To become pediatrician

[annelee]

Hello everyone, I'm a currently highschool senior and I want to become a pediatrician. So I applied to UCSD because it's known for bio major and I got accepted to Revelle college. However, for now, I applied as a undeclared major because I didn't know which major would be the best one for my future career. I'm not very strong at chem but I'm better with bio. The two major I am currently considering are Bioengineering-Premedical (B.S.) and Human Biology (B.S.). I want to find out between these two majors, or even anything else, that will prepare me better for med school.

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[loveoforganic]

As far as medical school acceptance, major does not matter. As far as prep for medical school, bio major would probably help the most, although the general consensus is that the benefit is pretty minimal.

Anyway, to be a pediatrician, you need to get through an undergraduate degree, medical school, and residency. More specifically, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=691406

 

[Catalystik]

I think the biology major would help prepare you the best for med school. I was a bio major, bio chem minor and I thought having a lot of upper-level biology courses under my belt really made med school a lot less intense than it was for some of my classmates.

But first things first: Protecting your GPA is very important so you'll be competitive when it's time to apply to med schools. You're likely to get the best grades when you love your major. Next fall, maybe try some introductory courses in a few disciplines and see which one clicks with you the best.

 

[metalgirl14]

I think the biology major would help prepare you the best for med school. I was a bio major, bio chem minor and I thought having a lot of upper-level biology courses under my belt really made med school a lot less intense than it was for some of my classmates.

But first things first: Protecting your GPA is very important so you'll be competitive when it's time to apply to med schools. You're likely to get the best grades when you love your major. Next fall, maybe try some introductory courses in a few disciplines and see which one clicks with you the best.

I completely agree that taking introductory classes is important. I originally thought I was going to be a Bio major but I ended up majoring in Psych (I probably would have minored in Anthropology too but I didn't take any Anthro classes until my Senior year). You should figure out what major really interests you.

Also, you don't necessarily have to be a Bio major to take the upper-level Bio classes. I took several upper-level classes simply because I thought they were interesting (and by the end of Senior year I was only 3 classes short of a double major in Bio).

 

[FutureCTDoc]

Peds is a relatively non-competitive field FWIW. Choose whichever major you prefer. It doesn't matter to med schools whether you majored in mid 13th century urdu literature or bio. My suggestion is take some gen eds and figure out what you enjoy the most. I've known people who majored in sociology and English lit get into ROADS specialties. Maintain a high GPA, preferablly above the 3.5 mark and certainly above the 3.0 mark. Minimize withdraws and incompletes. Do as well as you can in med school and nail the boards. Rock clinicals, this allows for you to have more leeway as to where you go. You may find that your interest in medicine wains, other specialties beckon or that you prefer another field, so keep your options open.

 

[Maygyver]

I think a bio major would be good. Those classes would help you out generally with the MCAT and I would think you would see more biology-major-esque material in medical school as opposed to all the engineering courses.

 

[Jrsharp70]

Biology is a useless major. I have a bio degree and you can have it. Major in chemistry with a minor in bio. Take A&P and genetics, micro, cell & molec, and call it a day. Half of the MCAT is chemistry, 0.25 is bio, 0.25 is physics. A good portion of your bio questions will be on renal system and PTH/calcitonin feedback anyway (this is where A&P comes in handy).

If you don't do medicine and you are stuck with a biology degree, be prepared to go to graduate school for something or starve.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

Med schools don't really care about your major, and most things you'll learn in undergrad will be outpaced pretty rapidly in the relevant medical courses. My advice would be to major in something you really enjoy in order to have a good college experience and maintain a high GPA. Just make sure to take the relevant prerequisite courses and make sure you understand them.