7 Sexiest Doctor Specialties

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After extensive research, thousands of survey respondents, and cutting edge discoveries in the science of arousal, we’ve compiled this list of the sexiest doctor specialties as backed by the scientific literature. Just kidding – here is an insight into 7 great specialties that you may be interested in pursuing.

Surgeons are obviously the most attractive. Don’t believe me? Just ask one, and they’ll let you know.

Survey

Looking at this super legit and highly valid online survey (just kidding, again), it appears that surgeons are in fact the most attractive type of doctor, with 36% of women and 25% of men picking surgeons as the most datable type of medical professional. Respondents to this survey believe surgeons are practically minded, intelligent, can remain calm in difficult situations, and of course, are “good with their hands.” The stereotype doesn’t hurt either, as surgeons are commonly thought of as confident leaders who are comfortable with risk. I guess having crazy, often unpredictable working hours and not being around must be sexy too.

This list is in no particular order of sexiness, so feel free to take a read with a grain of salt.

 

1 | Neurosurgery

When you think of an impressive, badass surgeon, neurosurgery likely comes to mind. This is the specialty for those who aren’t afraid of hard work and long hours. Neurosurgeons are the hardest working people in the hospital, not only because they’re in there longer than anybody else, but because they’re also managing complex patients in the surgical ICU that need brain surgery. That means managing pressors for their blood circulation, complex ventilator settings for respiration, and other life-saving measures. It’s a unique balance, heavy on both surgery and medical management. If you look at other surgical specialties like orthopedics, plastics, or ENT, medical management is comparatively minor.

This isn’t just a matter of calmly waiting around and relaxing until the scheduled case either. When you’re on call handling brain and spine trauma, you’ll be handling life-or-death decisions on the regular.

Neurosurgery is sexy because it’s concerned with a beautifully complex organ, the brain, and of course the rest of the central and peripheral nervous systems. It’s a specialty that certainly isn’t for everyone for multiple reasons, including the fact that your patients are quite sick. Think about it – who needs brain surgery? It’s generally patients that have less than favorable outcomes, and you’ll be delivering bad news more routinely than the average doctor in most other specialties. It’s rough when your patients have poor outcomes, and it’s often overlooked as a significant challenge.

In terms of doctors that actually save people’s lives, neurosurgeons are among the few. It’s highly innovative too, with new tech, particularly in the field of functional neurosurgery, where the line is being blurred between what is you and what is hardware.

Neurosurgeons must be smart too, as it’s a highly competitive specialty. However, it’s not as competitive as the next specialty: plastic surgery.

 

2 | Plastic Surgery

Plastic surgery had to make the list. After all, these are the surgeons you go to when you want to look sexy. Whether you want your nose done up with a rhinoplasty, be more full with a breast augmentation, or work on your body through body contouring, plastic surgery is the epitome of beauty, melding art with science. Plus, with the exorbitant fees they charge for each procedure, they’re rolling in the dough, making millions, and living a lavish lifestyle.

Actually, that’s aesthetic plastic surgery, which is just one part of plastics. The average aesthetic plastic surgeon isn’t making nearly as much money as you think – top earners are just the outliers.

If you go to an academic hospital, the plastic surgery department is primarily doing reconstructive work, which isn’t as glamorous as what you see in Beverly Hills.  I’d still argue, however, that it’s sexier than aesthetic work anyway. Reconstructive plastic surgery blurs the line between science fiction and reality. The case that made me fall in love with the specialty was an animated latissimus dorsi transfer, where the patient was unable to bend their arm at the elbow, so we essentially created a bicep out of their latissimus dorsi back muscle! I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Reconstructive plastic surgery can give women a semblance of normalcy after a mastectomy for breast cancer, even including creating a realistic nipple-areola complex. It can help babies and children with cleft lip and palate eat and speak without issue.

In the hospital, plastic surgeons are considered “the surgeon’s surgeon”, and that’s sexy. Plastic surgeons are the masters of soft tissue, helping the neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, general surgeons, cardiothoracic surgeons, and just about every other surgical specialty with complex soft tissue coverage. In other words, after a complex case, such as a cancer resection or trauma, a large defect can remain. With their mastery of soft tissue malleability, plastic surgeons can use flaps to cover the defect, sometimes even moving entire muscle and tissue segments from one part of the body to another, and connecting their blood supply and nerves with microscopes.

These were some of the hardest working medical students, as plastic surgery is consistently the 1st or 2nd most competitive specialty in any given year, duking it out with dermatology. But once they’ve finished training, plastic surgeons usually have more reasonable schedules than other surgical specialties, meaning they won’t flake on your date night. And that’s sexy.

 

3 | Cardiothoracic Surgery

Up there with neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery also has a mystic allure and sex appeal to those outside of medicine. After all, who else can fix a broken heart?

Most people think of heart surgery when they think of cardiothoracic, but the “-thoracic” in CT refers to other structures within the thorax, such as the aorta, lungs, mediastinum, esophagus, and diaphragm. But I suppose those aren’t as sexy as the heart.

It’s an exciting field, with epic operations. Where else can you feel the heart beating in your hands, stop it, and then bring it back to life? Just as with plastic surgery and neurosurgery, it’s also highly innovative, with new robotic and minimally invasive surgeries being developed regularly.

While CT surgery is glamorous and exciting, it’s tough for similar reasons to neurosurgery. This is a highly demanding specialty with a great deal of hard work, and with the challenging calls, the hours are anything but predictable. Surgeries are long, and patients are sick, often not having favorable outcomes. You will have more patients die compared to most other specialties.

And while you won’t make as much money as the average neurosurgeon or plastic surgeon, you’ll be living quite comfortably, making an average of $480,000 per year.

 

4 | Runner Ups

There are a lot of sexy specialties within medicine. After all, being a doctor of any type is quite attractive. But to cover all of them in a single video just isn’t possible.

Let’s not forget dermatology of course, since beautiful skin is sexy, as is their amazing work/life balance, making good money while working very predictable and reasonable 9 to 5 hours. There’s a reason it’s such a sought after specialty.

Orthopedic surgery is sexy if you’re into jocks or bros. This is the one specialty where your bench press and USMLE Step scores must add up to over 500 to even be remotely considered.

And urology and gynecology are on the list because they make sure we can act on our sexy impulses. And plus, urologists have an amazing sense of humor, and being funny is always in style.

This article was obviously just for fun, so take what I’ve said with a grain of salt. If you want to learn about any of these specialties in greater depth, check out my So You Want to Be playlist where we highlight a specific doctor specialty and teach you all about it.

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