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How can I become a doctor what things are really important with become one ?
I am very kind person . Different then a lot of other people . Have a lot of friends I can be mean at times but I know how to control it . Open to meet new friends any time . #doctor
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Raquel’s Answer
First of all, please ignore the other answer. This person is stereotyping the medical field and while the examples he gave are real problems the field faces, it is filled with many more people who put in a lot of work to help people, not dismiss everyone for money as this man suggests.
To answer your question becoming a doctor is a very long journey. You don't say what level of school you're in, but if you're in high school thinking ahead about what it takes to become a doctor is great. High school is not as important for applying to medical school as college is. You can take AP classes that can help you get into a good school or potentially help prepare you for college classes. It is important to know that a lot of medical schools don't accept AP credit for required classes so you will have to take the classes again at college. You can also start getting into volunteering.
Once you get to college you'll want to see if your school has a premed committee or counselor. Committees can be a great resource and will provide you letters of recommendation when it's time for you to apply, but not every school has one. Premed counselors can help you determine what classes you need to take and help you through the other application requirements.
While each medical school has slightly different required and recommended classes there are classes that are required across the board. These include a year of biology, a year of general chemistry, a year of organic chemistry, and a year of physics. Most schools will also require labs for these courses. There are also a significant amount of schools that require statistics and biochemistry. Anatomy and Physiology, while not required, is highly recommended and will help you both on the MCAT and when you get into medical school.
You will also need volunteer time, they recommend you have both clinical and nonclinical volunteer experience. Medical schools value volunteering for fewer hours but over a long period of time over a lot of hours over a few weeks. It shows commitment and that you actually care about the volunteering you're doing.
The MCAT is the entrance exam for medical school. It covers material on behavioral sciences, biology, chemistry (organic and inorganic), physics, reading comprehension, and biochemistry. It is very long and difficult and very important to do well on.
You'll also need research experience. Many schools offer experience for credit which will get you a lot of hours, but those hours could potentially just be keeping a snail alive and won't give you much to talk about in your application or interview. You can look at research professors at your school are doing and see if you can get into their lab. This will provide you with more opportunities to get involved in the research and do work you are more interested in. It will definitely will help your application if you have published research but it's not required at most schools (top 10 schools usually only take students with publications).
Leadership experience is also important. College is a great place to get leadership experience because there are so many clubs and organizations you can be a part of.
The last big part of the application is shadowing experience. Shadowing is also a really beneficial experience to help make sure being a physician is what you really want to do. It allows you to see the day to day work of a physician. It could also be beneficial to follow other providers like PA's and nurse practitioners to make sure that you connect most with physicians.
Theres a lot of variability you can have in your application to make you stand out, but these are the general things you will need. You'll have to write a personal statement talking about why you want to be a physician, it's best to write it as a cohesive story rather than reiterating the rest of your application.
Being kind and open to making new friends are great traits for a doctor. You want to be empathetic so you can comfort your patients and help them get through hard times. Being able to talk and build relationships with people will also help you as a doctor. So long as you're passionate about what you're doing and you care about helping people, I'm sure you'll make a great doctor.
I would be glad to answer any other questions you have and wish you best of luck on your journey!
To answer your question becoming a doctor is a very long journey. You don't say what level of school you're in, but if you're in high school thinking ahead about what it takes to become a doctor is great. High school is not as important for applying to medical school as college is. You can take AP classes that can help you get into a good school or potentially help prepare you for college classes. It is important to know that a lot of medical schools don't accept AP credit for required classes so you will have to take the classes again at college. You can also start getting into volunteering.
Once you get to college you'll want to see if your school has a premed committee or counselor. Committees can be a great resource and will provide you letters of recommendation when it's time for you to apply, but not every school has one. Premed counselors can help you determine what classes you need to take and help you through the other application requirements.
While each medical school has slightly different required and recommended classes there are classes that are required across the board. These include a year of biology, a year of general chemistry, a year of organic chemistry, and a year of physics. Most schools will also require labs for these courses. There are also a significant amount of schools that require statistics and biochemistry. Anatomy and Physiology, while not required, is highly recommended and will help you both on the MCAT and when you get into medical school.
You will also need volunteer time, they recommend you have both clinical and nonclinical volunteer experience. Medical schools value volunteering for fewer hours but over a long period of time over a lot of hours over a few weeks. It shows commitment and that you actually care about the volunteering you're doing.
The MCAT is the entrance exam for medical school. It covers material on behavioral sciences, biology, chemistry (organic and inorganic), physics, reading comprehension, and biochemistry. It is very long and difficult and very important to do well on.
You'll also need research experience. Many schools offer experience for credit which will get you a lot of hours, but those hours could potentially just be keeping a snail alive and won't give you much to talk about in your application or interview. You can look at research professors at your school are doing and see if you can get into their lab. This will provide you with more opportunities to get involved in the research and do work you are more interested in. It will definitely will help your application if you have published research but it's not required at most schools (top 10 schools usually only take students with publications).
Leadership experience is also important. College is a great place to get leadership experience because there are so many clubs and organizations you can be a part of.
The last big part of the application is shadowing experience. Shadowing is also a really beneficial experience to help make sure being a physician is what you really want to do. It allows you to see the day to day work of a physician. It could also be beneficial to follow other providers like PA's and nurse practitioners to make sure that you connect most with physicians.
Theres a lot of variability you can have in your application to make you stand out, but these are the general things you will need. You'll have to write a personal statement talking about why you want to be a physician, it's best to write it as a cohesive story rather than reiterating the rest of your application.
Being kind and open to making new friends are great traits for a doctor. You want to be empathetic so you can comfort your patients and help them get through hard times. Being able to talk and build relationships with people will also help you as a doctor. So long as you're passionate about what you're doing and you care about helping people, I'm sure you'll make a great doctor.
I would be glad to answer any other questions you have and wish you best of luck on your journey!
Updated
Mary Jane’s Answer
Check out the AAMC's resource called "Anatomy of an Applicant". In addition to the courses and experiences mentioned above, the Core Competencies explored in Anatomy of an Applicant get at some of the inter-personal skills mentioned here as well. There's even a workbook that you can use in college to help you reflect on which competencies you may need to strengthen and they have applicant stories about how they developed the needed competencies. You can begin doing things like community service, extracurricular involvement and leadership, and shadowing in high school to get a head start on strengthening your competencies. Here's the website: https://students-residents.aamc.org/anatomy-applicant/core-competencies-resources