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What does it take to become a doctor?
#sonogram #surgeon
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Courtney’s Answer
If you decide your career path early, it will start in high school. Taking the right classes (science & math based) and getting good grades. Find an advisor or counselor to help guide you and create a timeline/plan.
After high school, you need to attend a 4-year university to achieve your Bachelor's Degree. If you know you want to become a doctor going into college, you should talk to an advisor who will help you choose a degree that is beneficial to your goal. The classes you take for said degree will then set you up to be successful in the MCAT. After taking the MCAT, you will complete the med school application process.
Note: there is such a thing as a BS/MD program which, if accepted, lets you go straight to medical school after obtaining a Bachelor's degree without applying to medical school. The length of these programs varies; some are six years, some are seven, and others are eight.
If you're not sure you want to become a doctor when you go to university, you'll most likely receive a Bachelor's degree in something that is not necessarily pre med related but perhaps you're passionate about. This may require that you take further classes after college to prepare you for the MCAT and to meet any necessary course requirements for attending med school. Taking a little time off after university and applying as a "non traditional" pre med student is not a bad thing! As long as you spend your time with intention... Get some relevant work experience, volunteer, take classes, fix grades (if needed) and shadow doctors.
Regardless, I can't stress how important a few things are throughout this journey -
1. Keep your grades up
2. Find an advisor (regardless of the career path you choose). Talking to someone that can help you create a plan is instrumental to your success.
3. Volunteer your time (again, regardless of the career path you choose). Many people think that volunteering has to be done in a hospital setting, this is not true. Volunteer your time for something you are passionate about and that you can stick to.
4. Network & ask questions: Meet students that are also interested in becoming a doctor. Shadow a doctor and ask them how/why they decided to pursue medicine. Do your research, you must know what you're getting yourself into (look up schools, specialties, cost, etc.). Lastly, dig deep and ask yourself WHY? Why do you want to become a doctor (this is SO important).
Best of luck :) I really hope this helps!
-Courtney
After high school, you need to attend a 4-year university to achieve your Bachelor's Degree. If you know you want to become a doctor going into college, you should talk to an advisor who will help you choose a degree that is beneficial to your goal. The classes you take for said degree will then set you up to be successful in the MCAT. After taking the MCAT, you will complete the med school application process.
Note: there is such a thing as a BS/MD program which, if accepted, lets you go straight to medical school after obtaining a Bachelor's degree without applying to medical school. The length of these programs varies; some are six years, some are seven, and others are eight.
If you're not sure you want to become a doctor when you go to university, you'll most likely receive a Bachelor's degree in something that is not necessarily pre med related but perhaps you're passionate about. This may require that you take further classes after college to prepare you for the MCAT and to meet any necessary course requirements for attending med school. Taking a little time off after university and applying as a "non traditional" pre med student is not a bad thing! As long as you spend your time with intention... Get some relevant work experience, volunteer, take classes, fix grades (if needed) and shadow doctors.
Regardless, I can't stress how important a few things are throughout this journey -
1. Keep your grades up
2. Find an advisor (regardless of the career path you choose). Talking to someone that can help you create a plan is instrumental to your success.
3. Volunteer your time (again, regardless of the career path you choose). Many people think that volunteering has to be done in a hospital setting, this is not true. Volunteer your time for something you are passionate about and that you can stick to.
4. Network & ask questions: Meet students that are also interested in becoming a doctor. Shadow a doctor and ask them how/why they decided to pursue medicine. Do your research, you must know what you're getting yourself into (look up schools, specialties, cost, etc.). Lastly, dig deep and ask yourself WHY? Why do you want to become a doctor (this is SO important).
Best of luck :) I really hope this helps!
-Courtney
Updated
Will’s Answer
If you mean traits, the biggest things are discipline/work ethic (biggest), compassion/people skills, some degree of raw intelligence. However, Courtney largely covered the things you would need to do in college in order to get into med school. I'll provide my two cents as well:
1. Get into the best college where you can get a high GPA (very important) and not end up with a lot of debt. Average debt for a graduate of medical school is 190k; if you are smart enough to get into med school, you can probably get at least partial scholarships for undergrad. Med schools really don't care about undergrad prestige that much. There is no one "best pre-med college" like many ask.
2. Once in college, you can major in anything you want as long as you fulfill basic science pre-reqs for most medical schools. Biology (especially physiology and biochem) is the most useful major by far, but is no means required. It will give you a leg up on MCAT studying and preclinical classes.
3. Join organizations and clubs, be active and take leadership roles. Shadow docs and volunteer at the local hospital. A strong med school application has a good GPA (preferably 3.6+), good MCAT, and good extracurriculars.
1. Get into the best college where you can get a high GPA (very important) and not end up with a lot of debt. Average debt for a graduate of medical school is 190k; if you are smart enough to get into med school, you can probably get at least partial scholarships for undergrad. Med schools really don't care about undergrad prestige that much. There is no one "best pre-med college" like many ask.
2. Once in college, you can major in anything you want as long as you fulfill basic science pre-reqs for most medical schools. Biology (especially physiology and biochem) is the most useful major by far, but is no means required. It will give you a leg up on MCAT studying and preclinical classes.
3. Join organizations and clubs, be active and take leadership roles. Shadow docs and volunteer at the local hospital. A strong med school application has a good GPA (preferably 3.6+), good MCAT, and good extracurriculars.