Questions from High School Sophmore

[DutchCoco]

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Hi everyone, thanks for reading. I just have a few questions that I wanted to get answered. I'm considering becoming a doctor and if I do, my top choices are OB/GYN and Pediatrician.

1. First of all, am I right in thinking it's 8 years of school and then three years of residency?

2. What do you have to do to get an residency? What do you do during those three years?

3. After the residency, where do they work? At the hospital, private practice...

4. What's the typical schedule like?

5. What are the pros and cons of being a pediatrician?
Oh, and I just thought of one more. What are the best colleges for Pre-Med and the best medical schools?
Thanks in advance for the answers!

 

[TexasRose]

Hi everyone, thanks for reading. I just have a few questions that I wanted to get answered. I'm considering becoming a doctor and if I do, my top choices are OB/GYN and Pediatrician.

1. First of all, am I right in thinking it's 8 years of school and then three years of residency?

2. What do you have to do to get an residency? What do you do during those three years?

3. After the residency, where do they work? At the hospital, private practice...

4. What's the typical schedule like?

5. What are the pros and cons of being a pediatrician?
Oh, and I just thought of one more. What are the best colleges for Pre-Med and the best medical schools?
Thanks in advance for the answers!

Hi and welcome to sdn.

1. Yes, it's generally 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and then a residency. Residencies can range from 3-5+ years, depending on your specialty. Pediatrics is a 3 year residency. Obgyn is 4 years, I think?

2. Getting a residency requires completing your MD degree. You apply for a residency position during your 4th year of med school. (There's more to it than that, of course, but that's the basics.) Residency is basically on-the-job training. New MD's spend several years working in hospitals and clinics under the supervision of experienced MD's and learn the ins and outs of their specialty.

3. After residency, physicians can work where ever they want. It depends on your specialty, the demand for services in the area you work, etc. General pediatricians may work in private practice, academic practices associated with a medical school or work as hospitalists. They may work solo, in small groups or as part of a larger company.

4. I can't really answer the schedule question for you. It depends entirely on how the practice is set up.

I think you might find some very useful posts in the Mentor forum. http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=222

As for the best colleges and med schools, to make a long explanation short, the best college is usually one that you can afford that offers a solid education in both liberal arts and the sciences. You don't have to major in Biology, by the way! As for med schools, it all depends on the style of teaching that you will like at the time that you apply, the part of the country you want to live in, whether or not you want a very research intensive program or one that is focused on primary care, etc. It's something you'll figure out as you progress towards applying to med school.

Hope this helps a little!

 

[mstalk]

TexasRose,

I've been reading your posts for several months now (I am one of those lurkers who never posts) and its been a pleasure. This current post that you added to address a high school students concern just shows what a great doctor you will be !!! Good luck with matching.

PS: DutchCoco, I second everything TexasRose wrote !!! She is right on point.

 

[ZekeMD]

Hi everyone, thanks for reading. I just have a few questions that I wanted to get answered. I'm considering becoming a doctor and if I do, my top choices are OB/GYN and Pediatrician.

1. First of all, am I right in thinking it's 8 years of school and then three years of residency?

2. What do you have to do to get an residency? What do you do during those three years?

3. After the residency, where do they work? At the hospital, private practice...

4. What's the typical schedule like?

5. What are the pros and cons of being a pediatrician?
Oh, and I just thought of one more. What are the best colleges for Pre-Med and the best medical schools?
Thanks in advance for the answers!

I just wanted to weigh in on this a bit. TexasRose is entirely correct when she said that you don't have to major in biology. Major in something that you enjoy, and that could also serve as a backup in case you decide not to go into medicine, or for some unforeseen reason cannot get into medical school. That being said, the best way to make sure medicine is right for you is to spend time around doctors. Volunteering during high school or college is a good way to do this. To give you the best shot at medical school, you should work hard to get good grades, and you should be able to get A's in the medical school prerequisites (Bio, Chem, Physics, Calculus, etc).

