The Education Path for a Doctor

Have you thought about applying to medical school? Let me just start by saying, medical school will most definitely be a stressful journey, but it may also be one of the best years of your life, as you will make so many new friends, gain a lot of knowledge, and a sense of accomplishment for completing one of the hardest degrees around.

First of all, medical school is way different than college! For this reason, medical school will seem especially challenging at the start, but as the year goes on you will see how the middle and end of your first year will probably be the best part of all of your four years. Most schools are converting to pass/fail for the first two years, but this doesn’t mean it will be any less challenging. The most important thing to do in your first year is to get organized and figure out which study methods work best for you.

At the start of your second year, you will experience some tension, which will just continue to grow as the year goes on. This tension is caused by Step one, the first of three U.S medical licensing exams. These steps will need to be taken before you could acquire your medical license. Steps one and two will be taken during medical school, but step three will be taken during residency. Step one, usually taken in the spring you your second year, is the most important, as it is what determines your match for residency. It would not be wise to procrastinate for this exam! It will require months and months of studying, as it is a combination of information from your first and second year.

Following your first step exam, your third year will begin. This marks the start of your clinical years! During your third year, all students are required to take a series of core rotations. These include: internal medicine, family medicine, general surgery, psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, obgyn, and emergency medicine. At the end of your third year you will begin preparing for step two CK. This is basically a test on the concepts you have learned from mostly your internal medicine rotation.

Your fourth year has now begun! This is probably the most challenging part of medical school, and this is for two reasons: sub-internships and preparing for residency applications. Sub-internships, basically a month-long interview, can be performed anywhere in the country. During 4th year, you also take step two CS, which is the clinical portion of your exam. Don’t worry, its not hard to pass and it doesn’t require much preparation.

To apply to residency, medical students use ERAS (ELectronic Residency Application service), which usually opens September 15th. It consists of a single application and you submit a personal statement, letters of recommendation, and a work and activities section. Interviews will then occur from October to February. In February, you will submit your rank list, and then wait until match day in March. At your ceremony you will open an envelope which will have the program you will be at for the next three to seven years.

Between match day and the start of residency, which is July 1st, people tend to relax, whether that be spending time with family or traveling around the world! Residency is the final stage before you are a practicing doctor. Residency is not school, it's your job, and therefore, you will get paid around $50,000-$60,000 a year. This money will most likely be used to pay off your $200,000 medical school debt.

All residents require an attending doctor to make sure the patient is in safe hands. As the years pass, you need to rely less and less on the supervision as soon there will be no one there to watch you. Unlike medical school, residency is not flexible. You are expected to be at the hospital, whether it be a 12 hour shift or a 24 hour shift. Like I said, residency is not school. That being said, the exams are way less formal. Exams that are required to be taken include: step three, which is easy, annual inservice, which is about your specialty, and lastly you board exam! This final exam will set you free and let you be a practicing doctor, without supervision!

There are many jobs within the medical school so if being a doctor isn't for you, that is okay!