I want to be a pediatrician...how?

Question

Im a senior in high school and I want to know what I need to major in college if I want to be a pediatrician...Oh and how long does it take to become a pediatrician?

Answer 1

In short, you can major in whatever you want as long as you fulfill the med school required courses.

You're looking at about another 12 years after high school.

Answer 2

As a pediatrician, you may advise parents on caring for their first baby, help develop a program of health maintenance for a seven-year-old with juvenile diabetes, or work with a teenager whose drug use is having negative effects on her health. This field requires a great deal of diplomacy and sensitivity, not to mention superb communication skills.

Education

If you'd like to become a doctor, you'll need to attend four years of medical school after completing an undergraduate degree. You can learn what it's like to attend medical school in Health & Medicine Graduate Degrees.
Once you've graduated from medical school, you'll serve a residency -- on-the-job training for new M.D.'s. This is your chance to develop a specialty. Pediatricians train for three years, but if you want to specialize further in such areas as pediatric cardiology or developmental-behavioral pediatrics, you'll have additional years of training. Many physicians combine several different specialties, thus lengthening their time as residents.
D.O.'s (doctors of osteopathic medicine) may choose to serve their residencies in any of the medical specialties, which include manipulation, a practice similar to chiropractic. Residencies in osteopathic institutions are far less common than residencies in traditional medical facilities. For this reason, many highly qualified and newly graduated D.O.'s find residencies in traditional medical institutions, even though such a practice is highly discouraged by their alma maters.
As for study at the undergraduate level, United States medical schools have an established list of college courses required for admission:

* Two years of chemistry (including organic and inorganic) with laboratory
* One year of biology with laboratory
* One year of physics with laboratory
* One to two semesters of math, including calculus
* One year of English

Because the science requirements are intensive, most premed students major in one of the required science fields. But some choose an unrelated major because it fascinates them or to gain a breadth of learning. Although you can major in whatever you wish (and medical schools express an interest in students with diverse educational backgrounds), common majors for medical-school applicants include the following:

* Biomedical & Bioengineering
* Chemistry
* Evolutionary Biology & Ecology
* Exercise Science
* Molecular & Cell Biology
* Nuclear Engineering
* Nursing
* Nutrition
* Neuroscience
* Physics
* Psychology
* Zoology

Other majors, such as those listed below, can expose you to the issues and ideas that affect the study and practice of medicine, in addition to giving you a wide breadth of knowledge:

* Anthropology (especially physical and medical anthropology)
* Area Studies (for those interested in global epidemiology)
* Business (with a focus on health-care economics and administration)
* Public Policy (with a focus on health care)
* Women's Studies (for those interested in women's health)