So, you wanna be a doctor,huh?

The decision to pursue a medical career, whether as a doctor, nurse, or other heathcare professional should be a careful one. With so many TV shows and movies portraying doctors in the media, it’s easy to think about how glamorous those jobs look on television. Carefully think about why you are interested in the field, and what kinds of things you hope to accomplish and get out of your job. Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself as you consider this path.

What is the path the young Jedi must undertake to become a doctor?

Well, for most people, the planning comes early in your college career. (Some people do pursue alternate career interests first like engineering or the military first and become physicians later, but we’ll focus on the traditional methods.)

Expect to take several years of undergraduate classes in the basic sciences. Expect to take one year each of Biology, Physics, English, and two years of chemistry, including Organic Chemistry. This is not to say that your entire college life be dedicated to the sciences, but you can expect that these classes take a significant amount of your first few years of college to complete successfully.

Prior to your 4th year of College you’ll be expected to take and do well on the MCAT exam, acquire letters of recommendation, participate in community service or research, in addition to keeping up good grades.

During your senior year (or the year after if you choose to take some time off) you’ll apply to the Allopathic medical schools thru the AAMCAS process. Each medical school that is interested in you will ask for an interview that year, and in the Spring of your application year you can expect to get the “thick envelope” or a brief letter telling you “good luck” on your career elsewhere!

So You're In, Now What?

After you enter medical school, the work really begins! After toiling for 2 years of the basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, etc...) you'll finally enter the hallowed grounds of the hospital wards (real patients) and learn how to take care of sick people in hospitals, and to manage them as outpatients (regular checkups.) And after all this schooling, you have to complete a residency. That is, train specifically for your field of interest (Pediatrics, Adult Medicine, Family Medicine, Surgery, or what have you) in a residency that is 3-7 years more on average. Still interested? Read on!

Pre Med Essentials - Preparing for your career Learning to Play God Dr. Marion reveals the dehumanizing, slightly insane, and often brutal process of medical training. You will experience not only the intense pressure and chronic exhaustion of the doctor-to-be, but also the price the patient must often pay. While each story stands alone as an adventure in medicine, taken together they are a call to change. Getting In : How Not To Apply to Medical School (Medical Student Survival Series) Getting In: How Not To Apply to Medical School is a tough, practical guide for people storming the ramparts of medical school admission boards. Paul Jung takes the pre-med or second-career aspirant from pre-application experiences through the application process with a very practical approach. The book is filled with the pitfalls and misconceptions applicants frequently make, rendering the subtitle particularly apt and (for those terrified of the unknowns) eminently appealing. The volume also includes self-diagnostic sections and common pitfalls to avoid when applying to medical school. Essays That Worked for Medical Schools: 40 Essays from Successful Applications to the Nation's Top Medical School As Essays That Worked for Medical Schools demonstrates, there is no such thing as the perfect submission. The winning essays cover a wide range of interesting topics. If there is any similarity, it is that they are written from the heart. White Coat: Becoming a Doctor at Harvard Med School A medical student's thoughtful and revealing chronicle of growing into the white coat of a doctor under Harvard Medical School's New Pathway system, beginning with day one of orientation and ending with graduation four years later. Becoming a Doctor: A Journey Dr. Konner takes readers through his third year at medical school, where he wonders why teachers instill in their students a sense of power, but no sense of concern. Controversial, insightful, well-written, and deeply moving. The Intern Blues: The Timeless Classic About the Making of a Doctor While supervising a small group of interns at a major New York medical center, Dr. Robert Marion asked three of them to keep a careful diary over the course of a year. Andy, Mark, and Amy vividly describe their real-life lessons in treating very sick children; confronting child abuse and the awful human impact of the AIDS epidemic; skirting the indifference of the hospital bureaucracy; and overcoming their own fears, insecurities, and constant fatigue. Their stories are harrowing and often funny; their personal triumph is unforgettable.