i want to be a doctor.?

Question

i am 14 years old and in grade 9. i REALLY want to become a succesful doctor. i've always watched all the medical shows on tv, and two of my faorite shows right now are greys anatomy and house. i have alwasy wanted to be a doctor. to help people. to become successful.... i no about having to get really good grades in math and science, and a little bit about pre-med, med and internship... but i was wondering what else to expect along the way. like is there certaine univercitys that i should try and enroll into as compared to others? my parents forced me to go to a pretty good school ratings wise (its tied for first with a few others in BC) and i really want to succeed as a doctor in the future. advice anyone?

Answer 1

The first step is to stop watching those shows and thinking that is the real life of a doctor. Those are very artificial dramatizations of what a physician's life is like.

Find a doctor that you may know or your parents may know, or volunteer at the hospital, shadow the doctor around and see what really happens. Then you can make a real decision if being a doctor is what you want to do.

You have to understand - getting to the point of being a licensed physician is long and hard. While many of your friends will be able to play and enjoy and get on with their lives, your social life is often put on hold. You will spent many hours studying. You will spend many more hours working without sleep, without food and sometimes without going to the bathroom all for less than minimum wage during residency. You will be abused by professors, other doctors, each other and patients. You will come out likely a couple of hundred of thousands of dollars in debt. You will not be incredibly rich and wealthy.

Right now for you, if you decide you do want to pursue this path this will be a general guideline for once you graduate high school (although I'm not sure, but I think things are a bit different in Canada if the BC you are referring to is British Columbia - I am listing the general timeline for the US).

College - important to do well - get at least a 3.7-3.8 GPA in what ever you major in. You do not need to major in pre-med or bio or chem or even a science major but you do need to do well in your major. You will need to take certain prerequisite classes though in chemistry (general and organic), biology, physics and calculus. Do not skimp out on your liberal arts including writing as there is an essay component to the MCATs. The most important thing though is to enjoy your time in college - it goes fast - learn the things you are interested in (other than those prerequisites) and broaden your horizons as a person.

Take and do well on the MCATs.

Once you get into a med school you are in pretty good position to become a physician - its hard to get into med school, but once in, they try to help you get through. However, med school is not easy. If you were able to cram for tests in high school or college, you will not be able to cram for tests the night before in med school. You need to keep up constantly as there is just so much material to learn during the first two years (usually classroom). There is a national exam you take after the second year (USMLE Step 1) of med school and another one before the end of med school (USMLE Step 2). Its very important to do well on Step 1 and get good grades. During the 3rd and 4th years you will be doing clinical rotations - meaning you will actually be working with doctors in hospitals and offices and will be seeing and caring for patients. How well you perform on these are very important as well when applying for residency. You will need to determine what field in medicine you want to pursue.

Once you finish med school, you will earn the title of MD and be able to be called doctor, but you will not be able to start your own practice yet. You will need to spend time in a residency. The minimum you will need to be able to start practicing on your own is 1 year (internship) and you will come out as a general practitioner - this will not get you far as most hospitals will not give you privileges. Otherwise the minimum time in residency will be 3 years (for internal medicine and pediatrics for example) but can be longer (surgery, ob/gyn, radiology, etc). Some surgery residencies can even be up to 7 years long.

Residency is generally considered the toughest part of the medical training. Remember when I mentioned the long hours of work and abuse all for less than minimum wage? Well, that's residency.

Depending on what specialty you went into, you will need to take an exam in that field once you finish residency to get Board certified in that field.

Sure there are different med schools and different residencies all with different rankings and reputations. It will seem like the most important thing to you to get into those good schools and programs just like it will seem like the most important thing to get into a good college.

In the end, however, it depends on what your definition of a successful doctor is. If it is being well known and making lots of money, well, you're in the wrong field. If it is making a difference in the life of your patients, then, in the end, it won't matter which med school and which residency you go to. It depends on you, your motivation to study and learn independently, your ability to talk with people and be able to reassure them and comfort them. At least for me, that's what it means to be a successful doctor. When people go see a doctor, they want to know they will be ok, that they don't have some horrible disease, or if they do, that they will survive or be treated well. Patients look for reassurance. Being able to convey that sense of trust and confidence is important.

I've seen doctors who have graduate from the best med schools and gone to the top residencies. Yet I would never go see them as a patient for the very simple fact that they don't know how to talk to a patient. They don't know how to communicate. Much of your education will be from books and classes. But realize, much of your education will be from your social environment - how you interact with people, your life experiences and how they allow you to relate to the patients you see.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

Because the category is alternative medicine - have you also considered things that are alternative like being a muscle specialist? The medical field is not big on the field but a book that can help you learn is The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Davies.

Answer 3

Find a doctor to ask for some advise about what to expect in the future

Answer 4

because i want to help people who are died by a diseases and to give them a long life and future