Percentage of people who actually become doctors

[dbth77]

what do you think the percentage is of people who start out wanting to be doctors? Factor in people who drop because of premed classes, low mcat scores, or just become unmotivated

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[hardy]

what do you think the percentage is of people who start out wanting to be doctors? Factor in people who drop because of premed classes, low mcat scores, or just become unmotivated

0.25% of all People in the US are doctors.
Let's say that 10-30% of all people want to become doctors at some point in their life (like elementary school) then 0.8% to 2.5% of all people make it.

If we are more realistic and say that 5% of all people going to college (25%) want to become doctors then we have that about 20% can fullfill their dream.

Which scenario is true? I don't know and I doubt anybody really has statistics on it.

 

[45408]

I dunno about all of the math that hardy is using, but I'd say that about 10-30% of freshman pre-meds will actually get into med school. It depends on the undergrad you're looking at also, but judging from all the ex-premeds I know, it's a pretty good attrition rate. Lots of people just find a field better suited to them, because they didn't even consider other job options.

 

[Medikit]

All I know is that I met a lot of pre-meds freshman year that aren't pre-meds anymore

 

[45408]

All I know is that I met a lot of pre-meds freshman year that aren't pre-meds anymore

Mostly the hot ones.




before anyone gets hurt, I'm not saying that attractive people can't be smart

 

[KingTutATL]

population of the US is around 300million?? or soon approaching. .25% would mean that there are nearly 750,000 doctors in the US. Are there that many?

 

[Shredder]

http://www.aamc.org/newsroom/pressrel/2005/050519.htm
New Gallup Poll Says M.D. Stands for "Most Desirable" Career

Washington, D.C., May 19, 2005 — "Be a doctor" is the most common career advice that Americans give young adults according to a new Gallup poll. The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) calls the results "good news."

"These poll results offer great encouragement for a profession facing a diversity gap and a workforce deficit," said AAMC President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D. "With an aging Baby Boom generation, the increasing retirement of currently practicing physicians and growing disparities in health care, particularly for minority populations, America needs more doctors."

Conducted April 18-21, the poll found that 20 percent of Americans recommend that young women become physicians, while 17 percent suggest medicine as a career for young men. This represents the first time in 20 years that medicine has edged out computers at the leading recommended career choice for young people.

Women tend to recommend medical careers more often, with about one quarter of women encouraging both young men and young women to be doctors. In comparison, less than 15 percent of men provide the same guidance to both genders.

Medicine has always been a well-recommended choice for young men. Since the Gallup poll first asked about career advice in 1949, medicine was identified as the best career option for young men and it held on to the top spot in polls through the early 1970s. By contrast, when the poll began including young women in 1950, only 2 percent of Americans said they recommended that young women become doctors. But that percentage began to rise steadily over the years as did the number of women pursing medical careers.

In fact, for the last two years, women applicants to U.S. medical schools have outnumbered men, according to annual AAMC data. In 2004-2005, women made up just over 50 percent of the applicant pool with 18,015 applications.

Following medicine, the top careers recommended in the 2005 poll to young men were computers, trades or industrial, business, self-employment or sales, and technology or electronics. Nursing, teaching, computers, and business, self-employment or sales were the top choices for young women.

Medicine is not only the favorite profession of adults providing career advice; it was also the top pick among U.S. teens, age 13-17, according to a separate Gallup poll, conducted January 17-February 6. Teacher and doctor tied as teens' first career choice, followed by lawyer, sports field, and science/biology.

 

[Fed Meat]

A buddy of mine was telling me that at his school, 55% of incoming freshman described themselves as pre-med. 18-20% of the school went on to medical school. This was a top 25 school known for its pre-med program, so I'm guessing the percentage for all schools is going to be less than 40%.

I'd say 25% is probably about right.

 

[getunconcsious]

Shredder--Thanks for the article. Typical of the damned old people wanting us to take care of them

To the OP: I'm living proof that if you want it bad enough, you can get into medical school, no matter how bad your motives are. AHAHAHAHAH.

 

[it.]

A buddy of mine was telling me that at his school, 55% of incoming freshman described themselves as pre-med. 18-20% of the school went on to medical school. This was a top 25 school known for its pre-med program, so I'm guessing the percentage for all schools is going to be less than 40%.

I'd say 25% is probably about right.

wtf, that is a lot of doctors. weird

 

[fun8stuff]

coming from my small state schoo (very unranked, lol)l, after having TA'd gen chem (my ice breaker the first day of class always included people stating major),i would not be suprised if the figure at my undergrad was around 1in20 to 1in40. there were always a good amount of freshman who began the first semester as premed, but changed as soon as they received their C- in gen chem.

 

[hardy]

population of the US is around 300million?? or soon approaching. .25% would mean that there are nearly 750,000 doctors in the US. Are there that many?

That's what I found online. I just typed in doctor statistics in Google and found the following page: http://www.rense.com/general62/gns.htm

The statistics they do on their is crap but I would think that they probably have about the right number of doctors. It seems about right that 1 in 400 people is a doctor.

