Moises
What do i need to be a Doctor?
Because i want to be a Doctor:) #doctor #medicine #health #hospital-and-health-care
5 answers
Ransi Somaratne MD
Ransi’s Answer
The most important thing is understanding WHY you want to be a doctor. If you can answer that honestly and are motivated by a strong desire to become a doctor no matter how hard and how long it takes, you have the most important "thing" already. Beyond that, you need a bachelor's degree from a 4 year university with good grades to get into medical school. Once you are in medical school you will decide what specialty you want to study after you graduate.
Karyn Auger, MHA
Karyn’s Answer
Hi Moises, The first thing you need to be a doctor is to be sure you WANT to be a doctor! Being any kind of doctor is a huge commitment in time and money. The educational process is long and and exhausting. To succeed you need to want to help people, you need to be able to put others needs above your own, you need to understand all the things you may be giving up to be a doctor.
Karyn recommends the following next steps:
Yuan Lu
Yuan’s Answer
The basic requirement would be:
- go to medical school to get a M.D. degree; or
- go to osteopathic medical school to get an osteopathic medicine degree (D.O.).
Both of the degree are 4-year post graduate degree, which means you need to finish the regular colleague education and get a Bachelor's degree first. Before medical school application, you also need to take the Medical School Admission Test (MCAT). Medical school admission is highly selective hence requires relative high GPA and certain amount humanity activities.
There are some other programs including 6-7 year accelerated BS/MD programs (http://www.directbsmd.com/6-year-bsmd-programs.html). In addition, there are some medical school provide pre-professional scholar programs, which is usually 8 years and MCAT is not required.
Study in Medical School abroad is another option for accelerated program. But you would have to take the same board exam if practice in the U.S..
Lindsey Baltz
Lindsey’s Answer
There's a lot that goes into becoming a doctor. First, you need to make sure you're taking pre-medical courses during your undergraduate program (very math/science heavy courses). You'll also want to be involved in pre-medical associations and organizations to start gaining experience in the field and making sure it's what you really want. Before applying to medical school, you will need to study and take the MCAT's. From there, then you will apply for medical school. In addition to your four years in undergrad, medical school is another four years. During this time, you will study a lot and a also participate in clinical rotations. During medical school, you will also take Step 1 and Step 2, which are national exams. These scores will be a part of where you do your residency. As you're finishing up medical school, you will be applying to residency programs, a very expensive and time-consuming process. During this time, you'll be doing your coursework and traveling, possibly around the country, to do your residency interviews. At this point, you will be applying for residency for a specific specialty. Depending on which specialty you choose, you're looking at another 3-8 or so years of residency (all while making a resident salary, not an attending salary, which is what people typically think of when they think of doctor salaries). Committing to be a doctor is a time-intensive, emotionally and financially draining process, but it can also be an exceptionally rewarding career. Good luck on your decision!
Richard A.
Richard’s Answer
Pick a major that interests you so you don't mind devoting a majority of your hours to studying. You will need to get good grades in college in order to apply for medical school. At the medical school I attended, the average GPA is reported to be 3.85, so even one or two B's can hurt your chances of acceptance.
Aside from this, any major is acceptable as long as you complete the prerequisite courses. I chose to major in biochemistry because there was overlap with the premed requirements and I wanted to complete my degree in 3 years.
Typical medical school prerequisites include:
Biology: Lecture – 4 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
General Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Organic Chemistry: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Biochemistry: Lecture – 1 semester
General Physics: Lecture – 2 semesters; Lab – 1 semester
Math: Statistics – 1 semester
English: Rhetoric (Composition) and Literature – 2 semesters
Try to find opportunities to pursue research.
Volunteer at your local hospital or low-income clinic. Ask physicians, PAs or other clinical providers if you can shadow them.
During college study for and complete the MCAT. Devote an entire summer to studying for the MCAT and consider paying for a prep course if you can afford it.
My son used MCAT Complete 7-Book Subject Review 2019-2020: Online + Book + 3 Practice Tests (Kaplan Test Prep) Kaplan Test Prep
It was about $140 and he achieved his goal score.
Apply to medical schools during your last year of college.
Medical school takes 4 years to complete.
After medical school physicians complete a residency for additional training. These can last 3-6 years and are sometimes followed by an additional year or two of fellowship subspecialty training.
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