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Becoming a doctor or surgeon in the United States isn't all that straightforward of a process.
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If you've ever wondered what each step of the process is like, you've come to the right place.
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Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
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Let's first cover the most traditional paths in becoming a doctor,
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and then we'll discuss some variants that can speed up the process
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or open up additional opportunities based on your specific interests.
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After completing high school, you'll attend a 4-year university and work towards your bachelor's degree.
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And no, an associate's degree won't cut it.
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Many students and their parents stress more than they need to regarding college choice.
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As I've spoken about in a previous video on college prestige,
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in most cases attending a respectable public university will suffice.
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The benefits of attending a highly prestigious private university are present,
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but are usually overstated and may not be worth the additional cost.
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My recommendation is to certainly strive to get into the best college possible,
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but keep in mind other important factors beyond prestige such as fit, cost, location, culture,
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and opportunities related to your areas of interest.
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Once you're in college, the big decision you'll be faced with is what major to pursue.
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While you can technically major in anything you want so long as you also complete the medical school prerequisites,
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there certainly are pros and cons to each major.
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For example, choosing a biology major will result in a greater degree of overlap
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between your major and medical school requirements,
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and ultimately a smaller course load which may translate to better grades.
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With that being said,
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there is a greater number of premeds majoring in bio,
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and competition will be higher and more cutthroat than many other majors.
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For the full analysis, including data of medical school acceptance rates by each major,
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check out my video on the best major for pre-meds.
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Link in the description.
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During the first half of your freshman year,
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don't worry too much about extracurriculars and other aspects of bolstering a strong medical school application.
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This should be the time where you establish your foundational habits that will facilitate success moving forward
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as you begin to be pulled in multiple directions.
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Dialing in your evidence-based study strategies,
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which we discuss extensively on this channel, is a great place to start.
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Set up a regular exercise routine, establish your social circle, and properly adjust to this new chapter of your life.
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In the second half of your freshman year, begin seeking out relevant extracurriculars
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that are related to your interests and passion for medicine.
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During spring quarter of my freshman year,
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I began reaching out to PI's at various labs studying inflammatory bowel disease,
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a disease process that I was particularly interested in for personal reasons.
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By securing a position early on,
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I had ample time to secure a publication and two abstracts before I applied to medical school.
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This is important.
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Research is unique because it's the one standard extracurricular with the greatest potential
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to drastically improve your competitiveness as an applicant.
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If you want to go straight from college to medical school without taking time off,
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then you'll need to apply at the end of your junior year, with applications opening for submission in June.
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That way, you'll be applying and completing the application cycle during senior year,
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allowing you to start in the fall right after graduating.
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If you want to take one year off between college and medical school,
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then you'll be applying at the end of your senior year.
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This is an important decision to make, as it dictates your strategy in taking the MCAT.
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There's no right or wrong here.
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I have yet to meet a medical student or physician who regrets taking a year off.
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I personally went straight through, in part likely due to my impatience and overzealous ambition.
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If you want to go straight through,
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I recommend you take the MCAT during the summer between your sophomore and junior year.
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Having dedicated summer time to focus on the MCAT without the added workload of classes
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can make a huge difference in your final MCAT score.
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Many students ask if it's still fine to take the MCAT without taking certain courses.
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I personally did not take biochemistry until after I took the test,
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and I was still able to secure a 99.9th percentile MCAT score.
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That being said, this is going to be more of a personal decision based on your own comfort level with the material.
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If you're gonna be taking a year off,
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then usually it's best to take the MCAT during the summer between your junior and senior year.
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When you apply, you'll be using AMCAS, or the American Medical College Application Service,
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for most MD schools.
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Texas schools use TMDSAS, and osteopathic medical schools use AACOMAS.
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They're all similar, but each application has slightly different nuances.
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You'll submit your primary application in June.
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During the summer, you'll receive and write secondary applications, which are specific to each school,
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and you'll conduct most of your interviews during the fall and early winter.
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Medical schools in the U.S. are generally 4 years in duration, and you'll earn either an MD or a DO.
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The first two years are the preclinical years, where you are primarily learning in the classroom,
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with limited clinical exposure.
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The final two years are the clinical years, where you spend more time in the hospital and clinic,
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and less time in the classroom.
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Your first year will be the most radical transition, and for many it can be quite jarring.
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I go over how to make the adjustment as painless as possible in my Adjusting to Medical School 101 video.
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During this time, you should reassess and refine your study strategies,
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figure out your routines, and work to optimize your efficiency
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if you want to have a semblance of a balanced life while also being a top performer.
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You'll remember the middle and end of your first year as some of the best times in medical school.
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The stress is comparatively low to the later stages, you have more free time,
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and you are bonding with new people and solidifying life long friendships.
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You'll be amazed by your classmates,
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as medical students are some of the most impressive and diverse people you'll come across.
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There are a total of three United States Medical Licensing Exams.
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During your second year, you'll begin ramping up for the dreaded USMLE Step 1.
