Hi, I'm in high school and want to be a surgeon but I have rheumatiold arthritis. Should I pursue a different career?
Lots of people with autoimmune conditions are doctors. However, surgeons do have to spend long amounts of time standing and with little mobility during operations, which can be difficult if you have RA if you don’t get to mobilize your joints. I wouldn’t say it’s impossible but you will definitely have an extra physical hurdle to bear.
This is so heartbreaking. I’m not sure it would be worth the time, especially if you start to get cataracts. Being a surgeon takes a long time and a lot of work, it might not be worth the extra pain. You still have probably six (?) year’s until it’s time to decide, who knows what could change in that time. When I was in high school I wanted to be an astrophysicist, and then partway into my freshman year of college I found pediatrics and surgery. Even if you get out of undergrad and still don’t know, you can go to medical school and not decide until it’s time to apply to residency.
