Understanding yourself: Is a medical career right for me?

If you are a high school student who envisions a future in medicine, there are some critical questions you need to ask yourself before committing to a college major that leads to medical school, such as: 

Do I have what it takes to get accepted into medical school?

How much of my personal life am I willing to sacrifice?

According to Medical School Headquarters, there are five definite reasons to go to medical school—and five not to go:

Improving the lives and health of other people

Seeking amazing clinical and non-clinical job options

Being a lifelong learner in an intellectually stimulating career

Don’t go because it looks cool on TV dramas

Don’t go because of parents pressuring you

Don’t go if you want a great work-life balance 

Once you’ve decided a career in medicine is the right path for you, your grades are where they need to be, and you’re willing to put the time into a residency that can take years to complete, you’ll need to think about the various specialties. The options are vast.

The American Medical Association identified eleven top factors that medical school students claimed as the key influencers when choosing a specialty. The study ranks by number most to least important factors:

How hard is it to get into medical school?

Here’s what one doctor had to say about the path to medical school: “Realize that at most colleges and universities there is no such thing as a “pre-med” major. If you are referring to the percentage of freshman students who have an interest in going on to med school, it varies but can be significant.”

“As an example, during the first week of my 200-student freshman chemistry class at UNC, the professor asked the class to raise their hands if they plan on going to medical school. About a third or more of the hands went up. By the time I took inorganic chemistry from that same professor the percentage was down to maybe 10 percent. I think the previous year’s organic chemistry classes weeded out a lot of would-be docs.”

Do I need perfect grades in high school to become a doctor?

Grades are important. Applicants should strive for a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Know this: of the more than 55,000 that applied to medical school in 2019, less than 22,000 were accepted to at least one school. This means that more than half were rejected. 

The average total cost of medical school in the U.S. is $218,792 according to Education Data Initiative. The average yearly cost is nearly $56,000. This is a 2021 statistic. Every year, the average yearly cost goes up by about $1500. Keep In mind, annual salaries for med school grads who are doing a residency range from $63,400 to $68,500, depending on the specialty. A residency can last anywhere from 4 to 9 years—the longer programs for specialties such as neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, and plastic surgery to name a few.

So, while your peers in the business world are moving up the ladder, jumping to higher-paying jobs, and improving their lifestyles, doctors don’t begin that process until they have completed residency training and gone on to private practice. If you are interested in studying a specific niche within a specialty, you may need to do a year’s fellowship training. This can add up to 13 or 14-years total.

How long does it take to become a doctor after high school?

According to one noted source, becoming a doctor in the U.S. typically takes between 10 and 24 years. You must complete a 4-year undergraduate degree, then complete 4 years of medical school. Upon graduation, you are a doctor. However, to succeed in a specialty – even family practice – you’ll need to “match to a residency” which can last anywhere from 3 to 7 years, depending on the specialty you choose. After this, you’ll need to complete a licensing exam.

In 2018, Primary Care Physicians in the United States earned on average $237,000, while specialists earned $341,000, according to the Medscape Physician Compensation Report. This marked about a 21.5% increase for PCPs from 2015 and about a 20% increase for specialists. A department head can make in excess of $500,000.

What classes should I take in high school if I want to be a doctor?

Every high school student interested in a medical degree must show an affinity for the sciences. When applying to college, you will need to show that the classes you took in high school include: biology, chemistry, physics, and math (BCPM). Your grades in these courses will be closely reviewed. It should also be noted that college and medical school admissions panels do weigh your BCPM GPAs more heavily than other subjects. If you don’t excel in these categories, medical school isn’t right for you. But if you do, your next step is to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Taking AP courses leads to AP exams, which many universities recognize for both undergrad and medical school credits. 

If you still see yourself as a physician, high school is the time to finetune your learning skills: study habits, time management, test-taking, and written and verbal communication. English class is where you will improve your communication skills. Med school curriculum often includes writing multiple styles of essays, analyzing literature, giving oral presentations, and taking comprehension tests. It starts with your application to medical school, and continues throughout your career as a physician, where you’ll use these skills every day to write reports and communicate with colleagues and patients.

Extracurricular Opportunities to Prepare for Medical School

Although grades are an important aspect of your potential for college and medical school admission, review panels also take into account other aspects of your life, such as extracurricular activities or pre-clinical experiences. High school students with an eye on being a doctor can pursue activities that give them valuable training and insights, including anatomy and biology clubs. Another option is the Medical Explorers Club, which provides exposure to how medicine works at local hospitals. You can also sign up for volunteering opportunities with Doctors Without Borders, an international organization that delivers urgent medical assistance - not only in war zones - but in high-need communities. High schoolers are often recruited to help with fundraising and awareness efforts. 

Medical Summer Immersion Programs for High School Students

Many leading universities today offer summer and online programs for high school students. Young motivated scholars 13 and older can study with renowned faculty. Pre-College Online Programs are offered throughout the U.S. Here are just a few:

Going Straight to Pre-Med Right After High School

Going from high school to med school is not typical at most universities, but there are options. These include completing a BS-MD track or an Early Assurance Program (EAP). A BS-MD program combines undergraduate school with medical school, allowing students to complete bachelor and medical degrees over a seven-year period. Requirements vary from program to program

In an article with the American Academy of Medical Colleges (AAMC), University of Rochester student Jayson Baman gave his first-hand experience with the BS-MD program, one of only 50 in the U.S. “A big advantage of being in a BS-MD program is the familiarity you develop with the medical school while still an undergraduate. Because physicians and researchers know that you are serious about medicine, you often find it easier to secure internships or shadowing positions.”

