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Does it take longer to become a cardiothoracic surgeon?

In high school i was interested in how the organs of the body function and how to fix them. I took and Medical class freshman year, learning about first aid and treating hurting people and what to do in certain situations. I took health science as well and that taught me the different parts of the body like the nervous system, digestive system, etc. I have a pretty good idea on vocab and the basics on the human body. I have an interest being a chest surgeon because the heart is like one of the most important organs in the body.#healthcare #medicine

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Richard’s Answer

Yes CT surgery requires a fellowship. So:
4 years of college.
4 years of medical school.
5 years of general surgery residency.
2 years of cardiothoracic surgery fellowship
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Ransi’s Answer

Depends on what your comparing to. If it’s compared to becoming a family doc or pediatrician then yes. Cardiac surgeons complete a general surgery residency followed by a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery. There will likely be a couple of research years in there as well. This is on top of med school and college.

Ransi recommends the following next steps:

Consider speaking to a cardiac surgeon at a local hospital to see what his or her path was like
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Rachel’s Answer

Cardiothoracic surgery is a great field requiring a medical doctorate. This means that you will have to complete college with a bachelor’s degree as well as all of the Pre-med requirements (1 year biology, 1 year inorganic chemistry, 1 year organic chemistry + labs, physics, calculus, and biochemistry). GPA should probably be 3.5 or better (preferably >3.8). You will also have to score well on the MCAT. Once accepted to medical school, as long as you pass your classes and perform reasonably well during your four years of medical training, you can apply for a general surgery 5 year residency. Following that, you will likely apply for a 2 year cardiothoracic fellowship. Alternatively, you could apply for an integrated CT residency immediately out of medical school and save 1-2 years.
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