit the patient if it is too painful to move, which usually tells us that something has gone wrong in the procedure.
Academic Qualifications For Career:
The minimum entry requirements are FIVE GCSE’s at a grade level C and Three A LEVELS, including a biological science, or an
Advanced National Diploma.
The GCSE’s must include: -
- English Language
- Mathematics
- Science
These aren’t the exact requirements for they do vary. The typical; combination is about B and C.
As for the three A Levels, they should be the following: -
- Physics
- Chemistry
- Maths
- Biology
Physics and Maths sort of tie in together.
In the UK, competition to become a surgeon is very fierce, more now days than ever. To be a surgeon the grades BBC are needed in A levels and to get into medicine AAB MUST be achieved. To be a charted surgeon, the surgery course would have to be attended for about years. All the costs for that course would be paid by the NHS.
Essential Subjects:
Biology: This is needed because you have to have the knowledge of the structure and the functions of multiple parts of the body, as well as where they are all positioned.
Maths and Physics: These two subjects as I have already mentioned overlap each other. These subjects help surgeons with their procedures, by making them more precise, using measurements. Physics also helps the surgeon decide what methods to use in a procedure.
Chemistry: This is needed to become more advanced and more knowledgeable, about being a surgeon. It improves your skills and your technique.
English: This subject is used to make it easier to communicate with your patients as well as with your colleagues, which helps in a procedure. It makes people understand you easily, and is a subject that is necessary for every career.
Special Qualities:
To be a surgeon you need to comfort the patient, because always before an operation they will be shaking with fear. You need to encourage them and make them feel as if everything is going to be alright and that it will be a small operation. You need to know how the patient is feeling.
Personal Qualities:
To be a surgeon, you need to have a lot of personal qualities, for it is not an easy job.
Here’s a list of the qualities needed:
- Patience is needed for the procedure may take a long time.
- Endurance, when days get stressful and you don’t start doing careless errors.
- To be organized, and not to be stressed out when you get too busy.
- Caring nature, to take satisfaction from helping others.
- To be reliable, so that people trust you and can always count on you to carry forth operations.
- To have a sense of humour, making the patient feel more comfortable.
- The ability to communicate with all kinds of people.
- To be able to cope with seeing blood and other gore.
Having a good relationship with a patient is extremely important for it eases their anxiety, about their recovery.
You must always ensure that the patients’ recovery is going according to plan. If they get worried about the time of recovery being too long, you should let them know that it is supposed to take a long time.
One of the most important points, Is to never discriminate people because of their colour or religion.
ALL THESE QUALITIES ARE IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY THOSE TO DO WITH PATIENTS!!!!
Higher Qualification Courses:
If higher education qualifications have been gained in another field, you need to check your eligibility for an NHS bursary, which will depend on the type of course, for you already may have had financial assistance.
Check with individual training schools on the allocation of bursaries.
There are alternative health courses applicable as well at university.
Where Do Surgeons Work?
Nearly all surgeons carry out operations and work in hospitals. They work in a special department in the hospital, especially for surgery.
Some surgeons even leave the NHS and open up there own Health Service. This can sometimes be because they think that hospital environments are way to serious and scary. It makes the patients more scared.
Suitable or Not?
This career is very suitable for me because I like helping people get over problems, because I seem to get a lot of satisfaction out of it. I also think my personal quality of not minding the sight of blood or organs is quite important. This job would make me feel a better person.
BUT
At this stage of my life I would rather keep a wide range of options open in case I can’t reach the expectations or something else tickles my fancy. All this research has made me think a lot about my future.
At the moment, surgery is at the top of my list, however I still have a long way of school to go through first.
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