Since the beginning of the school year, I have learned much about Pediatric Surgery as well as about myself. The past few weeks were nonetheless- trying. Adjusting to online instruction posed a challenge in communication but overall through research I was able to understand the foundations of Pediatric Surgery such as the level of education (and the time it takes to complete it), the possible working environments, and the fields that work closely with Pediatric Surgeons, as well as different professional organizations such as the American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA). I was able to dive into and learn more about the requirements, qualifications, exams, and certifications needed to become a Pediatric Surgeon like the MCAT (to get into medical school- although it is not required for some BS/MD programs), the United States Licensing Exam (during medical school), and many more throughout residency. All this knowledge has helped me gain a more primitive understanding of the field but has also invoked the desire to learn more.
Some questions I hope to soon answer mostly regard the lifestyle of a Pediatric Surgeon as well as the techniques used by one. The accessibility to firsthand accounts of a day in the life of a Pediatric Surgeon is scarce, and I would love to reach out to individuals in the field to understand what it’s truly like. Furthermore, I have questions I need to answer in the future regarding the surgical techniques and methods used by Pediatric Surgeons. There was one thing that stood out to me through my research: a Pediatric Surgeon must go through five years of general surgery residency before completing two years in pediatric surgery. Is there a learning curve during the transition from general to pediatric surgery? On that note, because pediatrics deals with patients at different levels of development, do the surgical tools change in regard to the patient or is it the technique of the surgeon- or is it in fact both? While researching I found a few sources from 2012 regarding the accessibility to pediatric surgical tools in third world countries. This raises the question of if pediatric surgical tools are a new development- are they recent in the field of medicine and -again- do they require different, specific techniques than that of post-adolescent surgery? These are a few of the many questions I must ask myself and my resources in the following weeks. I am truly excited for what the future holds and to grow my understanding of Pediatric Surgery.
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