What is a Medical Degree?
A medical degree is the more common name for an allopathic medicine degree and affords graduates with the familiar ‘M.D’ designation after our names. But in order to get that designation and that degree, you have to complete a bachelor’s degree program and then medical school. You must also complete the Medical College Admissions Test to even get in the door of that medical school. A feat that is definitely not easy for anyone, and requires an extensive amount of study and attention to detail.
Getting Into Medical School
In order to even get into medical school, you will need to meet some very stringent requirements. You will need to complete a pre-med program or at least a bachelor’s degree in a science or medical program (though there are some others that are also accepted) in order to even be considered. You will also need to complete the application, which will vary based on whether you’re looking to complete a medical doctor program or a doctor of medicine program.
Becoming a Medical Doctor
As medical doctoral students, we must complete an application known as the American Medical College Application Service. This required a lot of detail on not only things like my transcripts but everything you would put on a job application such as work experience and memberships. You will need to detail extracurricular activities, awards, personal information, and scores on required testing, including the MCAT, LSAT, MAT, GMAT, and GRE. On top of that, you will need to provide letters of evaluation, essays, and general recommendation letters to go along with the application.
Students in this program must work with the National Residency Match Program to get matched with a specialty that they want to pursue. Upon completing the chosen residencies, they take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. This exam, which is taken throughout the course of the doctoral program, is one of the most essential pieces of your medical education, which means it’s vital to study hard and get assistance along the way. Don’t assume that you can handle it on your own or take care of things without help. I know that I definitely couldn’t. If you’re looking for a program to help, you can check out this USMLE Step 1 prep courses. It was one of the courses that really helped me through the exams, especially when it comes to pre answered questions.
Becoming a Doctor of Medicine
On the other side of things is the doctor of medicine. This degree is similar in many ways; however, it provides a slightly different degree and a slightly different method of training for students. It all starts with the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service, which is quite similar to the application that is used for the medical doctor program. It requires all of the same types of information, including test scores, personal information, letters of recommendation, and so forth. Upon completing this program, students will be matched for a residency in a similar manner to being matched with the medical doctor program. Finally, they complete the COMLEX-USA to work toward their licensure.
The Process of Getting Your Medical Degree
Getting a medical degree takes approximately 7 – 11 years to fully achieve, considering the fact that you will need to complete a residency program following your four years of medical school. Also, this is after completing a two-year program in another field of study, which means that the entire process takes upwards of 9 years to complete from beginning to end. It’s a big commitment for anyone.
The first two years of the program consist of labs and courses in fields such as psychology, biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, microbiology, and anatomy. It is at the end of the second year that you will need to take the USMLE Step 1 and trust me; it’s going to take a lot of hard work and study.
The next two years of your program are where clinical start to happen and where you will have the opportunity to put your course experience into practice by working hands-on with doctors, medical personnel, and patients. Depending on where you are in the program, you may have more or less interaction with the patients, but either way, this is where you’re really going to start seeing the benefits of your hard work. You will also need to take the USMLE Step 2 at the end of these years.
What To Do With Your Medical Degree
Once you’re in medical school, you’ll need to start considering your future. Being a doctor at the end of your program is only a small part of the process. You also need to determine what type of doctor you’re going to be. There are nearly 200 different accredited medical schools that will give you some form of a medical degree, including helping you to become a veterinarian, chiropractor, optometrist, dentist, ENT physician and more. But only you can decide which of these paths you wish to follow, and you’ll need to make that decision earlier on in the process of your medical education.
If you’re already dedicated to a career as a medical doctor, you still have a number of different areas to consider. You could be a surgeon, pediatrician, obstetrician, family practitioner, anesthesiologist, and much more. While all of these are types of medical doctors, some of the steps you’ll need to follow to complete your degree and your training will be slightly different depending on the specific kind of doctor you would like to be when you’re finished.
What the Future Holds
The future for doctors definitely seems to be quite bright, which is excellent news for us. In fact, it’s expected that through 2026 the demand for doctors will increase by 14%, which means approximately 99,300 additional doctors. States like California, Texas, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Pennsylvania are expected to see the most significant increase in doctors. Doctors also commonly earn upwards of $200,000 per year for general practitioners, which can increase to upwards of $300,000 – $500,000 a year for specialists.
For a doctoral student, there is a great deal to consider before you finally make a firm decision on your future.