What to Know Before Applying to Medical School
Medicine is one of the hardest professions to join. Prospective medical school students need to make a few critical decisions and endure years of schooling long before becoming doctors.
Here are five questions they should ask medical school admissions experts if they want to don a white coat.
Time
How long does it take to become a doctor?
Time
It takes at least seven years to become a practicing physician. After four years of medical school, new doctors must complete a residency — intense hands-on training in a health care setting — if they wish to practice medicine. Residency can last between three and seven years.
Preparation
When should someone start preparing for medical school applications?
Preparation
Aspiring doctors should start preparing for applications two or three years before they’re ready to apply.
Experts suggest applicants take time to learn about the profession of medicine before applying to medical school. Shadowing a physician or doing health-care-related volunteer work are two ways to learn. Applicants should take several classes during their years as an undergraduate student to prepare for the MCAT and medical school courses.
Classes
What type of classes should undergraduate students take before sitting for the MCAT?
Classes
While the MCAT tests premeds on their understanding of biology, chemistry and other hard sciences, experts say students should beef up their understanding of social sciences.
“For freshmen and sophomores, one semester each of introductory psychology and sociology should be sufficient for the MCAT and will provide students with a focused academic schedule. Learning these sciences in a more formal setting will also instill the necessary rigor and mental stamina a premed student needs to succeed on the MCAT,” physician Anthony Lafond wrote in a blog post for U.S. News
M.D. and D.O.
What is the difference between an M.D. degree from an allopathic school and a D.O. degree from an osteopathic school?
M.D. and D.O.
Both types of physicians attend four years of medical school and then enter a residency.
Allopathic and osteopathic schools offer similar curricula, with a balance of classroom and clinical learning opportunities. D.O.-granting schools, however, teach students osteopathic manipulative medicine that involves the spine, bones and muscles. D.O. doctors. ” The D.O. clinical experience tends to emphasize primary care and occur in community institutions rather than in academic medical centers,” reported Susan Brink for U.S. News. There are more allopathic schools than D.O. schools, but there has been a recent increase in both types of institutions.
Career Options
What else can I do in addition to practicing medicine?
Career Options
Most M.D.s and D.O.s work with patients to provide health care, but some doctors branch out into other jobs.
An M.D.-MBA may focus on how health care is managed or become a hospital administrator. Prospective medical students who are interested in research can apply for M.D.-Ph.D. programs, which prepare students to run research labs at universities or work on new treatments for diseases, for example.
More on Medical Education
Learn more about applying to medical school and get our complete rankings of the 2016 Best Medical Schools.
For more advice and information on how to select a school, connect with U.S. News Education on Twitter and Facebook.
More from U.S. News
Choose the Right Undergraduate Major for Medical School
Find a Postbaccalaureate Premed Program That Fits You
How to Decide Between an M.D. and a D.O.
5 Questions to Ask If You Want to Be a Doctor originally appeared on usnews.com
