If I am a current MA, can I move forward in my academics to become a surgeon?

Yes but that means going to school for 4 years of college then getting into medical school, being an intern, resident, most likely a fellow, then a working surgeon. It will take years of higher education but you can do it.

💯% Go for it!!! Its a LOT but i listed the game plan per friends who are now surgeons/providers. I considered it and found it hard to find ALL the facts in one place. Hope it helps and I’m cheering for ya!

1. You’ll need a bachelors if you don’t already.
2. Study and pass with a competitive MCAT score. 511 is about 80th percentile. SOME schools don’t require it but you have to have certain prereqs/get accepted into a special program while in undergrad.
3. Interview and get accepted to med school. It can get expensive, but with a high MCAT (528 and up) schools will actually recruit you.
4. First year you take Step 1; super important bc it’s a big factor for residency matching.
5. Take Step 2 and 3 and pass med school.
6. Match with a surgical residency. Most are 5 years, neurosurgery is 7. If you don’t match you can do a transitional year and then try to match again next cycle.
7. Fellowship is optional but in some specialties necessary. You take a yearly exam and will rotate services, focusing on your specialty more as you move up in post grad years (PGY).
8. Become Board Certified after graduation. You have 3 chances to pass, so yay more exams.

Oral surgery is similar but you go to dental school and will do an anesthesia rotation during residency, it’s a pretty cool option bc you can be flexible in practice. They can do anything from TMJ to ENT, and plastics/reconstruction.

Of course