Kimberly
What internships and courses should I take to enter the medical filed?
highschool courses and college courses #medicine #internship
4 answers
Andy Hencke
Andy’s Answer
Hi Kimberly,
If you are a current high school student, I recommend you select courses which can challenge you but you can also be successful at learning the material. Pursuing a career in medicine can be challenging and rewarding. To become a doctor, you should attend a strong college and do well in your college studies. To attend such a strong college, you will need a strong high-school academic record.
Depending on your interests and academic achievement, you might pursue medical school to become a doctor. There also are other choices in medicine: ranging from Nurse, to Physical Therapist, to Paramedic (ambulance), etc. It is a very large career field and if you have the interest, I'm sure you can find a good match to your goals and skills. Good luck!
Andy
Thank you for the information, Andy, it was very helpful. You said I should attend a strong college, do you think I can be in a community college and then transfer into a stronger college?
Kimberly
Andy Hencke
Andy’s Answer
Yes - I think that is one of many possible routes you can evaluate. I believe one key is to balance challenging yourself enough but not too much in the coursework and school choices you make. Your goal is to maximize the learning: don't take something too easy just for a "perfect" grade but don't select something way too difficult and struggle to keep up. Only you will know the right balance, but I suggest you always be focused on finding that right balance.
Padideh Ghaeli
Padideh’s Answer
Hi Kimberly,
Andy has given you very good advice! If you are in high school, taking any STEM-based courses would be very helpful for assessing your level of interest and in preparing you to pursue a medical career.
Richard A.
Richard’s Answer
In the US, to apply to medical school, you need a bachelor's degree. Any 4-year university should suffice.
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.
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.