High School:
- Good GPA
- Good SAT/ACT scores
- AP/IB Courses
- Take sciences for all four years
- Take mathematics for all four years ( including calculus)
- Volunteering/ Community Service ( especially relating to medicine)
- Don’t forget to apply for scholarships!!!
Finding the perfect college for YOU:
- Academic reputation
- Size
- Distance from home
- Location - rural, suburban, urban
- Cost
- Academic programs - quality of faculty, facilities, advisors; choice of majors; number of pre-meds, percent of pre-meds accepted to medical school.
While in college:
- Take all Pre-Medicine requirements:
-At least one year of general biology with lab
-At least one year of calculus (Calculus I and II)
-At least one year of general (inorganic) chemistry with lab
-At least one year of organic chemistry with lab
-At least one year of physics with lab
-English composition
-Some medical schools request a course in Biochemistry
-Find a school with an excellent pre-med advising program.
-Choose a major
-You do NOT have to major in the sciences to go to medical school. As long as you successfully complete all of the pre-med requirements, it does no matter what you major in.
-Have a high GPA in your pre-med courses as well as your major.
-Make the BEST of college!
-Make sure to have fun and experience the college life, but remember to stay responsible and do well academically.
-Do well on the MCAT’s! (Medical College Admission Test)
- The MCAT has 4 sections - Biological Sciences (Biology and Organic Chemistry), Physical Sciences (Physics and Inorganic Chemistry), Verbal Reasoning, and Essay Writing (2 essays).
In Medical School:
Most medical schools have similar configurations. Generally the first two years are classroom-based, with patient contact beginning in the second year. The third and fourth years consist of rotations through the different major specialties of medicine.
The 1st year of medical school consists of basic sciences which educate you about normal body functions. Courses include:
- Anatomy - the science of the structure of the body and the relations of its parts (especially those that can be seen with the naked eye). This course is taught by lecture and dissection of a human cadaver
- Physiology - the science of the function of the body and its parts (and the chemical and physical steps involved)
- Histology - the science of the cells and tissue on the microscopic level (microscopic anatomy)
- Biochemistry - the science of the chemistry of the cells, tissue, and organs of the body
- Embryology - the science of the development of a human from its most immature form
- Neuroanatomy - the anatomy of the nervous system
In the 2nd year of medical more emphasis is placed on disease and its treatment. Courses in the 2nd year include:
- Pathology - the science of disease, especially the changes in structure and function causing or caused by disease
- Pharmacology - the science of medications
- Microbiology - the science of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi
- Immunology - the science of how humans fight disease
During the 2nd year medical students also take courses that introduce them to taking a medical history and performing a physical exam.
The Boards:
At the end of 2nd year all medical students take the first part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE-1), administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). The purpose of the NBME is to prepare and administer a test that states feel confident in using to determine medical competency when deciding to issue a license to practice medicine. There is no national license to practice medicine. Each state has its own rules and issues its own license.
The USMLE is a three-part exam:
- Part 1 is taken in the 2nd year of medical school and tests your knowledge in the basic medical sciences.
- Part 2 is taken in the 4th year of medical school and tests whether you can apply your medical knowledge in providing patient care under supervision.
- Part 3 is taken in the first year of residency (internship) and tests your ability to apply your medical knowledge in providing unsupervised medical care.
In the 3rd year, medical students begin rotating through each of the specialties of medicine, such as Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Psychiatry, Neurology, Radiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, etc. In the 4th year more clinical rotations with a higher level of responsibility are completed, in addition to electives.
Internship, Residency and Fellowship:
Residency is a 3+ year training program in a medical specialty. The first year of training after medical school is called internship, or more commonly it is called first year of residency or PGY-1 (PostGraduate Year-1). The following years are called PGY-2, PGY-3, etc. The training that is done after a residency (in a subspecialty) is usually called a fellowship. Much of what you will learn in your chosen specialty will be learned in your residency.
There are so many different residencies, but generally the first year of residency (internship or PGY-1) is spent either rotating through different specialties or rotating to different areas within one specialty. In my case I spent the year rotating, in 1 month intervals, to the ER, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Intensive Care Unit, Orthopedics, Pediatrics and OB/GYN. After the first year much more emphasis is placed on your own specialty.
A typical day in residency starts around 7AM. First you see your patients prior to "rounds" to check on the results of diagnostic tests, to see how they are responding to therapy. Next are "rounds" with your team. A team usually consists of several interns, an upper level supervising resident, and an attending or teaching physician. They take care of a specific group of patients. "Rounds" mean you walk around to each patient to discuss his or her care. Suggestions on further diagnostic tests and treatments are the usual topics of discussion. After rounds you may return to see some patients in more depth, do whatever procedures need to be done, talk to the patient's private physician, etc.
Usually there is a lecture or conference at some point in the day. After lunch new patients are often admitted to your team. You will need to do a history and physical exam. Then write their admitting orders. These are written instructions about which tests, medications, etc. are to be given for this patient. At the end of the day you "sign out" to the team that is "on call" that night. This is done to tell them about either all your patients or the ones that may run into trouble that night. At home it is important to continue to read about medicine, especially at this point in your career. However, fatigue plays a big role and you often need recovery sleep from your night on call.
Medical Specialties
Here is a synopsis of different medical specialties and subspecialties and the length of their training programs (internship, residency, fellowship) after medical school:
- Anesthesiology - 4 years
- Dermatology - 4 years
- Emergency Medicine - 3-4 years
- General Surgery - 5 years; Subspecialties of Surgery require an additional 1 to 4 years after the 5 year residency, they include: Vascular Surgery, Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Colon and Rectal Surgery. Some surgical specialties require 1-2 years of General Surgery, then an additional 3-5 years of specialty training, they include: Neurosurgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Plastic Surgery, and Urology
- Internal Medicine - 3 years; subspecialties of Internal medicine require an additional 2-3 years after the 3 year residency, they include: Cardiology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Geriatrics, Hematology, Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Pulmonary, Rheumatology
- Neurology - 4 years
- Obstetrics and Gynecology - 4 years
- Pathology - 4 years
- Pediatrics - 3 years; subspecialties of Pediatrics require an additional 2-3 years after the 3 year residency, they include: Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Endocrinology, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Pediatric Critical Care, Neonatology, Pediatric Nephrology, Pediatric Pulmonology, Pediatric Rheumatology
- Psychiatry - 4 years
- Radiology - 4-5 years; subspecialties of Radiology require an additional 1-2 years after residency, they include: Neuroradiology, Vascular and Interventional Radiology, Pediatric Radiology
Resources:
-http://money.howstuffworks.com/becoming-a-doctor13.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment