The Ins and Outs of Becoming a Doctor

Doctors are the ones who protect us from all the diseases that are ready and waiting to strike us at any minute. They’re the ones who help us to stay as alive as we can, for as long as is possible. Truly, they are heroes! And, the best thing about these heroes is that they aren’t mythological, nor are they sent from a higher cause — no, they’re just regular human beings. And, what this means is that you can become a doctor and a hero, too, if you really want to. To see just what you’d need to do to do so, make sure to read on. And, sit tight, because there’s a lot you’re going to need to do!

“If you want to become a doctor, get ready to commit to spending at least 11 years on your post-high school education. After going to college for four years to get a bachelor’s degree, you will have to attend medical school for four more years. You will earn either a DO or MD degree. That will be followed by three to eight years of graduate medical education (GME) in the form of an internship or residency program.” – thebalancecareers.com

Get yourself a bachelor’s degree

Before you can really get your career trajectory heading in the exact direction you want it to be heading in, you’re going to have to get yourself a bachelor’s degree. And, what this degree should consist of is work in fields such as the sciences and mathematics.

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Get some experience at the same time

But you can’t just get your degree and hope to be able to leave your time at college or university thinking you’ll be ready to make the next step in your career. No, if you truly want to make the next doctoring step after your time at uni then you’re going to have to gain experience in a caregiving environment whilst you’re there. This means spending time on work experience or work placement whilst as a part of your studies and volunteering your own free time too.

Take the Medical College Admissions Test

The MCAT needs to then be taken as this is required to get yourself onto the next step, heading to medical school. What the MCAT will test you on is all the things you learned, or should have learned in your degree as well as specific skills in the world of doctoring, such as general problem solving verbal reasoning, and skills in writing and note-taking. The higher you score on this test, the better your chances of getting into Medical School. That is why it is important to sign up for an MCAT review course online to help you prepare for the test.

Get yourself a Medical degree

Once you succeed in the MCAT you then need to get yourself to medical school in order to obtain a degree specifically in Medicine. This will involve spending two more years in the classroom and laboratories learning all about medicine, and then another two years in hospital environments shadowing other doctors and supervisors.

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Complete a residency program

All that studying and now you’re here… kind of. You’re a resident on a residency program for the next three to seven years (depending on how impatient you are in wanting to become licensed). Here, you will be getting valuable experience in working directly with patients in a caregiving environment. And, at this point in your career, you should be taking physician loans into consideration. You should be doing so because you will be straddled with student debts, and that can make it hard for you even to get yourself a home, despite the pay you will now be on.

So, there you have it — well, after that residency program you will have to obtain full doctor and physician licensure, so there you nearly have it! But, as you can see, you are going to need to devote a lot of time and a lot of effort into becoming a doctor if you really want to do it. Make sure you know that before you start the venture.