Becoming a heart surgeon is a long and challenging process. Heart surgery is a complicated process and therefore demands a highly qualified medical surgeon. It demands excellent skills and a resolute dedication to your chosen career. But, in the long run, it can be extraordinarily rewarding. It is one of the most competitive careers in health care you can ever consider. If you want to join the ranks of heart surgeons, you’ll need to meet many educational and training requirements before entering one of these jobs. You'll undergo the rigorous training necessary to become a doctor and then specialize in heart (cardiac) surgery.
- Meet with a career counselor in high school. The counselor can help you in finding a suitable college or university to prepare you for a medical career. The counselor can also discuss possible college majors which are best suited to prepare you for medical school and the post-medical school surgical residencies you will need. Some of the best areas to major in order to prepare for medical school are in the sciences such as biology, chemistry or human physiology. It is not absolutely necessary to major in a science, but it is helpful. It is also important to choose a major that you will enjoy and do well in, though—admission to medical schools is highly competitive and you will need to have a very high grade point average. Many schools will only look at applicants with at least 3.5, if not higher. Remember, people’s lives will depend on your abilities and your GPA is one of the assessments medical schools use to determine if you are up to the task!
- In your junior year in college, you will take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). This is a standardized test used by most medical schools around the U.S. and Canada and even many medical schools around the world to determine and assess your ability to think analytically and to assess your ability to successfully study medicine. The MCAT includes multiple choice questions covering the physical and biological sciences, verbal reasoning and a written portion. After 2013, the written portion will be dropped. There are a number of ways to practice and study for the MCATs; both traditional and online courses are available to help boost your scores. Medical schools require the MCATs to be completed within three years of application for admission.
- Volunteer. While your grades are critically important to admission, you should also think about making your application even more compelling by volunteering with service organizations, working in a hospital or in the healthcare field, working in a research lab and finding other ways to make your application “stand out” from the crowd. Find some area that you are interested in or passionate about!
- Apply to medical schools. Once you have taken the MCATs, you can apply to medical schools using a service such as the American Medical College Application Service® (AMCAS®). You should follow the timeline very closely and ensure that all appropriate paperwork is completed on time. Your choice of medical schools may depend on location and financing—one of the most important areas to examine closely is the financial aid that may be available to you. Speak to one of the counselors in the financial aid office at your college or university. If you are a member of a minority, look into the Medical Minority Applicant Registry (Med-MAR) for extra resources.
- Medical school will be demanding. The medical school curriculum is demanding. In general, the first two years are spent in classroom and lab study. During the third and fourth years, you will begin rotations through the required clinical coursework. These will give you an overview of the practice of medicine and will give you more and more “hands-on” experience with patient care. During your fourth year, you will have the opportunity for elective rotations, and it is here that you can begin to focus your training on becoming a cardiac surgeon. You could elect to take rotations in thoracic surgery, cardiovascular surgery and cardiac surgery. Again, these are physically and mentally demanding fields, so make sure you are prepared!
- Apply for residencies in heart surgery. The National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) conducts an annual program where graduating medical students are matched with residency programs. This involves a process where the graduating student visits and interviews at various residency programs around the country. The students rank their highest choices and the residency programs do the same—and the NRMP makes the best “matches”! Once you have matched with a surgery residency, you are well on your way to becoming a heart surgeon.
- Licensure. Finally, after your residency is complete, you must obtain certification from the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) to apply for state licensure. This entails passing both a written and oral exam given by ABTS. In addition, in order to maintain certification and state licensure, the exam must be taken every ten years.
- Career options and expected growth. Most heart surgeons work in a hospital setting, though other options are possible—researching new approaches in cardiac surgery is one such option. Cardiac surgery is expected to grow at a faster-than-average rate of 24%.
- Salary. The median income for a heart surgeon in 2010 was $231,550.
Surgery is a physically and mentally demanding field, but has the potential to be very rewarding on all levels. You will literally be holding someone’s life in your hands and this can be both incredibly satisfying and stressful. Remember all the preparation that you have gone through and know that this education and training has prepared you to save lives. If you decide to become a heart surgeon, there is no doubt that it will take serious dedication and training.