2 answers
Jenniyah
Student
Miami Gardens, Florida
4
Questions
Asked
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Do you really have to attend all 7years of medical school and then do four years of internship to become a doctor?
#school-counselin #higher-education
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2 answers
Adan Nevarez
Financial Analyst
5
Answers
Los Angeles, California
Updated
Adan’s Answer
Not a Doctor myself but my sister just graduated medical school and is in her residency now at UCSF as an OB/GYN so I’ll speak on some of the things she did.
1. Start with completing your undergraduate education which should take about 4 years, there’s typically some class requirements you need to take to get accepted into medical school so you might want to do a major that would prepare you for that. (she did bio)
2. Of course you take the MCAT and start applying to medical schools and once accepted you would attend for four years (my sister took 5 years because she did a dual program where she also got her masters degree in public policy)
3. Your last year of medical school you should be spending it applying for residencies (a hospital to train at) and interviewing with those respective teaching hospitals so fingers crossed that you match with a program you like. (There’s a lot that goes into this, the hospital needs to rank you high and you need to rank them high as well, sometimes people don’t get matched but if you’re in a solid program or have good leaders they should make calls and get you into a program with availability)
4. Once you graduate medical school you are officially a Doctor but you still have plenty to learn so you go do about another 4 years as a resident for a hospital where you learn everything you need to know.
Some people do fellowships and research and all kinds of other things in between so your experience may vary and going through this process is definitely a lot easier said than done so I would definitely take some time to make sure this is the career you want to pursue and ensure you’re doing it for the right reasons as well. Good luck in your future!
1. Start with completing your undergraduate education which should take about 4 years, there’s typically some class requirements you need to take to get accepted into medical school so you might want to do a major that would prepare you for that. (she did bio)
2. Of course you take the MCAT and start applying to medical schools and once accepted you would attend for four years (my sister took 5 years because she did a dual program where she also got her masters degree in public policy)
3. Your last year of medical school you should be spending it applying for residencies (a hospital to train at) and interviewing with those respective teaching hospitals so fingers crossed that you match with a program you like. (There’s a lot that goes into this, the hospital needs to rank you high and you need to rank them high as well, sometimes people don’t get matched but if you’re in a solid program or have good leaders they should make calls and get you into a program with availability)
4. Once you graduate medical school you are officially a Doctor but you still have plenty to learn so you go do about another 4 years as a resident for a hospital where you learn everything you need to know.
Some people do fellowships and research and all kinds of other things in between so your experience may vary and going through this process is definitely a lot easier said than done so I would definitely take some time to make sure this is the career you want to pursue and ensure you’re doing it for the right reasons as well. Good luck in your future!
Suzanne Sorkin
Retired family physician and medical educator
106
Answers
Traverse City, Michigan
Updated
Suzanne’s Answer
It's important to know what lies ahead if you want to become a doctor, Jenniyah, so let's go over the basics:
1) First, after high school graduation, you go to college and take the 'pre-med' course requirements while you are there. Typically it takes four years to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
2) Following college you attend medical school. Most medical schools are four years and after you graduate you are a doctor! Yay!
3) But...in order to be licensed by your state to practice medicine, your state will require at least 1 or 2 years of "post-graduate training" (also called residency). (The old name for the first year of residency was internship. Some places still use this term). Most people now-a-days do more than the minimum 1-2 years residency needed to be licensed and go on to finish a residency program and become "board-certified" in whatever field you are going into. For example, I was a family doctor so I did a 3 year family medicine residency. Other specialties have longer training periods (general surgery is 5 years, for instance).
4) There are shorter time-frames to become a physicians' assistant or a nurse-practitioner and those might be other career paths you'd like to explore if you want to take provide patent care but without as many years of training.
1) First, after high school graduation, you go to college and take the 'pre-med' course requirements while you are there. Typically it takes four years to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
2) Following college you attend medical school. Most medical schools are four years and after you graduate you are a doctor! Yay!
3) But...in order to be licensed by your state to practice medicine, your state will require at least 1 or 2 years of "post-graduate training" (also called residency). (The old name for the first year of residency was internship. Some places still use this term). Most people now-a-days do more than the minimum 1-2 years residency needed to be licensed and go on to finish a residency program and become "board-certified" in whatever field you are going into. For example, I was a family doctor so I did a 3 year family medicine residency. Other specialties have longer training periods (general surgery is 5 years, for instance).
4) There are shorter time-frames to become a physicians' assistant or a nurse-practitioner and those might be other career paths you'd like to explore if you want to take provide patent care but without as many years of training.