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What's a rough draft of my next years in education if I want to be a dermatologist and what should I know?

I'm currently a freshman in community college and just switched my major to Biology to pursue dermatology. I want to transfer to UCLA after community college, but there isn't much info on what my career pathway would look like in dermatology starting off at community college.

college college-major medicine healthcare pre-med dermatology dermatologist community-college dermatologists ucla
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Fred’s Answer

A dermatologist is an M.D. So, you first have to get a 4-year bachelors degree. It doesn't matter if you start in CC or not.
Then you'd go to medical school. That is another four years. You'd take the MCAT while in undergraduate. This is like the SAT or ACT, but for med school.
You'd then do residencies/internships/other training, which (I'm guessing here) would be another 3-6 years, training with a licensed doctor. You'd have to take and pass the boards in there somewhere (i'm not sure where) before you can start a private practice.

The short answer is that starting in CC doesn't really make much difference in the long run. It should save you some money, as CC is usually less expensive than a university.
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Mary Jane’s Answer

A dermatologist is a physician first so you are looking at a pre-med path in college and then attending medical school. Everyone's path to med school is different and it's perfectly fine for it to take longer than 4 year years - the average age for fist year med students is 25-26. Here's a general outline:

Complete courses at your community college - check the websites of medical schools you are interested in attending and start working on some of their prerequisite courses. Most of these are going to overlap with the bio major, but you want to sketch out a plan that will allow you to take biochemistry and physics for the MCAT, which is the entrance exam for med school. Keep your grades up (3.6 or higher would be my goal) and work on your study skills and test skills if anything is shaky.

Shadow doctors, learn about becoming both a physician and a dermatologist, and volunteer to serve your community. Get involved in a couple of clubs on campus to begin developing leadership and teamwork skills. Think about whether you want/need to complete a certification to work with patients (CNA, EMT, phlebotomy - not essential but some students need to work and would rather work with patients). If you are first-generation and/or from an identity underrepresented in medicine, look at the SHPEP program (shpep.org - applications due in February!). Look for research opportunities for the summers after 2nd and 3rd years - applications usually due Jan/Feb.

Transfer to a 4-year college to finish your biology degree and med school prereqs. Meet with a premed advisor to make a plan for finishing your degree, taking the MCAT, and applying to med school. Continue with shadowing, clinical volunteering and community service, as well as any clinical employment you've started. Get involved in clubs on your new campus and get to know your faculty, who you'll ask to write letters of recommendation. Consider taking one gap year (or more) so that you have more time to get to know faculty and gain more research and clinical experience.

The summer after your junior or senior year, you might apply to med school. The following fall-winter, you will interview with med schools. The fall after you interview, you will hopefully start med school. If you aren't immediately starting med school after graduating from college, you'll be looking for a job that will give you clinical and/or research experience to make you a stronger candidate when you apply. If you didn't get a certification earlier and feel like you need one after graduating to get a clinical job, you'll complete that certification and work. You can also take the MCAT after graduation and extend your application timeline as you complete the various steps along the route towards application -- the application cycle always begins in May/June and there's always a 1-year gap between applying and starting med school (the interview year).

Resources to learn more:
https://students-residents.aamc.org/
https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/6891/download
https://www.naahp.org/public-resources/student-resources
https://medicalschoolhq.net/

Mary Jane recommends the following next steps:

See if your college has a premed or prehealth advisor and make an appointment to create a plan. Use the NAAHP link above to find an advisor if you don't have one on your campus.
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Joseph’s Answer

If you've changed your direction to become and study dermatology, please understand these steps will follow the degree:

Here is what you can expect to follow in order to become a dermatologist.
Earn a bachelor's degree. ...
Take the MCAT. ...
Go to medical school. ...
Pass United States Medical Licensing Exam *USMLE) part one and two. ...
Complete residency. ...
Pass USMLE part three. ...
Get a license. ...
Earn board certification.
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