The Doctor Experience.

Strain 121

So, I'm a senior in High School, thinking about what I want to do with my life.

I've been going to a college prep school for 6 years, where pretty much everyone's parent is some sort of doctor (except for mine). I'm used to a lot of work to get where I am, and I've always been interested in how bodies work, how they go wrong, and how they get fixed. Plus I like money too so hey whatever.

So, I'm considering trying to become a doctor. Anyone here who's done the same thing? I'm a little confused as to how/when people decide their specialties - I'm thinking internal medicine but I have no idea what specialty I would pick. I also don't know how the whole thing goes in general. Pre med in college, then med school, then internship etc?

Also how useful would it be to get one of my friends' parents to let me follow them around for a bit if I could?

I guess I'm just looking for more info in general about the profession besides "They heal people".

Smug Duckling

What you could do is try to have a chat with one of your friends' parents. Ask them how and why they got into medicine, what it's like, etc. They'd probably be happy to talk about it and you would get a realistic picture of what the life is like, much more realistic than you'd get from a medical school recruitment pamphlet or something.

Heir

You might even ask one of them if you could shadow them where they work for a day.

I did that once with an ER doctor when I was thinking of pursuing a medical degree. I believe I was a junior or senior in highschool at the time. Was a real eye opener.

Everywhereasign

You need to talk to someone in Med school to get the best picture.

From what I've been told by people in the process, when you decide on what your specialty is going to depend on what it is. Some require more time in med school then others. But it's pretty common to know what you're going into when you start Med School. If not, you can start your training as a GP and switch specialties. If you have an idea of what you want to specialize in, I'm sure we can help you out as to what they do besides "heal people". Each specialty is a totally different job. You can't describe what it's like without narrowing it down a little.


The job shadow is a good idea. Make sure you get a realistic one though, someone who has recently graduated and still remembers the process is good. They can give you an idea of what you can actually expect (as well as how much it's going to cost, if that's an issue). If you end up going with one of your parents friends, ask them if you could talk to a med student for a bit too. They'll have the inside line, and in my experience are always willing to talk about it.

Turgor

All of the other replies have been excellent ideas.

Another thing you may consider if you are interested in "how bodies work, how they go wrong, and how they get fixed" is something like microbiology, biomedical engineering, or biochemistry.

Anarchy Rules!

I'm currently trying to get a place to do medicine, and the amount of competition and hoops you have to jump through are amazing.
You are expected to have spoken to a doctor, done work experience/shadowing at a hospital, brilliant grades, lots of hobbies and medicine related volunteer work.

Here in the UK you don't choose your speciality for a very long time. You have 5 years of training, then 2 years as a foundation doctor where you spend a couple of months in different departments. From there you can choose to remain as a junior doctor, become a GP or start on the path to become a consultant.

Etelmik

Anyone here who's done the same thing? I'm a little confused as to how/when people decide their specialties - I'm thinking internal medicine but I have no idea what specialty I would pick. I also don't know how the whole thing goes in general. Pre med in college, then med school, then internship etc?

I don't think anyone actually answered this. My bro's in med school.

In the U.S., you go for three-four years, then you start doing your practicum. Actually being a doctor, but you are just GP'ing and tagging along. One year from graduation you are asked which track you want. You hope to score a position at a hospital or school learning your specialty.

On the program at graduation, they list where all of them are going and what program they're doing--so you get to use your first years learning about the other ones, and by the end of those three years, you'll have an idea of whether you still want to do internal medicine or not. Sometimes it gets complicated--my bro wanted anesthesiology and had to "apply" at 3 spots--spots in Idaho and Ohio didn't have room yet, so he's staying at the U of U hospital for a year doing the first part of Anesthesiology, then hoping a spot opens up at the end of the year. At that point, he'd likely go elsewhere.

Think of it as getting your post-doc work or going to grad school, only you're guaranteed to go somewhere.

Hope this helps.

X3x3non

I am in med school right now and just wanted to chime in real quick.

Somewhere down the line I figured something out: I don't like patients, i don't really want to work in a hospital or practice at all. Wrong profession for me? Not really. The thing about medicine is that you can do so many different things down the line. You can get a desk job for a company or a government agency, you can do lab research, you can do lab analysis (the guy who tells you if all the blood parameters are alright), you can specialize more into microbiology. There is just a shit load to do. Just yesterday i was talking to my sister's boyfriend who is working for a consulting firm and he told me they are hiring Doctors to help them out with restructuring a few hospitals in our state (though of course you need some clinical work experience for it).