So you want to be a doctor
Brutal requirements, years of school, long hours—and a guaranteed job
What you’ll study
The first four years of medical training comprises both course work—in subjects ranging from genetics to cardiology, anatomy to ethics—and clinical experience, where students work alongside doctors. After writing a qualifying exam, students graduate and begin their residencies. It takes two years to become a family doctor and five years for most specialties. Additional exams are taken throughout the residency.
Extracurricular stuff that can help
Doing good outside of the classroom is absolutely essential to any medical school applicant. Schools are looking for not only outstanding students, but also dedicated community members who have demonstrated leadership, social responsibility and creativity. At UBC, for instance, extracurricular activities and work experience are scrutinized to identify attributes such as life experience, experience out of one’s comfort zone, accomplishment, responsibility, motivation and intellectual curiosity, and the list goes on. There are many ways to demonstrate these qualities—sports, fine arts, volunteer work, professional experience, travel—and many medical school applicants list several activities on their applications, so pursue every opportunity you can.
Job prospects
If you graduate from medical school, you’ll get a job. Period.
What you’ll make
Family physicians earn low six figures on average, from $100,000 to $125,000 annually, depending on the region. Specialists can make up to $350,000.
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A short aside, but the picture from Grey’s Anatomy is amusing – printed plain film X-rays are *never* seen in hospitals anymore and haven’t been used in years, possibly as much as a decade. Same goes for CTs and MRIs which – obviously – are even more suited to viewing electronically. Pretty much every TV show does this – maybe it’s just more dramatic for characters to gaze at a wall of X-rays than to crowd around a computer monitor.
With medical school, eveyone who gets in graduates with few exceptions. A study done years ago at the University Hospital looked at all the students who got in; sure, there were those with the top marks, but then there were those with marks all over the map; their daddies were doctors.
In engineering first year, they told us to look to the right, and then look to the left, and by Christmas one of us wouldn’t be there. Indeed, by Christmas one third of the class was gone. Also, I have been told by various people over the years that engineering physics was considered the most difficult program in the university, bar none.
Actually Josh, x-ray films are still present in hospitals. I work in the health care sector and have seen them on numerous occasions. Although, I will admit they are not the standard anymore, they are still present. So your statement of “*never* seen in hospitals anymore” is false. Have a nice day! =)
…don’t forget the six figure debt you will earn by the time you are done …and the fact you will get VERY little time off. Our doctors are a special breed and deserve all they earn having people’s lives in their hands everyday. When I make an error in my job or I am too busy to give something the attention I could have , it doesn’t cost someone thir life. Thank you to all of our physicians!!
Aamir, I’ve only ever seen them in teaching. I’m still in pre-clerkship, but plain films aren’t used in Nova Scotia at this point, and I never saw any in the Austrian hospital I spent time at during the summer. The more ridiculous TV inaccuracy comes up when they start looking at plain film CTs.
Ed, there’s nothing in modern (still admittedly imperfect) admissions processes that take into account parents. Last time I checked, of course, students don’t get into medicine based on high school marks as they can in engineering physics.
I’m a pre-clerk at Toronto, and printed plain films are pretty rare around here too.