How hard is it to be a doctor?

How hard is becoming a doctor?

• I want to become a doctor when I grow up. But right now I am studying biology and it is really hard for me to remember the names of things with latin or greek roots. Like we are learning about the kindoms of life and in the plant kingdom there are subkingdoms Cryptogamae and Phanero gamae. And then in Cryptogamae there are the subkingdoms thalophyta, bryophyta, and Pteridophyta ect.... Like it took me about an entire day to memorize the first three subkingdoms of life for plants and animals. So my mom told me that if it took about an entire day for me to remember just about 20 weird names. Then how can I become a doctor. She said that I will have to remember hundreds of disease names, and their treatments. And also remember the names of medicines by hearts. So I am wondering if anyone is in medical school, how hard is it actually to pass.

• Answer:

  Medical school isn't necessarily difficult, it's just LOTS of info to learn FAST, as long as you have a good foundation in the sciences. Realistically, right now you should be getting A's in most of your subjects with minimal to moderate effort. Memorization is a big part of medical school, unfortunately. You'll forget much of it when you actually start practicing, because you need to retain only that which you use in your particular specialty. I don't need to know every step of the Krebs cycle, so I've blocked that from my mind. Had to know it in med school, though, and could relearn it if I had to. Talk to your uncle. That's an excellent resource on the realities of medical practice.