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It's the most important test for matching into residency, hence the high stress surrounding this exam.
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If you thought you studied hard for the MCAT, just wait until you get to Step 1.
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After taking Step 1 at the end of your second year, you'll begin third year and transition to your clinical rotations.
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Clinical rotations are particularly challenging, because for the first time in your life,
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you're not just studying out of books and taking tests.
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Rather, you still have to do that, but now most of your waking hours are spent in the hospital or clinic,
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and your evaluations from your seniors hold tremendous weight in your overall grade.
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It's a different game entirely. During your third year, you'll rotate on internal medicine, family medicine,
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general surgery, psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, ob/gyn, and emergency medicine.
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USMLE Step 2 is usually taken at the end of third year, although some push it into their fourth year.
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It's not nearly as important as Step 1, but it's a great opportunity to make up for a lackluster Step 1 score.
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Rather than spending up to 6 months studying, 1 month will usually suffice.
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You'll start your fourth and final year of medical school with away rotations, also known as audition rotations,
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where you act as a sub-intern at institutions across the country.
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You'll usually do 2 or 3 away rotations each lasting one month
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at institutions you would like to ultimately match at for residency.
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Think of it as a month long interview.
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If you're going into a specialty with a suboptimal lifestyle, like surgery, expect long hours and high stress on your aways.
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While doing a plastic surgery away rotation, I remember having three 19 hour days in a row,
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but I was graciously saved by 3 subsequent days of only 12-13 hours.
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That's 95 hours in a single week, plus studying and preparing for the next day's cases.
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Away rotations can be tough, but not all sub-internships are going to be this rigorous.
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In September of your fourth year, you'll apply to residency
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using the Electronic Residency Application Service, or ERAS for short.
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It's analogous to the AMCAS experience used when applying to medical school.
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Interviews will follow, occurring anywhere between October to February.
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At the end of February, you submit your rank list to participate in the match process.
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In March, you'll attend Match Day with your medical school classmates
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and open an envelope that informs you of the program you'll be training at for the next 3-7 years.
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Congratulations, you're now a doctor with an MD or a DO after your name.
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You'll begin your first year of residency, or intern year, on July 1st, and it's going to be a long ride.
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In the first year of residency, you'll do several rotations across various specialties,
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some of which aren't all that relevant to the specialty you've chosen.
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In your second and third years, however, you'll be doing rotations that are more focused on your specialty,
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and you'll even get options to select electives to focus on your areas of interest within the specialty.
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If you'd like to specialize further, you can elect to do a fellowship after you complete residency.
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Medical school and residency are both difficult, but for different reasons.
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Medical school is challenging as you must work hard to earn strong evaluations,
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the level of competition for Step 1 is next level,
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and balancing clinical work with doing well on exams is challenging to say the least.
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Think of it as multiple bursts of very high intensity.
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Residency is never as challenging on a short term scale, but it will test you in the form of an endurance race.
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You won't have cutthroat competition or the pressure of getting top evaluations from your preceptors.
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However, you'll have greater responsibility for your patients, the hours are long, and it goes on for years.
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Depending on your specialty, residency will last anywhere from 3-7 years.
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Fellowship is optional and can add another 1-3 years on top of that.
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But once you're done, congratulations, you're an attending physician and your training is complete!
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Just take the board exams for your specialty and you'll be a board certified doctor or surgeon.
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A quick note about alternative routes.
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BS-MD programs combine college and medical school into a single application and begin immediately after high school.
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Rather than 4 years of college plus 4 years of medical school totaling 8 years,
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most BS-MD programs are only 6 or 7 years in duration.
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If you'd like additional degrees in medical school, there are two main options.
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First, you can add a master's degree for an additional 1 or 2 years,
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the most common of which are a master's in public health or MBA.
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You can decide to do this once you're already accepted to a traditional 4 year MD program.
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Second, you can get a PhD in addition to your MD,
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but that requires you apply to MD/PhD programs up front through the AMCAS application,
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not when you're already enrolled in medical school.
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If this all seems intimidating and complex, I get it.
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I was the first and only person in my family to pursue a career in medicine,
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and I definitely made some mistakes along the way.
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I don't want you to repeat my mistakes, and it's for that reason that my team and I have created
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the Pre-Med Roadmap to Medical School Acceptance course.
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We go in painstaking detail through each year of college and provide an adaptable blueprint
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that will help maximize your chances of getting into a top medical school.
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By following the practices in this course, I was able to achieve a 99.9th percentile MCAT score,
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get accepted to multiple top 5 medical schools, and got a full-tuition scholarship to my number one program.
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Click the link in the description to learn more, or visit MedSchoolInsiders.com.
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Becoming a doctor is a long and tedious process, but by taking it one step at a time, you'll be able to do it.
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Trust me.
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And we're to help you each step of the way.
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If you want me to cover anything else in particular regarding the medical training process,
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let me know with a comment down below.
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Much love to you all, and I will see you guys in that next one.