What It Takes to Become a Doctor

So, you want to be a doctor, huh? Well, if you do then you should know that it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of hard work to do so if you are setting out on your venture from the very beginning. But, what you should also know is that once you reach the promised land of being a doctor, your life will be about as fulfilling as it can be.

To see exactly what it takes to enter the doctoring profession, make sure to read on.

Earn a bachelor’s degree

First of all, if you want to be a doctor you’re going to have to get yourself a bachelor’s degree. Now, this degree doesn’t necessarily have to be in doctoring or nursing — it can be in any of the Sciences or even Mathematics.

Make sure to get some work experience

Whilst you are studying for your BA degree you should be getting in as much work experience as you possibly can. You need to do this so that you can, one, discover if this is the career trajectory you actually want to follow before you are too deep into it to realistically change, two, show you are serious about the career, and three, to get the experience needed to take your next step in the doctoring world. So, whilst studying for that BA, get volunteering whenever and wherever you can, even if this means setting up the volunteering yourself.

Take the Medical College Admissions Test

The MCAT is the next necessary step after you have completed your BA degree. What this test will entail is questions about the world of doctoring and medicine in general, and when it comes to studying for it you’ll be glad that you got all that real-life experience during your days volunteering and on work experience.You can brush up on your knowledge before taking the real exam by completing an online MCAT prep.  

Get a specific Medical degree

Only once you have your MCAT will you be able to enroll yourself at medical university, and at this university you should devote your time fully to getting yourself your medical degree. What this degree will involve is two years’ worth of classroom based education, and then another two spent in hospitals.

Take part in a residency program

Once you’ve earned that lucrative and hard-to-come by medical degree, it’s time to be proud of yourself for how far you have come but it’s not yet time to basque in the glory of a job fully done. No, there is still one more step to take before you can call yourself a fully fledged doctor, and that is to take part in a residency program. You need to take part in such a program, simply, if you want to be licensed to doctor in many areas of medicine and not just in one.

So, there you have it, a short breakdown of what it takes to enter the profession of doctoring and make it as a doctor.