Pediatric Surgeons Career

Its fairly easy to learn how to become a pediatric surgeon; the difficulty is in the extensive course of study, taking many years and many dollars from the prospective medical expert. It is certainly not an easy task to complete, but is very rewarding.  

Pediatric surgeons and early training

The pediatric surgeon is one who is a specialist in surgeries for young children, adolescents, young adults and even new born and unborn infants; many such surgeons find successful venues at childrens hospitals. One can also specialize in neonatal (newborn) surgical techniques, which primarily are aimed at saving and preserving a newborns life and growth (especially in premature or low weight births, birth defects or the effects of deprivation of oxygen in the womb, call asphyxias). Another pioneering surgical specialty area for pediatricians is fetal surgery, the operation on a fetus, while still in the womb, through minimally invasive means. 

Whatever the specialty, the neophyte doctor should have made an early decision to pursue the medical path, since specialization in math and science (even as early as high school biology, algebra and chemistry) is vitally necessary in early training.  Afterwards, in an accredited medical school (and this occurs only after four years at a pre-med specialty college), the individual can learn how to become a pediatric surgeon by first becoming a medical professional, as the neophyte surgeon trains in medical ethics and technology, and must put in at least 4000 clinical hours as an intern to be a successful candidate for pediatrics. Anything less these days will simply make the prospective medico unfit for competition in the highly stressful, cut-throat field of medical job hunting.

Once properly credentialed, the surgeon still completes any number of educational hours each year in expanding his/her professional development; education, particularly in pediatrics, never ceases. 

Pediatric surgical experiences

Once accepted into a medical or treatment venue, the prospective pediatric surgeon can now get experience with the most common pediatric conditions, such as premature birth, where the surgeon should be cognizant of possible complications from premature delivery of fetuses, their morbidity rates and proper management of the stabilized neonatein other words, how to rescue, and care for, the premature baby.  Bronchitis and bronchiolitis are common newborn and young child conditions that require the surgeons skill in the most delicate microsurgical techniques that are minimally invasive to the newborn; cerebral palsy may likewise require minute and precise surgical correction once the newborn is diagnosed with the condition. 

Other areas of special surgical need might include cardiothoracic surgery (for a childs heart and lungs), neurosurgery (for brain injuries and conditions of the spinal cord and central nervous system), orthopedic surgery (for bone and muscle conditions) and even childhood onsets of cancer, known as pediatric oncological surgery. 

Pediatric plastic surgery

Another recent vocation that has been experiencing record growth in surgical circles is that of a pediatric plastic surgeon.  This surgeon, to put it simply, performs plastic surgery on youth and children, usually for the purposes of reconstruction in case of injuries, traumas to the face, head or body, or birth defects.  It can also be cosmetic in need, simply to give the child a better sense of worth and belonging, and to appeal to the aesthetics of the world he/she will encounter. A child, for example, born with a huge and deforming birthmark on the face could be said to need reconstruction from the pediatric plastic surgeon, but it would also be for aesthetic and cosmetic purposes, to make the child more at home with him/herself and the peers s/he will encounter.  

So, for an individual wanting to know how to become a pediatric surgeon, the steps are fairly simple, but they involve a lifetime of commitment to education and to specializing in ones pediatric surgical skills.