So, you wanna be a doctor,huh?
The decision to pursue a medical career, whether as a doctor, nurse, or other heathcare professional should be a careful one. With so many TV shows and movies portraying doctors in the media, it’s easy to think about how glamorous those jobs look on television. Carefully think about why you are interested in the field, and what kinds of things you hope to accomplish and get out of your job. Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself as you consider this path.
Do you enjoy studying the health sciences? Do you like working with people? How are your communication skills? Do you think you would enjoy talking to new people and helping them with illness? Are you ready to dedicate a significant portion of your undergraduate life simply trying to get into med school? And when you get there, are you ready to dedicate 4 years to completing medical school and another 3-7 years completing your residency?
Before you dedicate the better part of your young life to the pursuit of a medical education, think about your reasons for wanting to pursue a career, and spend some time researching the road to the MD. Talk you your friends or relatives who have connections to the healthcare field. Talk to your own personal doctor about their career choices. Given the chance would they do it all over again?
What is the path the young Jedi must undertake to become a doctor?
Well, for most people, the planning comes early in your college career. (Some people do pursue alternate career interests first like engineering or the military first and become physicians later, but we’ll focus on the traditional methods.)
Expect to take several years of undergraduate classes in the basic sciences. Expect to take one year each of Biology, Physics, English, and two years of chemistry, including Organic Chemistry. This is not to say that your entire college life be dedicated to the sciences, but you can expect that these classes take a significant amount of your first few years of college to complete successfully.
Prior to your 4th year of College you’ll be expected to take and do well on the MCAT exam, acquire letters of recommendation, participate in community service or research, in addition to keeping up good grades.
During your senior year (or the year after if you choose to take some time off) you’ll apply to the Allopathic medical schools thru the AAMCAS process. Each medical school that is interested in you will ask for an interview that year, and in the Spring of your application year you can expect to get the “thick envelope” or a brief letter telling you “good luck” on your career elsewhere!
So You’re In, Now What?
After you enter medical school, the work really begins! After toiling for 2 years of the basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, etc…) you’ll finally enter the hallowed grounds of the hospital wards (real patients) and learn how to take care of sick people in hospitals, and to manage them as outpatients (regular checkups.) And after all this schooling, you have to complete a residency. That is, train specifically for your field of interest (Pediatrics, Adult Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery, or what have you) in a residency that is 3-7 years more on average. Still interested? Read on!
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