What do I need to major in college to become a pediatrician?

What type of college classes do you need to take before you become a pediatrician?

• Answer:

  A pediatrician is a medical doctor -- a physician -- just like any other doctor. All the word "pediatrician" means is that the doctor who's no different from any other doctor (or, if you prefer the word "physician," then the physician who's no different from any other physician), just happnes to specialize in treating children. Any physician in the United States must first get a regular four-year college degree at the bachelors level, during which degree, if he or she is smart, he or she will make sure that, among all other courses, at least these are taken: 1 year of freshman chemistry with laboratory courses 1 year of organic chemistry with laboratory courses 1 year of biology with laboratory courses 1 year of physics with laboratory courses 1 year of English 1 year of calculus or other advanced math, including statistics And then, after a regular bachelors degree, he or she must take the Medical School Admissions Test (MCAT), which only exceptionally bright people can possibly pass. Then if he or she passes the MCAT, he or she must apply to a medical school, most of which will reject all but the very best applicants, so for many it all ends right there. Assuming, however, that he or she makes that cut, then medical school takes four more long and arduous years of some of the toughest coursework anyone can possibly imagine in a broad range of sciences and medicine for the first two years before he or she must then stop and take "Step 1 (of 3)" of the US Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) in order to continue on into the third year. During the third year, the med student spends 1-2 months each, rotating through all of the major medical specialties such as internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, OB/GYN, etc. He or she learns how to work with patients, but under the supervision of experienced physicians in hospitals and clinics, learning acute, chronic, preventive, and rehabilitative care, as well as the social skills that give a doctor good bedside manner. (Many physicians, as most any patient will attest, seem to give short shrift to that last one.) During the fourth year, the med student takes the electives for the area of specialization that he or she has chosen (usually informed by the rotations he or she did during the third year), and that's where he or she learns how to be, for example, a pediatrician (though it could just as easily have been surgeon, or anasthesiologist, or cardiologist, etc.). During the fourth year is also when the med student must pass "Step 2 (of 3)" of the USMLE, after which, in some states, people can officially start calling him or her "doctor" (even though he or she isn't fully licensed yet at that point). But wait... it's far from over... Then, after graduation from four years of medical school, he or she must do anywhere from three to sometimes as many as eight or more years of RESIDENCY in a hospital. If you've ever wated "ER" on television, then you may remember the young physicians referring to themselves as first year or second year or third year residents: Those young physicians are in their RESIDENCY period. The first year of residency is usually called the "internship" year, and first year residents are commonly called "interns." A pediatrician is likely to spend a little longer in residency (typically four or five years) than a general practitioner or internist (whose residency is typically around three years). A person wanting to become a pediatrician is going to spend more and more time during his or her residency in that specialty, until, finally, that's pretty much the only thing that he or she does in the final year or two. At some point during residency is when "Part 3 (of 3)" of the USMLE is taken, after the passage of which everyone really can start calling him or her "doctor," and then he or she can apply for a medical license from the state. So, then, to become a pediatrician: Twelve years of primary and secondary education, during the high school part of which one should become very good in math and science; plus four years of regular undergraduate college studying the kinds of courses bulleted, above; plus four years of medical school, concentrating on pediatric-related electives in the fourth year; plus three to five years of residency, concentrating, during the last two of which on little other than the actual practice of pediatrics... ...for a total of 23 to 25 years, in all. Good luck.