Shravani
How many years does it take to become a doctor?
I'm interested in learning more about the process for becoming a doctor. #doctor #professor #medicine #hospital-and-health-care #hospitality
4 answers
James Garza
James’s Answer
i graduated med school in 1993 and have been a family physician for 20+ years.
the usual path is an undergraduate degree from college and then medical school. however, some med schools don't require a college degree; they just want you to complete all of the required pre-med courses. so between high school and med school will usually be from 3 to 5 years. some of that depends on what you major in and whether you change majors. for instance, i got a degree in business management, so it took me 5 years to complete that degree program in addition to all of the pre-med requirements.
medical school is almost always 4 years. of course, there could be exceptions there as well. for instance, many students enter medical school having already completed other advanced studies such as Dentistry, Pharmacology, or have a PhD in a biological science. those individuals might be able to skip some of the medical courses or even a full academic year.
conversely, some of my classmates took a lot longer to finish med school. for instance, there is a MD/PhD program where you take the first two years of medical school then work on your research project for a few years then return to complete the final two years of med school. that usually takes around 7 years or so from the time they enter med school.
lastly, you need to understand that simply getting your MD degree is not the end of your studies. the next step is your training in a specialty Residency program. the amount of time you spend in this varies widely. for instance, family medicine residency was 3 years for me. however, if you choose one of the subspecialty surgery residencies, like plastic surgery, you could be looking at up to 7 more years.
bottom line: there's a lot to learn in medicine. and society has a vested interest in making sure that practicing physicians will "do no harm" to their patients. so you'd better be committed if you choose to go down this career path.
good luck!
Theresa Boyd, M.D., FCAP
Theresa’s Answer
The answer depends on where you want to begin in the educational process. Usually there are four years in undergraduate education, but a bachelors degree is not required. You must however complete the prerequisite classes for each medical school you consider.
Medical school is 3-4 years depending on the program. There are a few accelerated programs which are three years, but the majority are four years. When you graduate from medical school you are given your MD degree and you are a physician. However you must complete at least one year of post-graduate resident training to qualify to take Step III of the medical boards (the first 2 are taken in school) and to obtain a state medical license. In the past this was sufficient to set up a general private practice, but things have changed and most hospitals require doctors to be board-certified in a medical specialty.
Resident programs range from 3-five years. Primary care such as Internal Medicine and Family Practice are three years. OB-GYN is four years and pathology are 3-4 years depending on if you decided to do a combined program. Radiology is either 3 or 4 years. If you want to be a surgeon you can count on a minimum of five years. Then there is the question of sub-specialty training called Fellowship training. These programs are 1-2 years in addition to residency training. If you want to be an Oncologist, Cardiologist, Plastic surgeon, etc, you will have to complete a fellowship. Pathology, which is my specialty requires one if not two years of fellowship to be marketable.
I trained in pathology with a sub-specialty in Transfusion medicine after competeing an internship in internal medicine. So my training post-graduate was 6 years. I am board certified in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology and transfusion medicine.
So if you want to be a doctor you have to be prepared for the long haul. The good news is that you begin to draw a salary in your internship. It’s well worth it. Medicine is very personally gratifying.
I hope this helps
Susan Brunner
Susan’s Answer
Hoping they will improve the process in the next few years. You can do anything if you learn how to study. It’s like going to the gym . Start puny and build strong. Same with your brain on studying. The more you do it the better you get .
Richard A.
Richard’s Answer
3-year residencies:
Family Medicine
Internal Medicine
Pediatrics
4-year residencies:
OB/GYN
Orthopedics
Pathology
5-year residencies:
Surgery
Radiology
6-year residencies:
Urology
Neurosurgery