Ben Carson Has An Impressive Medical Resume

In the wake of Thursday's GOP debates, an unlikely candidate has risen to the forefront of the crowd: Neurosurgeon Ben Carson has been climbing in the polls. The doctor has gained liberal criticism for a strict gay marriage stance and strong anti-Obamacare comments, but he's gaining conservative support. On Monday, Public Policy of Polling concluded Carson had 12 percent of the Republican Iowan vote — placing him right behind Trump who's at 19 percent. But before running for president and gaining fame as a doctor, Ben Carson had an interesting road to medicine. So where did Ben Carson go to medical school?

Despite his success in medicine, his life hasn't always been like that. According to NPR, Carson grew up poor in Detroit with a single, illiterate mother. In school, he struggled and some of his peers labeled him a "dummy."

In an interview with the Academy of Achievement, Carson said that despite being "horrible" student he always had dreams of being a doctor. When he told his mother about these medical ambitions, she was encouraging, telling him, "Of course you can do it. If anybody can do it, you can do it, except you can do it better. You can do anything anybody else can do, except you can do it better."

But by the end of the eighth grade, Carson was an "A" student, according to his interview with the Academy of Achievement. According to Carson's website, Carson did well in high school and graduated with honors before attended Yale University and graduating with a degree in psychology. He then worked a variety of jobs before being accepted into the University of Michigan Medical School.

Although he always knew he wanted to be a doctor, he decided his specialization much later. He told the Academy of Achievement he thought of becoming a missionary doctor, a psychiatrist, a cardiovascular surgeon, and finally a neurosurgeon. According to his biography offered by Johns Hopkins University, where he later taught as a professor, he "realized his ability to visualize the brain in three dimensions, excellent hand-eye coordination, and extensive neurological background were qualities fitting for a career as a neurosurgeon."

After graduating from the University of Michigan, Carson completed his residency training in Baltimore, Maryland, at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center. He would eventually become the director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. Carson later gained his fame for his 22-hour surgery separating conjoined twins in 1987.

Going from humble means as a "terrible student" to a world-renowned doctor is inspiring. But as he gains Republican support, keep in mind that his medical background is his professional background — he's never run for office before.