2 answers
Skye
Student
Mesquite, Texas
1
Question
Updated
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What is the career path for someone who wants to be a doctor?
Pediatrician
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2 answers
Joseph Burley
Enterprise Account Manager
4
Answers
Seattle, Washington
Updated
Joseph’s Answer
High school > college > med school > residency > potential fellowship > attending physician
Despite popular belief, you can get into med school with any undergrad degree. You will need the science foundation of having taken college level science courses though. So if you don’t want to teach all that to yourself, majoring in biology/chemistry/bio-chem/kinesiology/etc would be the simplest way to go.
Many people are finding med school difficult to get into on the first try now. My wife, who is now a surgeon, didn’t get in on her first attempt. So don’t despair if that happens to you! Many people work in the medical field for a year or two to bolster their résumé before applying or when applying for the second time. Scribe, medical assistant, emt, medical tech, are all great options.
In medical school, your first two years will be mostly classroom/academic learning. Your third and especially fourth year will be more clinically focused. Most people figure out which specialty they want to go into in their third year as you rotate through all the specialties and experience what it would actually be like to be that kind of doctor. Then the fourth year can be more focused on that specialty but you can use this year to decide as well.
You’ll then commit to a specialty by getting into residency. You’re a doctor now, getting your real-world, on-the-job training. So you practice under supervision.
A fellowship is a further specialization on top of your existing specialization. This is optional and people do this when they want to focus on one aspect/area of their specialty’s field.
After that, you’re an attending physician! This is what most people think of when they think of a doctor. You practice on your own. Most doctors either work for a hospital or a private practice.
That was a lot of info but there are plenty of details I left out that I could go into if you’d like! (Testing, interviews, work-life balance, finances). Let me know if you have any questions or want more info :)
College
Entry-level medical job
Medical school
Residency
Fellowship
Despite popular belief, you can get into med school with any undergrad degree. You will need the science foundation of having taken college level science courses though. So if you don’t want to teach all that to yourself, majoring in biology/chemistry/bio-chem/kinesiology/etc would be the simplest way to go.
Many people are finding med school difficult to get into on the first try now. My wife, who is now a surgeon, didn’t get in on her first attempt. So don’t despair if that happens to you! Many people work in the medical field for a year or two to bolster their résumé before applying or when applying for the second time. Scribe, medical assistant, emt, medical tech, are all great options.
In medical school, your first two years will be mostly classroom/academic learning. Your third and especially fourth year will be more clinically focused. Most people figure out which specialty they want to go into in their third year as you rotate through all the specialties and experience what it would actually be like to be that kind of doctor. Then the fourth year can be more focused on that specialty but you can use this year to decide as well.
You’ll then commit to a specialty by getting into residency. You’re a doctor now, getting your real-world, on-the-job training. So you practice under supervision.
A fellowship is a further specialization on top of your existing specialization. This is optional and people do this when they want to focus on one aspect/area of their specialty’s field.
After that, you’re an attending physician! This is what most people think of when they think of a doctor. You practice on your own. Most doctors either work for a hospital or a private practice.
That was a lot of info but there are plenty of details I left out that I could go into if you’d like! (Testing, interviews, work-life balance, finances). Let me know if you have any questions or want more info :)
Joseph recommends the following next steps:
Vanessa Mandal
Medical Director
25
Answers
Rocklin
Updated
Vanessa’s Answer
I trained in Internal Medicine and then an added qualification in care of older adults Geriatrics
I had family crisis, so I missed the deadlines for medical school. This was a blessing as it meant a year of reprieve between college and medical,
school.
So... college 4 years, GAP YEAR, 4 years of medical school, 3 years residency in Internal Medicine, 1 year Geriatric fellowship
Gap year can be used to tackle MCAT and "shadow " in medical settings. No one in my family was a doctor, I had no mentors. I had a strong desire having seen my aunt struggle with ovarian cancer and the role that hospice played in the last months of her life. We get an idea by the end of 3rd year in medical school as to the residency we want to pursue. I wanted to be a primary care physician, and I chose a residency Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx as they had a program that incorporated psychosocial aspects of care. The desire to help people with chronic serious illness and those with terminal illness still guides me 25 years after finishing residency in 2000. Medicine is a calling, it asks much of us in terms of resilience and interpersonal skills. The greatest satisfaction is seeing that we can make in difference in the lives of our patients regardless of the trajectory of their health.
I had family crisis, so I missed the deadlines for medical school. This was a blessing as it meant a year of reprieve between college and medical,
school.
So... college 4 years, GAP YEAR, 4 years of medical school, 3 years residency in Internal Medicine, 1 year Geriatric fellowship
Gap year can be used to tackle MCAT and "shadow " in medical settings. No one in my family was a doctor, I had no mentors. I had a strong desire having seen my aunt struggle with ovarian cancer and the role that hospice played in the last months of her life. We get an idea by the end of 3rd year in medical school as to the residency we want to pursue. I wanted to be a primary care physician, and I chose a residency Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx as they had a program that incorporated psychosocial aspects of care. The desire to help people with chronic serious illness and those with terminal illness still guides me 25 years after finishing residency in 2000. Medicine is a calling, it asks much of us in terms of resilience and interpersonal skills. The greatest satisfaction is seeing that we can make in difference in the lives of our patients regardless of the trajectory of their health.