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what does it take to become a pediatric? how many years of school needs to be taken to become a pediatrician? how much does it cost to be one?
#majors i am about to be a graduate of balboa highschool and in college i want to major in the nursing field #pediatrics
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Lisa’s Answer
Hi Staceyangel H.,
Congratulations! You are a graduate in 2021 and that says a lot about you. Well done!
It sounds like you may be thinking of two separate careers:
1) Pediatrician - is a medical doctor who then specializes in Pediatrics and
2) Pediatric Nurse- is a nurse, a registered nurse (RN), who has a pediatric speciality training and credentials.
Both professions have different completion timelines as well as different costs and educational preparation processes . For example, timelines and costs will depend on three main things: 1) what coursework and exams you completed in high school (i.e., AP, IB or college credits), 2) which schools you plan to attend (i.e., community college-2yrs vs universities-4yrs), and 3) the type of career path you choose (i.e., doctor vs nurse).
For instance and depending on the school’s program or your major:
1) Doctor (peds.):- undergraduate (4rs) + medical school (3-4yrs) + general residency (2-3yrs) +( a possible residency for speciality (Pediatrics- 1-2yrs))
Or
2) Nurse (peds):- undergraduate degree via a) 2yrs-Associates degree from community college and then take the Registered Nurse (RN) exam or b) 4yrs Bach. of Science Nurse (BSN- RN) and then take RN exam.
Note: You may need to add an extra year to both of these nursing school options if the Pediatric speciality certification requires some clinical experience on the floor as an RN before taking the speciality exam. Also note that Nursing Programs in California ( and in other states) are considered impacted (they have a lot of applicants but not enough space) and so students are often waitlisted for a year or more and then they continue taking general education courses in the meantime.
For more hands on support, you can use any search tool like College Board or Peterson’s (both are free) to lookup different colleges, options, your majors or career interest, length of time to degree, costs, and admissions requirements to get a fuller picture.
I hope this helped!
All the best.
Lisa T.
Congratulations! You are a graduate in 2021 and that says a lot about you. Well done!
It sounds like you may be thinking of two separate careers:
1) Pediatrician - is a medical doctor who then specializes in Pediatrics and
2) Pediatric Nurse- is a nurse, a registered nurse (RN), who has a pediatric speciality training and credentials.
Both professions have different completion timelines as well as different costs and educational preparation processes . For example, timelines and costs will depend on three main things: 1) what coursework and exams you completed in high school (i.e., AP, IB or college credits), 2) which schools you plan to attend (i.e., community college-2yrs vs universities-4yrs), and 3) the type of career path you choose (i.e., doctor vs nurse).
For instance and depending on the school’s program or your major:
1) Doctor (peds.):- undergraduate (4rs) + medical school (3-4yrs) + general residency (2-3yrs) +( a possible residency for speciality (Pediatrics- 1-2yrs))
Or
2) Nurse (peds):- undergraduate degree via a) 2yrs-Associates degree from community college and then take the Registered Nurse (RN) exam or b) 4yrs Bach. of Science Nurse (BSN- RN) and then take RN exam.
Note: You may need to add an extra year to both of these nursing school options if the Pediatric speciality certification requires some clinical experience on the floor as an RN before taking the speciality exam. Also note that Nursing Programs in California ( and in other states) are considered impacted (they have a lot of applicants but not enough space) and so students are often waitlisted for a year or more and then they continue taking general education courses in the meantime.
For more hands on support, you can use any search tool like College Board or Peterson’s (both are free) to lookup different colleges, options, your majors or career interest, length of time to degree, costs, and admissions requirements to get a fuller picture.
I hope this helped!
All the best.
Lisa T.