Doctors: What did you major in in college and why?

I majored in Biochemistry at UCLA. Biochemistry is a great undergraduate major if you are interested in obtaining a MD, DO, or PharmD. A lot of the lower division and upper division courses required for my BS also met the pre-requisites for med, pharm, and dental school. There are differences in pre-reqs required for each program, so look up the specific requirements for the schools you are interested in. Also, as a biochem major, the electives I took fulfilled my BS and pre-med requirements; one example was advanced human anatomy + lab. Another required course for Biochem was microbiology+lab, which also fulfilled pre-med and pre-pharm pre-requisites. I hope that helps! All the best to you!

I have recently retired after 27 plus years of anesthesiology practice. For the most part I found it to be a challenging, personally satisfying, and financially rewarding career. However, the practice of anesthesiology, as well as the field of medicine itself, is in transition and I feel the changes won't be for the better. Anesthesiology is technically a sub-specialty of surgery requiring at least 4 years of residency training following medical school. The practice of anesthesiology relies heavily on a knowledge base of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology, as well as technical skills. Undergraduate courses should emphasize biomedical sciences and be geared towards medical school admissions. A medical school education involves considerable effort, time, and expense. Serious consideration should be given to your motivation, commitment, and resources needed to successfully pursue such a venture. After all, this will constitute a personal sacrifice and significant financial investment. An alternative to medical school and an anesthesiology residency would be to consider becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA). This would involve undergraduate nursing school and 2 years of postgraduate, masters level training geared towards becoming an anesthesiology provider. A similar practice career with less time commitment and at a lesser cost. Currently, the job market is good and salaries are in the 6 figures.