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What does the field of medicine entail?

What does the field of medicine entail?

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Jacqueline’s Answer

The "field" of medicine is quite large. You think about a hospital and the many departments needed to provide patient care. One thing I didn't realize until I got into college was that there's more to medicine than doctors and nurses. Allied health plays a huge roll is medicine and it's got lots of variety. Let's pretend you go to the hospital for something. You'll be visited by a nurse and a doctor or two but also by a phlebotomist who will draw your blood. Perhaps an x- ray tech if you broke a bone. A respiratory therapist if you're having issues breathing. Let's say you need surgery, they could want a sonogram of your heart to make sure your heart can take the anesthesia.

There are plenty of others involved in medicine but basically it boils down to treating patients to get them well.
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Hwal’s Answer

Karl,

I think the most common perception of medicine, or practicing medicine, is that you use your medical knowledge and skills to screen for, diagnose, treat, and monitor for medical conditions, and as a PA, I would agree that is a large part of what I do. Medicine is so much more dynamic and nuanced in practice though, so feel free to check out this link and get a feel for the many different ways medicine can be practiced:

https://www.pasdothat.net/

Let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.

Hwal
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Scott’s Answer

Hello Karl! The "medicine" is a very broad term. There are clinical pursuits (hands-on care), scientific research-oriented careers and business aspects of medical care. It can mean anything from being a medical technician (someone who performs tests or draws blood in a doctor's office) to being a brain surgeon or running a hospital and many other fields as well (physical therapy, occupational therapy radiology technician, etc...). What medicine entails therefore is quite varied. I only personally know of the requirements for being a doctor which are quite demandin (4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and then training in your specific field as an intern and resident which can take from 3-7 years or more). Talking to people you know such as your doctor and the employees in their office (possibly nurses, medical technicians) would be a convenient source of information. If you know anyone in a health-related field, they could also be helpful. Perhaps you can speak to a guidance counselor to see if there are any vocational programs that can provide information. If you are planning to go to college you will have the opportunity to take classes that can give you a taste of what different fields may be like and there, you will have the opportunity to interact with professors who often have had real-life experience in their fields. I encourage you to keep your options open and to explore different ideas to find where your interests truly lie. Best of luck!
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Rita’s Answer

This is the timeline:
4 years high school
4 years college
4 years medical school
3-??? years of internship/residency/fellowship depending on the field you choose (pediatrics, oncology, gynecology, gynecology/oncology etc)

Medical school and internship/residency are the hardest years
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