 

[hardy]

A buddy of mine was telling me that at his school, 55% of incoming freshman described themselves as pre-med. 18-20% of the school went on to medical school. This was a top 25 school known for its pre-med program, so I'm guessing the percentage for all schools is going to be less than 40%.

I'd say 25% is probably about right.

I don't know... that seems very high. Just think that more than half of all students at most schools are non-science majors who have no intention of becoming doctors. Then a large chunck of people in the sciences have other goals too. I think such a high percentage would be a rare exception.

 

[deuist]

coming from my small state schoo (very unranked, lol)l, after having TA'd gen chem (my ice breaker the first day of class always included people stating major),i would not be suprised if the figure at my undergrad was around 1in20 to 1in40. there were always a good amount of freshman who began the first semester as premed, but changed as soon as they received their C- in gen chem.

When I TA'ed an intro to physics lab, literally ever student was pre-med. One person even threatened to drop my class, saying that my grading was too hard---"I have to drop because I'm going to get a B." I told him that he would follow directions, he would get an A. He finally got his butt in gear and managed one of the top grades in the class.

 

[Law2Doc]

When I TA'ed an intro to physics lab, literally ever student was pre-med. One person even threatened to drop my class, saying that my grading was too hard---"I have to drop because I'm going to get a B." I told him that he would follow directions, he would get an A. He finally got his butt in gear and managed one of the top grades in the class.

When I did college, while I don't know the total of premeds, I do recall hearing that about a quarter of those who started out as premed actually were still premed their senior year. If you assume that 50% of them got into med school directly out of college (per AAMC avg stats) that would be 12.5% of those who wanted to be doctors getting in that year. If this school is typical, which I don't know if it is, then you could take the total number of med school matriculants in a given year, and assume that is 12.5% and extrapolate out to see what the total freshman year premed total would be. The number would be wrong, as many people are not coming directly out of college to med school (due to postbacs, employment, military, graduate work, etc), but it might be a decent aproximation. Other than that, I don't know how you would calculate it.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

Not scientific, but I knew 8-10 people who started with me my freshmen year who were pre-med and 0% of them are doctors now.

I wasn't pre-med, but lived in an honors dorm. There were a lot more than 10 pre-meds in the dorm, these were just the people who I knew well enough to consider them friends.

 

[shawred]

I have been told that a good general rule of thumb is as follows: half of pre-meds get weeded out through courses, the 50% that are left get weeded out by the MCAT, and the 25% that are left are cut in half by the admissions process leaving about 12.5% that actually make it. Of course it varies where you go and there are exceptions at every stage, but I think that is a safe estimate.

 

[Will Ferrell]

I believe there was an article from the Collegeboard that stated 30% of the HS kids taking the PSATs (or was it the sats) identified their career choice as medicine. Let's say that 1 million kids take the PSATs/yr : 16,000/300,000 = ~ 5%.

This number doesn't even factor in the ACT people.

 

[stifler]

A buddy of mine was telling me that at his school, 55% of incoming freshman described themselves as pre-med. 18-20% of the school went on to medical school. This was a top 25 school known for its pre-med program, so I'm guessing the percentage for all schools is going to be less than 40%.

I'd say 25% is probably about right.

sounds like hopkins

 

[45408]

I believe there was an article from the Collegeboard that stated 30% of the HS kids taking the PSATs (or was it the sats) identified their career choice as medicine. Let's say that 1 million kids take the PSATs/yr : 16,000/300,000 = ~ 5%.

This number doesn't even factor in the ACT people.

Medicine = more than just a doctor. They could be interested in nursing, PA school, dentistry, physical therapy, optometry, pharmacy, or med school.

 

[tacrum43]

To the OP: I'm living proof that if you want it bad enough, you can get into medical school, no matter how bad your motives are. AHAHAHAHAH.

Getunconcious here isn't nearly as evil as he claims to be. A little money grubbing maybe, but the altruism is still there.

 

[Zephyrus]

if we're talking about US population, LOTS of kids want to be doctors simply because it is a popularized profession, sounds "cool" to lots of little kids, perhaps they're parroting what a relative or someone on TV said, etc... not many little kids want to go into investment banking or taxodermy, is what I'm saying.

if we're talking about people who have at some point during college called themselves "pre-meds", I would say about 10% of all prospective applicants. here's how I justify the discrepancy between the national acceptance rate of 45-50%:

-"freshman flush"
(intro level chem courses wipe out quite a few kids before they even begin, as does poor studying habits / excessive partying. others come to school as pre-meds but realize they were doing it for the wrong reasons or find a more personally satisfying career goal)

-"sophomore melt"
(less kids change this year, but there are still many who are annihilated by orgo or other upper-level coursework, and again, others who while choosing a major or deciding on a long-term plan finally realize that medical school is not for them.

-MCAT/GPA. Some make it close to the finish line but realize that their numbers are so glaringly deficient that they have virtually no chance of acceptance, and so they never apply.

-"postgrad Melt"
Some delay applying to medical school for a year or two, often due to poor numbers, but end up never applying.