Another popular option is the Early Assurance Program (EAP), which is rapidly growing in popularity and available at leading schools, such as Georgetown University and Wake Forest University. To qualify, students must apply for med school in their sophomore year, demonstrate strong grades, and have completed science and pre med coursework, depending on the school’s requirements. Students accepted into EAP programs are not required to take the MCAT for entry. 

Are you drawn to helping people? Do you love science? The path to becoming a physician is long and arduous and can take many different routes. As a high schooler, there are numerous aspects to consider and plan for before you even get to college. After all, according to U.S. News and World Report, the medical school admissions process is extremely competitive, with schools becoming even more selective since the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused a surge of interest in the field.

Becoming a doctor is a serious commitment. Here are the critical questions to ask yourself as a high school student seeking a career in medicine.

How To Decide If You Want to Be a Doctor

Take your high school science classes seriously.

Undergraduate pre-med requirements include classes in biology, chemistry, psychology, physics, and more. Although you won’t be able to use high school classes to count towards these requirements—often even if you receive AP credit,—you can use high school science classes to build a strong foundation for your college pre-med classes. If you do well in your high school science classes, you’ll be more comfortable in your undergraduate science classes, which are the ones that will count for medical school applications. 

When you were younger you might have said that you wanted to be a doctor when you grow up. But now that you’re getting a little closer to beginning your medical studies, you should do some research to learn more about what kind of doctor you’d like to be. If you don’t know yet, that’s okay! You won’t need to make a decision about your specialty until well into medical school, and you’ll likely change your mind a few times before then. But there are many, many different opportunities in medicine, and having some idea of what you’d like to pursue will help guide your studies. Consider what about being a doctor appeals to you. Is it...

long-lasting doctor-patient relationships? 

the excitement of saving lives in an ER or ICU? 

Depending on what interests you, you might choose to be a medical researcher at a university hospital, a family medicine provider, or an emergency medicine or internal medicine doctor in a hospital.

Once you have an idea of what medical subspecialties might interest you, look for shadowing opportunities. Ideally these opportunities would come through people you already know; perhaps your own doctor, or family members or friends working in medicine. If this isn’t an option, though, you can always call nearby doctors offices or hospitals and ask if there are any doctors willing to let you shadow them. Many doctors have experience being shadowed, so it’s often not an inconvenience for them to have you tag along for the day. That being said, you should give them plenty of notice so they can plan for you to come on a convenient day. 

Here are some ways to make a good impression while you shadow:

Don’t be late. Doctors have busy schedules, and to be respectful of their time you should arrive early. 

Come prepared with some questions. You’ll likely have some time to chat with the doctor about his/her profession in between patients, and you should use this opportunity to learn as much as you can about being a doctor.

Be fully present. Turn off your phone and take notes. 

Dress professionally. You may be given scrubs to wear, depending on where you’re shadowing, but if not, err on the side of business casual (with comfortable shoes!). 

Keep in mind that these shadowing hours won’t count towards the amount of hours medical schools expect you to have; however, it’s worth it to pursue shadowing opportunities just for the experience.

Look for volunteer opportunities that align with your interests. Don’t worry right now if the service opportunities you find aren’t medical, since these community service hours won’t count for your medical school applications, anyway. The most important thing is to find something you enjoy and stick with it for a while. Volunteering will make you more well-rounded, give you leadership opportunities, and show that you’re interested in helping others—all things medical schools like to see in an applicant. 

While you’ll need official clinical experience with patients to be a competitive medical school applicant, for now it’s enough to focus on getting familiar with medical techniques and medical facilities. Whether you’re working with actual patients or practicing sutures and surgical knots on an orange, early hands-on medical experience will help you get a feel for the medical field. You could choose to get certified as a CNA or EMT, which would put you in direct contact with patients in a medical setting, or volunteer in clinics, nursing homes, or hospitals. Another option for clinical experience is a pre-med summer program. Many universities and other organizations have immersive week-long (or longer!) programs in which high school students spend time on a college campus attending classes by medical school faculty, participating in labs and dissections, and learning about medical school. 

Decide what degree(s) you want and where you want to get your undergrad

While there are several BA and BS/MD programs in the U.S., most pre-med students get a bachelor’s degree and then apply to medical school separately. It’s a common misconception that in order to qualify for medical school you need to get a science major. As long as you complete the medical school prerequisites, you can major in anything! In fact, medical schools often like to see that applicants are well-rounded—that means that if you want to major in Art History and supplement your studies with your pre-med requirements, you might stand out more than applicants who focused solely on science.

Although most of your pre-med experiences will take place during your undergrad, you don’t have to wait until you start college to begin gaining skills and knowledge that will help you in your future medical career. Here’s a list of steps you can take that will help you prepare for a career in medicine before you even start your undergrad. 

How can I get ready for medical school in high school?

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How To Decide If You Want to Be a Doctor

How can I get ready for medical school in high school?