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How does Medical School work?

How does going to medical school work with regular college?

  • I'm a junior in High school and for a while now I have been trying to figure out exactly how going to a regular college then to a medical school works. I want to become an oncologist, but I don't know where to start exactly, no one has been very clear to me. How many years of regular college do you have to take before you can go to medical school? And what majors do you need to take? And how many years of Medical school do you have to go through?

  • Answer:

    You have to first attend undergraduate university and major in a career-oriented major, preferably biology, chemistry, or biochemistry. You don't, of course, have to take a science major. It just helps you cram in all the pre-requites required for medical school (biology, chemistry, organic chemistry, etc) so most students choose to major in a science before medical school to kill two birds with one stone. This is normally 4 years, but you could try and graduate earlier. College would essentially be like high school. You'd have to work on and build your GPA and study your butt off to apply to medical school in your senior year of college. You'd have to take the MCAT before applying; basically it's the SAT, except much harder, all over again. If you get accepted into a medical school, the years that you need to attend vary from the different studies. However, I think the average number is about 4. You'd go through basic medical training. Medical school produces doctors who are in general medicine, but oncologists are specialists. That means that after medical school you'd have to apply to another graduate school that has a oncology major (list: http://www.gradschools.com/search-programs/cancer-biology-oncology). You'd spend about 3 years in the oncology program, which I have to say is very difficult to get into, and then you'd enter residency and stuff like that. So basically you'd have to attend 3 more schools after graduating high school. In total, that'd be approximately 11 years of schooling, but you have to check your specific school, and a few years getting practice before being able to settle into your own private office and stuff. Good luck! You can PM me if you have more questions. I'm looking into this like mad, and my sister is a recently-graduated dentist.

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You will need to do 4-years of regular college or undergraduate study to earn your BS. You should major in chemistry, biochemistry, or biology. I recommend Biochemistry because it will better prepare you for the MCAT. You can actually major in anything as long as you complete the prerequisites for med school, but a hard science major will make you more competitive. During your junior or senior year you will take the MCAT and apply to medical schools. here is an outline of the process.... 4 years of college resulting in a bachelor's degree 4 years of medical school (you get the MD degree but you can't practice yet) Residency training (basically on the job training in a particular area of medicine such as internal medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, radiology, etc. that can range from 3-5 years) After residency you can then practice as a physician, unless you want to do more training in a subspecialty such as cardiology, cardiothorcic surgery, interventional radiology, etc. which can range from 1-3+ additional years beyond residency training.

missbliss

Let me clarify how you become an oncologist: AFTER med school (4 years) you do a general residency--for an adult oncologist, you would do internal medicine (for peds oncologist, you would do general peds) for 4 years of residency. AFTER that residency you would do a sub specialty (you do not go back to school) FELLOWSHIP. This is in a hospital based fellowship program. That is 3 years and can be 4 if you are doing research. Then you can take the board exam in oncology.

Diane A

It's first the regular years of college, talk to a guidance counselor and they will tell you which courses you should take. They will usually tell you which classes will help you prepare for medical school. After it's usually 3/4 years of medical school. Then residency. It's a lot but it will be worth it in the end :)

starstruck

Generally you go to 4 years of a college studying biology or something similar, then you apply to a medical program which can be at a number of different colleges and you'll end up going to school for another 4-8 years depending on what you want to do.

bannana77

4 years of college (you can choose any major) but your coursework has to include the following courses to apply for medical school: 1 year of inorganic chemistry 1 year of organic chemistry 1 year of physics 1 year of mathematics (unless you take the AP calculus exam and pass out of this college requirement) 1 year of biology 1 year of english You will also have to take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) during college, which will test your knowledge of the basic sciences as well as your reading comprehension and writing skills. Once you get into medical school. It is another 4 years. The first 2 years of medical school covers anatomy, histology, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, etc. You will spend practically every waking moment studying for the countless exams. At the end of your 2nd year, you will then take the USMLE Step 1 examination which will cover everything you learned during your 1st two years of medical school. You need to pass this exam to continue into your clinical clerkship during your last 2 years of medical school. This exam will also play a big role in determining which residency program you get into. Towards the end of your 3rd year of medical school, you will then start to prepare and apply for residency programs. Since you want to become an oncologist, you will be applying to internal medicine programs, which is another 3 years of training. Then during your 2nd year of residency you will need to apply to hematology/oncology fellowship programs, which is another 3 years. However, after residency you will take your internal medicine board exam. You have to pass your internal medicine boards before you can take your oncology boards. Usually, hematology/oncology fellowship training is split into 1 year of hematology, 1 year of oncology, and the final year being spent on either one depending on what field you want to concentrate more on when you go into practice. After fellowship, then you take your oncology (or hematology, or both) board exams. Hope this helps. Get ready for a long and arduous road.

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