i think i might want to get into school of medicine when i get older and become a medical doctor is it hard?

Question

*What type of things do you learn?
*How many years are we talking?
*Price range?
*Best schools
*Is it REALLY hard?
*What types of fields can you go into? (ie. pediatrics ext.)
*I get a all a's and sometimes one b+ do you have to get a 4.0?
p.s im not talking foot doctor or anything like that

Answer 1

You have to have four years of college, then four years of medical school, then about 3-7 years of residency--the length depends on your specialty. And after you become a doctor, you still have continuing medical education requirements.

The "field" you go into is medicine. You can become any kind of doctor: a surgeon, an OB/GYN, an anesthetist, a neurologist, a dermatologist, etc etc etc.

You can have pretty much any undergraduate major, but you will need to take certain science prerequisites before applying to med school. So if you aren't a science major, you need to be sure your major leaves you enough time to fit in those pre-med requirements. Psychology is a popular undergraduate major. You will also have to have a good score on the MCAT (medical college admission test).

In medical school, your first two years are spent in classrooms studying basic sciences. In the last two years, you get clinical experience, hands-on with patients rotating through different specialities to see what interests you.

You don't have to have a 4.0 to become a doctor, but you certainly need good grades. You need good grades in high school to get into a good college, and good grades in college to get into a good medical school. Your guidance counselor at school can give you more information.

Yes, it's hard, and it's very expensive. You will have a fortune in loans to pay off by the time you become a doctor--hundreds of thousands of dollars in today's money--but you'll be making a lot of money by then, too.

Some of the top medical schools include Johns Hopkins, Washington University in St. Louis, Harvard, Penn, Duke. But it depends on what you're interested in. The list of excellent, highly respected medical schools is quite long. And just because a school has the best name recognition doesn't mean you're going to get the best education there or that it's the best situation for you.

It requires a lot of hard work and dedication to become a doctor, but would you want to be treated by a physician who hadn't put in that kind of work?

You can get some more information here:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos074.htm


EDIT: I see from one of your other questions that you are also considering nursing. If the medical school thing is too much for you, another option would be to become an RN. If after a couple years working you find you enjoy that, you can go on for a Master's degree in 1-2 years and become a nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners have much of the responsibility and autonomy of physicians, with various specialties, including pediatrics, women's health, and family care. My primary care provider is a nurse practitioner.

Answer 2

I think that it would be worth it. It will take a lot of time and effort (and money or loans), but that will pay off. You are still young, you can start college in the fall, graduate when you're 24-25 and then start medical school. I am glad that you are motivated to become a doctor, but ask yourself the following questions: -Why are you motivated? Do you think you will continue motivated throughout the years? -Why didn't you do well in high school? Did you not care enough? (If that's the case, then your performance now should not reflect your high school performance since the circumstances are different.) -Can I afford to live off loans for the next 10 years? You will need to do VERY well in college in order to get admitted into medical school, so you won't be able to work. Those are very important things to consider, along with other factors that I'm sure you have already taken into account. If you decide that become a doctor is really what you want to do, go to college in Canada, and then apply to a bunch of medical schools all over Canada and the US. I don't know how the medical industry works in Canada (money-wise since I hear healthcare is free), but in the United States, you can get paid very handsomely and there's potential for even more if you open your own practice. Good luck pursuing your dreams!