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What do I have to do to get into Family medicine?
I am interest in medicine and I want to know how long it takes to go into certain fields of medicine. If you have anything else to add about Family medicine, let me know! #medicine #doctor #healthcare #surgery #medical
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4 answers
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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 college that suits your personality and a major that interests you. 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.
During college study for and complete the MCAT. Apply to medical schools during your last year of college.
Medical school takes 4 years to complete.
After medical school physicians complete a 3 year family medicine residency
Pick a college that suits your personality and a major that interests you. 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.
During college study for and complete the MCAT. Apply to medical schools during your last year of college.
Medical school takes 4 years to complete.
After medical school physicians complete a 3 year family medicine residency
Updated
Yasemin’s Answer
Hi Essie, so to get into the medical field you have to graduate from a 4 year university with a bachelor's, take your MCAT and apply to medical school. You can be any major you would like, as long as you take the prerequisite courses required for medical school. I will list them below. In addition keep up with your premed adviser and check out AAMC.org, they give information to guide students to their dreams in the medical field. While in college it is important to maintain a good GPA and when you take the MCAT to score well (3.7+ GPA and 508+ MCAT); also make sure to clinically volunteer and shadow a physician, and complete community service because it's important to be a well-rounded applicant and have growth from your experiences and be sure that you want to enter the medical field!
For community service, you can do what fits you, like volunteer at a soup kitchen, tutor others, or be a mentor to a younger student, it's quality not quantity so choose what works for you and keep at it! Medical schools love committed applicants; in addition you can also check out research opportunities on campus or with your professors and gain experience working in a lab.
Remember the application process takes some time, so if you want to begin medical school right after college I would recommend to take your MCAT junior year then apply that summer going into senior year- the application opens May 1st and you submit June 1st. Just remember it takes time to study the for the MCAT, about 400-500 hours actually, because it's been revised so you have more subjects on the MCAT than before. Khan academy is very helpful and you can also purchase the Kaplan books as well because they match up well; really devote time and take many practice exams. I also used MCATSelfPrep.com because it was a free website to help you track your progress and you can upgrade and purchase some materials as well! However, I would really recommend to take all your courses prerequisite wise and even take recommended like genetics, anatomy/physiology, cell/molecular and especially Biochemistry to be fully prepared. Biochemistry is not always required for medical school (some will be okay if you take Organic Chemistry II) but I highly recommend it, as do some schools and you will be tested heavily on the MCAT about it!
The classes such as prerequisites are as outlined:
General Chemistry I/II (1 year)
Organic Chemistry I/II (1 year)
Biology I/II (1 year)
Physics I/II ( 1 year) - You can take University or College Physics: University is calculus-based while college is algebra-based
English I/II (1 year)
Math- Bio Stats/Calculus - There are different math courses as well; your premed adviser will have a list of the math courses you can take for medical school, however I like Bio stats because you do encounter it in medical school.
You can also take psych/socio classes, just a basic introduction for the MCAT, but even if you can't, Khan academy and Kaplan are great for learning the classes. Make sure to know concepts/theories!
Fields: Fields for medicine are different as some are longer than others but they begin around 2-3 years for residency. Surgery is 5 years, while family medicine is around three as listed in previous answers. When you are in medical school you will be able to rotate through different specialties and get a better understanding of each field to really know what you would like! Then around your fourth year you apply to residency and branch off into special electives for the field you choose to be in!
Below is a Kaplan website that really outlines prerequisites for medical school, and goes beyond to include extracurriculars and there are other links below as well to give more information!
Best of luck!
Check out https://www.kaptest.com/study/mcat/the-prerequisites-of-medical-school/
For community service, you can do what fits you, like volunteer at a soup kitchen, tutor others, or be a mentor to a younger student, it's quality not quantity so choose what works for you and keep at it! Medical schools love committed applicants; in addition you can also check out research opportunities on campus or with your professors and gain experience working in a lab.
Remember the application process takes some time, so if you want to begin medical school right after college I would recommend to take your MCAT junior year then apply that summer going into senior year- the application opens May 1st and you submit June 1st. Just remember it takes time to study the for the MCAT, about 400-500 hours actually, because it's been revised so you have more subjects on the MCAT than before. Khan academy is very helpful and you can also purchase the Kaplan books as well because they match up well; really devote time and take many practice exams. I also used MCATSelfPrep.com because it was a free website to help you track your progress and you can upgrade and purchase some materials as well! However, I would really recommend to take all your courses prerequisite wise and even take recommended like genetics, anatomy/physiology, cell/molecular and especially Biochemistry to be fully prepared. Biochemistry is not always required for medical school (some will be okay if you take Organic Chemistry II) but I highly recommend it, as do some schools and you will be tested heavily on the MCAT about it!
The classes such as prerequisites are as outlined:
General Chemistry I/II (1 year)
Organic Chemistry I/II (1 year)
Biology I/II (1 year)
Physics I/II ( 1 year) - You can take University or College Physics: University is calculus-based while college is algebra-based
English I/II (1 year)
Math- Bio Stats/Calculus - There are different math courses as well; your premed adviser will have a list of the math courses you can take for medical school, however I like Bio stats because you do encounter it in medical school.
You can also take psych/socio classes, just a basic introduction for the MCAT, but even if you can't, Khan academy and Kaplan are great for learning the classes. Make sure to know concepts/theories!
Fields: Fields for medicine are different as some are longer than others but they begin around 2-3 years for residency. Surgery is 5 years, while family medicine is around three as listed in previous answers. When you are in medical school you will be able to rotate through different specialties and get a better understanding of each field to really know what you would like! Then around your fourth year you apply to residency and branch off into special electives for the field you choose to be in!
Below is a Kaplan website that really outlines prerequisites for medical school, and goes beyond to include extracurriculars and there are other links below as well to give more information!
Best of luck!
Yasemin recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Estelle’s Answer
After medical school, family medicine is a 3 year residency. Family medicine physicians treat patients of all ages.
Updated
Rachel’s Answer
Family medicine is a great field requiring a medical doctorate. This means that you will have to complete college with a bachelor’s degree as well as all of the Pre-med requirements (1 year biology, 1 year inorganic chemistry, 1 year organic chemistry + labs, physics, calculus, and biochemistry). GPA should probably be 3.5 or better (preferably >3.8). You will also have to score well on the MCAT. Once accepted to medical school, as long as you pass your classes and perform reasonably well during your four years of medical training, you can apply for a family medicine 3 year residency.