Donna Tafsiri           Take your grade 9 to work ALTERNATE assignment 

My future career that is in my interest: A future career that I’ am interested in is becoming a general surgeon. Ever since I was 7, I wanted to become a doctor, and now that I am a bit older and know exactly what types of doctors there are, I took a very big interest in being a surgeon. I am very passionate about becoming a surgeon specifically General Surgeon when I am older because I love learning about the human body and learning how things work in our bodies. There are a lot of different types of surgeons for example like a Neurosurgeon which focus on the brain, neck, and spine or a pediatric surgeon which is a surgeon for kids under the age of 17, cardio surgeons are for the heart, but my personal favourite and big interest to learn in is general surgery. A general surgeon focuses on more than one organ, unlike other surgeons general surgery specializes on the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid gland. Although during the five-year residency, the surgical experience must be gained in areas including the abdomen, endocrine system, vascular surgery and solid organ transplant. In addition, experience in pediatric surgery, trauma, emergency surgery and critical care surgery must also be gained. After completing the residency and obtaining the required number of operative hours, physicians can apply to take an exam in order to become board certified in general surgery. General surgeons also need to become licensed in the state they wish to practice.

I am passionate about this specific job because, a surgeon helps people every single day, saves lives. Although becoming any type of surgeon/Physician comes with many years of school and a very expensive education. According to the government of Canada, you need your completion of undergraduate and graduate education (a baccalaureate degree and a medical degree). As well these generally include four years of medical school leading to a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree and three to six years of surgical residency at a hospital. As well as how expensive medical school is in Canada, it is estimated to be around $190,000-$207,866, which is quite a lot of money just to become a doctor. But that does cover everything you could need to study and go to school. With this job even though all the stress and the work that is put into it, it becomes personal satisfaction. One other major qualification to become a surgeon completely is to become board certified. The salary expectations for this particular job is to be $290,975, that is once you become board certified and an attending. Once you are officially done medical school and start your internship at a hospital which is your first year of residency your average salary is $51,290 a year in Canada, so it is a quite long road to get to that high salary. Any type of surgeon’s salary is anything around $24,000-$437,500. 

  Although, with any type of job there are a lot of disadvantages. With this job, there are many disadvantages like lots of stress and time consumption. Becoming a surgeon takes 100% effort, time, and most importantly commitment. Sometimes lawsuits as well. With any type of doctor, there is always a chance with lawsuits. One last disadvantage for this job is very long hours. Specifically, a surgeon does surgery, the surgery takes a very long time anything form in between, 3-30 hours of standing straight up on your feet. But with all the disadvantages there are lots more advantages for this job.   

This job has been in demand for me since I was a little 100%. Even though it takes almost up to 8-9 years, every experienced physician has said it is worth it in the end and I believe so as well. I think any job that comes with saving lives is very good. I still like this job because, every day it becomes a learning opportunity as well, even when your done medical school or your residency. 

 One person that I have very close contact with and has been a major role model for me since I wanted to become a doctor has been my aunt. My aunt is a family doctor, but she has experienced almost 4-5 years of school. My aunt is quite familiar in the field of going to medical school. I asked my aunt that lives in Iran, and she said it takes hours and hours of studying, and even though she didn’t even go to the surgical section of medical school, she still became a family doctor, and even that still took lots of her hours and money every day. 

Quote: “Because I grew up with a strong family tradition of surgery, I also acquired a strong perception of the joys and demands of being a surgeon. Assisting people who are ill or injured has been and continues to be a rewarding dimension of the surgical profession for me. I would certainly pursue a career as a surgeon again without a second thought. And I would highly recommend the surgical profession to my children or any young person who is interested in a career that requires a lot of you and gives you even more in return.  

–George F. Sheldon, MD, FACS, General Surgeon 

When a patient gets well his doctor ‘feels’ good–a personal warm glow that tells him once again what being a doctor is. This pleasure never dulls with age or time, remains vital and strong after decades of practice. ‘Becoming a doctor’ is acquiring this ability to help a sick person get better. It is one of the most precious skills one can acquire in a lifetime.” 

–Frank C. Spencer, MD, FACS, Cardiothoracic Surgeon 

Video related to my future career/job/goal: 

 https://youtu.be/5ucr2UPZiI0 

 https://youtu.be/vREihxXcR8g