The challenge of developing an identity as a surgeon educator stems from the widely differing standpoints of surgery, with its biomedical view of the world, and education in its context as a social science. We argue that a social science lens is necessary for exploring the complex educational problems that surgeons face. Various forms of faculty development exist to unite the disparate traditions of education and surgery, yet the transformation from surgeon to surgeon educator is likely to be fostered best from within a community of surgeons who also identify as educators. A surgeon educator is presented as one who is able to integrate the two world views of surgery and education, which will prove of benefit not only to those they educate but also to surgery as a whole.