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steps to becoming a doctor
14/f
Right now, I'm a sophomore in high school, and I'm starting to think about what I want to do after the rest of high school and college. My mom has always pressured me into becoming a doctor. As a result, I took a intro into medical science class last year that I really had fun in it. I realized that I love learning about how the human body works. Now, I actually want to go to medical school (this isn't some rash decision I've made; I've thought about it for awhile and I'm serious about it). I just have some questions about it that my parents can't really answer, so I'll list them below:
1) Is there anything in high school that I could do that will help prepare me for medical school? If so, what is it and how can I do it?
2) My mom had told me that it isn't a good idea to only do pre-med (I think she meant so I would have a back-up plan). Instead, I should major in something like engineering and just take the required classes for med school along with the other classes. Is this a good idea and how exactly would this work?
3) Keeping question 2 in mind as well, what are some universities that would be good to go to if I want these classes?
4) What exactly are the steps to getting into med school? I understand undergrad and graduate school stuff, but how does medical school fit into that?
5) Is there anything else really important that I should know that I haven't mentioned?
I realize that there probably isn't many doctors on the website. However, I would just like any resources (mainly websites or organizations) that could help me answer my questions. Thanks in advance!
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Hi there!
I'll be happy to help.
I'm a Junior in University right now hoping to become a doctor as well.
Taking intro to medical science was a very good decision on your part because you realized how much you like science. So thumbs-up to you for that! I am a Biology major, but I am on the pre-medical/pre-professional track. (I'll explain more on this in your first question)
To answer your questions in order...
1. Continue to take science classes, try to take as many AP sciences as you can handle because they will better prepare you for college. I will recommend AP Biology / AP Chemistry / ALSO... AP Calculus and AP Statisics are highly HIGHLY recommended. Why Calculus and Statistics? When you go to college, part of declaring a medical major means that you have to be well-versed in higher level mathematics.. Depending on the college you choose to apply to, calculus and/or statistics will be required. Also, you will notice in college that the amount of course work you will have a whole high-school year to learn .. will have to be taught in half that time. (A highschool schoolyear is from August to June.. in most areas and you pretty much have all the same classes throughout. Well in college, you have from August to December to learn that same amount of work!) My advice is take as many AP's as you can so that you can familiarize yourself with the material, try to pass the AP tests as well. Some colleges will accept the AP credit so you won't have to take them again in college. Although most science majors will require you to repeat the science-bases courses like biology and chemistry. But still, that should not stop you because seeing the material a second time around will put you at so much of an advantage over the rest of the student body! The better advantage you have over your college peers, the better off you are at getting accepted over other medical school applicants.
2. Most college's do not have Pre-Med as an actual major. Pre-Med is usually just an indicator that you want to go to medical school, but majority of universities do not even have that as a major. Rather, there are other names of majors that follow in the same category to help you prepare for medical school. Depending on the univeristy you want to attend, you will most likely end up being a biology, chemistry, molecular biology, etc major. I would not recommend majoring in engineering because it is a lot more work on your part to get into medical school. You really want to graduate in 4 years from college to get into medical school. Depending on the science major you choose, there are a certain number of classes you have to take (categorized by credit hours.. each class is worth different amount of credits, the harder ones have more weight to them usually) Normally, as a freshman and sophomore, the classes you have to take are extremely specific in a science major. As you get to your junior and senior year, you can pick certain science courses that you are interested in or have to take. (Sometimes, when you know what medical school you want to go to, they require on their website, what higher-level science courses you had to have taken in college to get into their program but it's not something to worry about because most likely your college will offer the necessary courses). Now, I'm not saying you CANT major in something else and get into medical school. Trust me, there are lots of people who apply to medical school who aren't science majors, such as Psychology AND Engineering. But keep in mind, that if you major in something else, in addition to the required medical school classes, you would need to take everything that satisfies an engineering major as well or else you can't graduate from a college with a bachelors degree. (Most medical schools require that you have a bachelors degree to enter their program) My advice is to major in a science, preferably Biology or Biomedical sciences or whatever your school offers, even Chemistry and take those courses! Just because you are a science major does not mean you HAVE to go to medical school. There are more careers available to you. (More on this soon)
3. There are a number of medical schools in the country. Here is a wikipedia link on all the schools. [Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Depending if you have to go out of state for medical school, you should look into the school you're interested in. You don't have to choose a school now, but if you live in a state with a good amount and you don't want to leave, look at your options there. As you learn throughout your years in college, there are two types medical doctor degrees. MD or DO. These are the degrees that you can either have if you go to medical school. When you see a doctor's name listed on his or her door, you see the MD or DO at the end of his or her name. MD is a Doctor of Medicine and DO is a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. The difference between them is their teaching styles. DO doctors analyze the patient as a whole, rather than an MD who look at the injured or diseased parts of a person. I'm sure you're more familiar with MD than DO. You get these degrees after 4 years of medical school. As you get closer to choosing which path you want to take, MD or DO, you will need to select the appropriate school to attend. DO and MD are two separate program and require different schools.
4. Getting into medical school requires a lot of hard work. But it is not to discourage anyone. Medical schools want the best of the best students. Each medical school has their own set of requirements. To decide which school is best for you, you have to specfically look at their requirements. What you need to know now is that you have to take the right amount of courses and the right times to keep on schedule! Time is key and you have to take challenging courses and keep a busy work load in college. Med schools will look at all of these! The classes you take, when you take them, your grades, etc. Also, you have to be active in the community with experience, whether it is volunteer work, internships, shadowing, etc. (These have to be done continuously.. not just in the summer! But even through the school year, with all the work you have to do!) Med schools want well-rounded students who are able to keep up good grades with other responsibilities! You should also get involved in college as much as you can with medical/science organizations. They will help to improve your medical school application!
5. One thing you REALLY should know.
Going to medical school is one thing, but there are PRE-PROFESSIONAL tracks as well. Meaning, medical school isn't the ONLY way to become any kind of doctor. There are schools for dentistry, optometry, chiropactic medicine, podiatry, physican assistant, pharmacy, even veterinarian... These professions do NOT require you to attend MEDICAL OR OSTEOPATHIC school! These are specific schools that you can attend after undergraduate (college/university) and you can become a dentist, pharmacist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, veterinarian! If you decide you want to do one of these, you do not need to look into medical school. Any other kind of doctor/surgeon requires medical school.
Keep in mind that going to medical school isn't only 4 years and then you're a doctor. After 4 years of medical school...if you choose the MD path, you will have to do 3 years of residency! Meaning, in medical school, towards the end .. you will finally get to decide what kind of doctor you want to be. When you first enter medical school, you learn everything! Not what you're interesed in... only until your last two years of medical school you get to specialize in what you want, after having had experience in the different types of doctor practices. You will have more and more exams to take during medical school as well to make sure you're keeping up with what you've been taught. These are national exams so you have to take them seriously! But not to worry because if you are determined, you will do well! If you want to go into something more specialized such as neurosurgery (the really hard stuff), You might need an additional 2 years of residency. Therefore, if you want to be a doctor and go to med school, estimate at least 7 years of study after college.
**. One thing I havent mentioned is that to get into medical school you have to take the MCAT. Just like to get into college you have to take either SAT or ACT. Well, in medical school, their entrance exam is the MCAT. You can research more information about the exam once you get nearer to the time. For the pre-professional schools, they have their own exams OAT, DAT, PCAT, GRE.. but some of the pre-professionals i mentioned require the MCAT. (Not optometry, dentistry, physician assistant and pharmacy)..
I hope my information didn't scare you but I just want to let you know as much as you can. If there's anything else I can help you with, let me know!! Write to me!
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