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Doctors provide diagnoses, treatments, and counseling to individuals with illnesses, diseases, or injuries. Some of their many responsibilities include examining patients, collecting patient information, performing diagnostic tests, and discussing test results. Within the medical field, doctors most often have a field of specialization. The education required to become a medical doctor is long and may be expensive even though it may differ based on the country. The steps below are based on the system in the United States.
Before The Game: Earn a Bachelor’s Degree (4 years)
Four years to prepare your brain for the harsh education in medical school, hence the term “pre-med”, which describes an aspiring doctor earning an undergraduate degree. You don’t have to major in a science subject to be a “pre-med” student, as long as the required classes are being taken such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and physics. However, the majority of these students generally major in a medical-related subject because of their personal interests. In order to apply to a medical school, you will need scores from your MCAT, the Medical College Admission Test, and an application form filled out. It is also important to consider the financial burden that it takes.
Intense Training: Medical School (4 years)
The first two years are mostly excruciating study hours. Initially, you’re taught about the health of the body. As you enter the second year, you’re pushed even further with classes on abnormalities. After you’ve learned the “basics” you start being able to make connections and think like a doctor. In the third and fourth-year rotations, you finally get to play along and practice up close. You get to stand in a “first-class seat” next to the operating table or freshly born neonate and observe your future – what you might officially be doing in just a few years.
In The Ring: Residency (3+ years)
The intense training during medical school brings you to the ring, which is your residency. Residency training in the hospital is for your specialty. After you have passed the tests and earned your license for becoming a doctor, more hands-on training is required before you can officially become autonomous and be fully responsible for the patient. In the first year of residency, you are considered an intern. The rest of the years – up to 6 (depending on the specialty) you are referred to as a “resident”. These are also the years when you finally start getting paid.
Rematch: Fellowship (1 or 2 years)
After completing residency, a doctor, which is what you’ll be at this point, may finally choose to begin his/her practice. Other doctors who are in no rush might decide to expand their education and skills. These people will become “fellows” and get additional training in a sub-specialty.
The Winner: Ready for Practice
Medicine is a practice. It is not something you can study for and then just move on. Even after graduation, physicians have to be recertified every few years. Technically, becoming a doctor takes eleven years. But during the first few years, you are already getting to do what you have always wanted to. It’s the journey itself that makes it rewarding, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates it is also financially rewarding. The Bureau reports that as of 2017, you could earn up to $200,000 annually. The profession itself is also growing at a rate of 13%, which is faster than average.
Becoming a medical doctor takes passion, effort, and time. Despite the rigorous journey, it is important to pursue your dreams.
