Cosmetic Surgeons: Job Description, Education, Skills and Duties, Earnings and Outlook
Submitted by: paula
Job Overview Many artist and models as well as laypeople in different parts of the world are conscious about improving their looks by modifying facial features and defying the aging process of having sagging breasts, facial muscles and eyebags, having more adipose tissue over the arms, tummies and thighs. They do this through several procedures like lasers and traditional surgeries. Cosmetic surgeons are the ones who make these things possible to them. Cosmetic surgeons are also known as esthetic surgeons or plastic surgeons. They are basically medical doctors whose specialty is to correct disfigurement of different parts of the body as well as improve physical appearance as desired by their clients. They may also be known as plastic surgeons although the latter specifically refer to doing reconstructive surgeries on abnormal parts of the body brought about by the developmental abnormalities, injuries, diseases and birth defects. Cosmetic surgeons on the other hand refer to doctors who are doing procedures to reshape normal body structures so as to improve their appearance.
Education, Knowledge and Trainings Required
As medical doctors, they should undergo a a lengthy process of training from the premedical course period to the residency period in cosmetic surgery. A minimum requirement to become a cosmetic surgeon is three to four years of undergraduate course in any of the sciences such as biology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, psychology, a four year medical proper course, a passing of the medical licensure examination, and an additional training in surgery and cosmetic surgery which may last for around 3 to 8 years depending on the specialties chosen. The residency period wil provide all the necessary trainings for general surgery and then cosmetic surgery, under a senior physician in a teaching hospital. Skills and AbilitiesScientific skills, technical skills as well as artistic skills rolled into one are the topmost sklls needed to be a cosmetic surgeon. They shoud be expert in their field, has a good manual dexterity to use different surgical instruments and tools as well as a good eye for aesthetics. To maintain a stable flow of client and referrals, interpersonal, communication and business skills are also needed.
Duties
This type of medical specialization is more challenging than any other types of practice as this involves a subjective evaluation of the product of the cosmetic surgery. Basically, cosmetic surgeons assess the needs for improvement of the client be it the eyes, nose, the extra lipids, the shape and size of the different parts of the body such as the lips, breast and butt to name a few.
They will then ask for the patients consent and prepare them for a prescribed procedure. Procedures nowadays that they perform are of wider range already, to include liposuctions, implants, surgical noselifting and facelifting, breast reduction and augmentation, eyebag removal, lip reduction and augmentation, butt augmentation, skin grafting to name a few, and their clients range from the wealthy ones and celebrities to just anyone who wish to get their physical images improved. They supervise the pre operative phase, intraoperative and the post operative phase of the surgical procedure and monitor the progress of their patients. They also do follow up check ups on their clients for additional monitoring and maintenance of the improved part done.
Earnings and Job Outlook
A cosmetic surgeon may be an independent practitioner in his/her own clinic, or may be part of the surgical team in a hospital, or be a part of the surgical department. Their income depends on the years of professional experience dictating the doctor's rate, the number of clients that they perform surgeries to in a year, as well as the status of employment and the state of practice. The range of earnings in a year is around 181,000 U.S. dollars in a year to 306,000 U.S. dollars. Others who are already established in their career earn around 411,000 U.S. dollars or more.
Paula Hiz is a researcher and a human resource specialist who helps newly graduates, job applicants and post graduate professionals be aware of their job opportunities and available trainings for skills and practice upgrading.
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