Think about all the kids during freshman orientation who happily bugled that they were "premed... or something," only to stumble back from their first genchem exams in a horrified, still-hungover "shuffle of doom." Getting into medical school, by the numbers, is harder than it sounds.

Z

 

[it.]

if we're talking about US population, LOTS of kids want to be doctors simply because it is a popularized profession, sounds "cool" to lots of little kids, perhaps they're parroting what a relative or someone on TV said, etc... not many little kids want to go into investment banking or taxodermy, is what I'm saying.

if we're talking about people who have at some point during college called themselves "pre-meds", I would say about 10% of all prospective applicants. here's how I justify the discrepancy between the national acceptance rate of 45-50%:

-"freshman flush"
(intro level chem courses wipe out quite a few kids before they even begin, as does poor studying habits / excessive partying. others come to school as pre-meds but realize they were doing it for the wrong reasons or find a more personally satisfying career goal)

-"sophomore melt"
(less kids change this year, but there are still many who are annihilated by orgo or other upper-level coursework, and again, others who while choosing a major or deciding on a long-term plan finally realize that medical school is not for them.

-MCAT/GPA. Some make it close to the finish line but realize that their numbers are so glaringly deficient that they have virtually no chance of acceptance, and so they never apply.

-"postgrad Melt"
Some delay applying to medical school for a year or two, often due to poor numbers, but end up never applying.

Think about all the kids during freshman orientation who happily bugled that they were "premed... or something," only to stumble back from their first genchem exams in a horrified, still-hungover "shuffle of doom." Getting into medical school, by the numbers, is harder than it sounds.

Z

funny, i never saw medicine as "cool" or glorious...still don't.

 

[gujuDoc]

funny, i never saw medicine as "cool" or glorious...still don't.

Actually when I was younger, I never wanted to go into medicine in the sense of MD or DO. All my ex friends used to want to go into medicine, but not me. Now, years later, its the other way around. I'm the one that really wants it, and they are in fields like marketing or other business degrees, or in the other medically related fields like: pharmacy, optometry, or dentistry.

A lot of people I know are straying away from it because they are afraid of the competition or they don't want to be in school that long or have to work the crazy hours docs work. Others just didn't find that it interested them.

I, always liked health fields, but never saw medicine for me until college. I just couldn't see myself settling for nursing or PA, and thought more of going to med school. But anyhow.

 

[DrBowtie]

Oddly enough, I think in the beginning people declare themselves pre-med just because it is known for being perceived as a glamorous career and a very lucrative one. This is before they know how ridiculous admissions are. I heard a guy in my gen chem class say he was trying to go to med school. Later that same class he was talking about how he was just hoping to pull a C.

I would say it hovers somewhere between 10%-25% of initial premeds declared to those who are accepted. While yes there is a large funneling process, others do join in later to slightly offset the attrition rate.

 

[Hoberto]

Okay, so am I the only one who didn't seriously consider med school upon entering undergrad? I thought about medicine several times throughout junior high and high school but honestly never thought that someone like me could be a doctor. My parents aren't doctors, in fact, no one in my family is a doctor. My friend's parents weren't doctors. We weren't wealthy. I just thought it was a buddy-buddy club that I had no chance at being a part of....

When I started undergrad I just picked classes that sounded interesting and worked around my work schedule. Anyway, now I realize that it's more about numbers than who-you-know and I am finally taking the steps to enter this fulfilling and challenging profession that I've thought about for a long time.

I'd be interested in hearing about others with similar experiences.

 

[Kazema]

I wanted to become a neurosurgeon back when I was in junior high and saw a list of the highest-paid professions .

But that didn't last very long, I entered school as a computer science major and expected for 4 years to eventually enter the industry, which obviously did not happen. Medicine popped back up as a career possibility after talking to family and friends and a lot of reflection.

 

[crys20]

if the OP is asking this question because they're concerned 'they'll make it'...here's the thing...you'll make it if you want to make it, of this I'm convinced. If you want it bad enough you will make it happen. WIth the options that are out there to get you to your ultimate goal, to just practice medicine, you will undoubtedly get there if you work hard enough for LONG ENOUGH. trust me!

 

[exmike]

sounds like hopkins

Thats my school. thats what I was gonna say.

Amongst my freshman friends, almost all of them were pre-med. Within my group, I'm the only one in med school. To name a few.. two are programmers, one is a consultant, a couple are in finance, a couple are "unemployed" and several are in law school. So yeah, very high attrition rate for academic AND non academic reasons.

 

[Fed Meat]

Originally Posted by Fed Meat
A buddy of mine was telling me that at his school, 55% of incoming freshman described themselves as pre-med. 18-20% of the school went on to medical school. This was a top 25 school known for its pre-med program, so I'm guessing the percentage for all schools is going to be less than 40%.

I'd say 25% of those who start pre-med is probably about right.



sounds like hopkins

It was Emory, but I bet Hopkins would have similar numbers, if not higher.

 

[45408]

Okay, so am I the only one who didn't seriously consider med school upon entering undergrad?

Yes. No, just look at lots of the non-trad students, or non-science majors even. Lots of them went a totally different direction and then had a change of heart/mind.