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Healthcare is an ever-growing industry because it keeps people alive, helps them recover from illnesses, and improves their quality of life. Humans always have healthcare needs, and this creates a constant demand for medical professionals. This demand makes careers in medicine lucrative and fulfilling, even though studying it takes a long time.
In the United States, you need a bachelor’s degree before you can apply to a medical school. Your bachelor’s degree must have courses like organic chemistry, biology, pure chemistry, english, and mathematics in their curriculum. These prerequisites vary by school but are necessary so students have the background knowledge required to understand medical concepts.
After your undergraduate study, you have to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) to be eligible for medical school. The MCAT is designed to gauge your problem-solving, critical thinking, and writing ability, as well as your knowledge of essential scientific concepts. The test is challenging but Premed Experts has valuable resources to help you get high scores that qualify you for admission to your dream medical school.
Medical school lasts for four years, after which you will go through supervised training in your field of specialization. This is called a residency program and it lasts between 3 and 7 years, depending on your field. To become a specialist in your field, you must undergo a fellowship. This will allow you to learn closely from a specialist for 1 to 4 years.
The journey through medical school and beyond until you become a certified doctor is tedious and requires your full attention. However, the rewards are worthwhile and you are almost guaranteed a fulfilling life.
Is It Difficult to Get Into Medical School?
Medical school admission is competitive and difficult because of the high number of applications schools receive every year. Medical schools across the country screen these applications thoroughly to pick the best applicants because outstanding academic ability is essential to cope with their curriculum demands.
Every school has its unique admission requirements but the top medical schools seek an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.75 and a MCAT score of about 511. These requirements are expected to rise in the coming years as medical schools are projected to receive more applications. However, with adequate preparation and guidance from Premed Experts, you can get admitted into a reputable medical school.
Career Opportunities in Medicine
There are many areas of specialization for people that study medicine. Each one focuses on different parts of the human body and requires a specific skill set for you to thrive. After studying medicine, you can become one of the following:
- Surgeon
- Hospital doctor
- Physician
- Psychiatrist
- Dermatologist
- Radiologist
- Pathologist
- Cardiologist
- Orthopedic doctor
- Anaesthetist
- Ophthalmologist
Medical school graduates can practice their profession anywhere in the world, provided they are board-certified. This means they will rarely be out of a job and will earn significant sums of money while practicing. Practicing medicine will also give you the unique opportunity to cure people and make their lives better.
Alternatively, you can work in the background and focus on research instead of practicing in any of the job roles mentioned above. Medical researchers use their knowledge of the human body to work alongside pharmacists and chemists to create life-saving treatments and medicines. As a medical researcher, you will spend hours in a laboratory conducting experiments and examining cells to observe the impact of the chemical formulas you create on them.
Endnote
Pursuing a medical career is a good choice for anyone that is passionate about the human body and is academically sound. This is because of the wide range of job opportunities and attractive salaries that come with practicing medicine either in patient care or research. However, it takes a long time to gain a medical license, but the wait is worth it.