As for the best premed schools...there are none. I went to a small engineering school that rarely sends people to medical school. There are however schools like Cornell that send TONS of people. There are pros and cons to each. From speaking with my friends who went to schools like Cornell, many of these schools weed out people who they don't feel will be accepted into medical school (which makes the school look better...they can say things like, "98% of our premeds were accepted.") The competition at these schools is also very intense at times.

I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you too much. In the end, trust your instinct. It hasn't let me down yet.

 

[m1234d]

In the end, trust your instinct. It hasn't let me down yet.

i couldn't agree more.

 

[Marigold]

Just want to second what everyone else has said! I agree with Zeke that it's important to get yourself involved and exposed to the medical field as soon as possible to get a more realistic idea of what medicine is all about. I think I was in 9th grade when I first shadowed a doc...interestingly, she was a Pediatrician, which has turned out to be the perfect field for me as well!

Also, it's definitely true that you shouldn't worry about what are the hearsay "best" schools for pre-med. Med students come from all kinds of colleges/universities...what matters more is your performance and how you spent your time at your chosen school.

Definitely major in something you enjoy (even if it's art or music or something seemingly totally unrelated to medicine), and take advantage of some liberal arts type classes. You will get all the science you could ever want (and then some) in med school, so don't feel like you have to completely fill your college schedule with all-science, all-the-time. AND, remember to get involved in extracurriculars and have fun! If you are a musician, maybe play in an ensemble. Join a group that does community service together. Get involved in your school's premed honor society. Med schools love to see intelligent, active, involved and well-rounded applicants.

 

[bjackrian]

To give you the best shot at medical school, you should work hard to get good grades, and you should be able to get A's in the medical school prerequisites (Bio, Chem, Physics, Calculus, etc).

I just wanted to weigh in that while getting good grades are important, a B in one of the core classes won't kill your chances. Don't forget to have fun while you're in college too! =)

 

[oldbearprofessor]

5. What are the pros and cons of being a pediatrician?

You've gotten some solid responses. We pediatricians don't mind h.s. students asking questions. Some of us aren't wild about having to be their doctors, but, there are ways to avoid this!

However, it seems this question got missed. It's covered a good bit on this forum, but I'll give you a couple of perspectives.

Pros:

- You get to take care of children. Most pediatricians feel a bond to children and enjoy and prefer to be caregivers for children. That doesn't mean we don't like adults or that all children are great to have as patients, but that in general, we are working with our choice of patients and disease processes.

- Pediatric training prepares you to provide general care, as a pediatrician does in the community, or specialize in certain organs, ages, or disease processes. I only take care of babies and get to do most of my care with very sick patients. I like that better than doing general pediatrics. Others enjoy the continuity of care of general pediatrics and caring for less sick patients or a wider range of ages.

- There is a tremendous need for physicians who will also be scientists and can conduct research on improving the health of children. This is my favorite part of my job and I am grateful to be part of a profession where I can take care of sick children, do research on the illnesses they have and investigate how to make their care better in the future.

- You may not get rich in pediatrics, but you'll have the respect of your community. Of course, like all doctors, you have a risk of lawsuits and must work within an increasingly complex health care system. Few people however disrespect their pediatricians and my experience has and continues to be that we are widely respected and feel valued by the community. Some things money can't buy. 🙂

Cons:

- Pediatric training is not an easy residency, with long hours and a high risk of picking up a few of the bugs that our patients have. Pediatric practice can be compatible with a good "life style", but no one would call pediatrics a lifestyle specialty. I work nights and always have and expect to do so for many years.

- Not everyone wants to deal with children who are very sick and may die. This actually isn't as bad in terms of careers as it might seem. Sure it's very distressing to take care of a baby or child who dies, but with time, you learn that the physician has an important and meaningful role in making sure that dying children and their families get compassionate care.

- Parents. This is commonly given as a reason not to like pediatrics. I don't entirely agree. Sure, some parents are very difficult to deal with. So are some adult patients. Some parents are great. But, if you don't want to deal with parents who have very different ideas about things than you do, then you won't be happy in pediatrics.