Ever dreamed of becoming a doctor, but haven’t got a clue where to get started? Well, whether you are a high school student or a career changer, you can find that answer to all your medical career questions below. Even the ones you were too afraid to ask!
Do I need good grades to get into medical school?
The answer here is a resounding yes. In fact, when it comes to a career in medicine, you need to have good high school grades. In fact, without a high GPA and a well-rounded background in community service, you can kiss goodbye to getting onto a medical college course. Something that leads to many potential medical students to start preparing for their career even while doing their GED.
Of course, once you get into college and have your degree, things have only just begun. This is because medicine is one of the careers where the true on the job training truly begins after you have initially qualified. In fact, you can expect years of rotations and additional exams before you are fully qualified as a specialist in your field.
Can I specialize in only one type of medicine?
One of the best things about a career in medicine is the great variety of specialisms to choose from. In fact, when on rotation, you may find that your passion lies in helping people treat and manage their skin conditions (dermatologist). While for others, the opportunity to specialize in treating children, and helping them fight severe disease is what motivates them (pediatrics). Still, for others, the study and treatment of adult disease is where their focus lies (internal medicine), with many other additional areas of specialism to choose from as well.
Of course, if you are looking for your next career in internal medicine, (or any other specialism), being able to track down relevant job posts is essential. Happily, there are some medical job finding websites that allow you to search by specialist area, as well as a whole host of other factors. Something that can make tracking down your next post a great deal easier than it has previously been.
Will I get weekends, evenings and holidays off to spend with my family?
Another thing that you need to know about a career in medicine is that few posts keep regular or social hours. That is you can expect to work shifts on evenings, nights, weekends, and holidays. After all, the need for medical care doesn’t stop just because it’s not 9-5 Monday to Friday. In fact, even if you aren’t technically working, you may very well end up being on call. A situation where you can get called to assist or supervise another medical professional at any time. The only expectation to this rule being if you are in general practice, or if you set up your own practice later on in your career.
Although, despite the unsocial hours, there are some attractive benefits to working in the medical field. The first being the knowledge you are helping those in their time of need. Oh, and the relatively high wages a medical profession can command often make up for this side of things as well!
