Question

[sashaa]

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Wondering who can answer a question for me...I am 29 and considering going to school to be a Dermatologist. Does anyone know what it would take for me to make something like this happen? I have an undergrad degree in Finance and a Masters Degree in Health Care Management. Any idea how many years I would have to go back to school for, coursework info, etc??

 

[jamieson]

you'd need 4 years of medical school followed by one year of internship and 3 years of residency.

that's not including the 1-2 years of premed courses you'd need in order to even apply to med school if you haven't taken them already. many hoops to jump through i'm afraid.

 

[Wacaggie]

Not knowing your actual credit allocation in undergrad and your masters program I would assume you would still need 1-2 years of prereqs before you could apply to medical school. Add 4 years for medical school. Add 4 years for Dermatology residency if you get in the first time. If you don't get in the first time add an extra year or two for research fellowships.

Ideally you could be done by the time you are 39-40 years old if everything goes smoothly and you get accepted the first time into everything.

You can search through past posts to see "what it would take you" to get into Dermatology. Just getting in is hard enough to deter most people. Having to start from being a pre-med having those 8+ years left and still no guarantee of getting in is a daunting prospect.

 

[Gravi69]

I'd agree too many years.

You're looking at returning to school to get pre-med requirements done.

Then admission to medical school.

4 years later, you're applying to a field where the match rate for American graduates is only 50%.

If you have your heart set on ONLY being a dermatologist, I'd tell you embarking on the journey now is setting yourself up for heartbreak. On the other hand, if there are many other fields in medicine where you can see yourself working, then absolutely it's worth trying. Schools are always happy to take on elder students who can bring added perspective and maturity to their programs.