Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Becoming a doctor or surgeon in the United States isn't all that straightforward of a process.

  • If you've ever wondered what each step of the process is like, you've come to the right place.

  • Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

  • Let's first cover the most traditional paths in becoming a doctor,

  • and then we'll discuss some variants that can speed up the process

  • or open up additional opportunities based on your specific interests.

  • After completing high school, you'll attend a 4-year university and work towards your bachelor's degree.

  • And no, an associate's degree won't cut it.

  • Many students and their parents stress more than they need to regarding college choice.

  • As I've spoken about in a previous video on college prestige,

  • in most cases attending a respectable public university will suffice.

  • The benefits of attending a highly prestigious private university are present,

  • but are usually overstated and may not be worth the additional cost.

  • My recommendation is to certainly strive to get into the best college possible,

  • but keep in mind other important factors beyond prestige such as fit, cost, location, culture,

  • and opportunities related to your areas of interest.

  • Once you're in college, the big decision you'll be faced with is what major to pursue.

  • While you can technically major in anything you want so long as you also complete the medical school prerequisites,

  • there certainly are pros and cons to each major.

  • For example, choosing a biology major will result in a greater degree of overlap

  • between your major and medical school requirements,

  • and ultimately a smaller course load which may translate to better grades.

  • With that being said,

  • there is a greater number of premeds majoring in bio,

  • and competition will be higher and more cutthroat than many other majors.

  • For the full analysis, including data of medical school acceptance rates by each major,

  • check out my video on the best major for pre-meds.

  • Link in the description.

  • During the first half of your freshman year,

  • don't worry too much about extracurriculars and other aspects of bolstering a strong medical school application.

  • This should be the time where you establish your foundational habits that will facilitate success moving forward

  • as you begin to be pulled in multiple directions.

  • Dialing in your evidence-based study strategies,

  • which we discuss extensively on this channel, is a great place to start.

  • Set up a regular exercise routine, establish your social circle, and properly adjust to this new chapter of your life.

  • In the second half of your freshman year, begin seeking out relevant extracurriculars

  • that are related to your interests and passion for medicine.

  • During spring quarter of my freshman year,

  • I began reaching out to PI's at various labs studying inflammatory bowel disease,

  • a disease process that I was particularly interested in for personal reasons.

  • By securing a position early on,

  • I had ample time to secure a publication and two abstracts before I applied to medical school.

  • This is important.

  • Research is unique because it's the one standard extracurricular with the greatest potential

  • to drastically improve your competitiveness as an applicant.

  • If you want to go straight from college to medical school without taking time off,

  • then you'll need to apply at the end of your junior year, with applications opening for submission in June.

  • That way, you'll be applying and completing the application cycle during senior year,

  • allowing you to start in the fall right after graduating.

  • If you want to take one year off between college and medical school,

  • then you'll be applying at the end of your senior year.

  • This is an important decision to make, as it dictates your strategy in taking the MCAT.

  • There's no right or wrong here.

  • I have yet to meet a medical student or physician who regrets taking a year off.

  • I personally went straight through, in part likely due to my impatience and overzealous ambition.

  • If you want to go straight through,

  • I recommend you take the MCAT during the summer between your sophomore and junior year.

  • Having dedicated summer time to focus on the MCAT without the added workload of classes

  • can make a huge difference in your final MCAT score.

  • Many students ask if it's still fine to take the MCAT without taking certain courses.

  • I personally did not take biochemistry until after I took the test,

  • and I was still able to secure a 99.9th percentile MCAT score.

  • That being said, this is going to be more of a personal decision based on your own comfort level with the material.

  • If you're gonna be taking a year off,

  • then usually it's best to take the MCAT during the summer between your junior and senior year.

  • When you apply, you'll be using AMCAS, or the American Medical College Application Service,

  • for most MD schools.

  • Texas schools use TMDSAS, and osteopathic medical schools use AACOMAS.

  • They're all similar, but each application has slightly different nuances.

  • You'll submit your primary application in June.

  • During the summer, you'll receive and write secondary applications, which are specific to each school,

  • and you'll conduct most of your interviews during the fall and early winter.

  • Medical schools in the U.S. are generally 4 years in duration, and you'll earn either an MD or a DO.

  • The first two years are the preclinical years, where you are primarily learning in the classroom,

  • with limited clinical exposure.

  • The final two years are the clinical years, where you spend more time in the hospital and clinic,

  • and less time in the classroom.

  • Your first year will be the most radical transition, and for many it can be quite jarring.

  • I go over how to make the adjustment as painless as possible in my Adjusting to Medical School 101 video.

  • During this time, you should reassess and refine your study strategies,

  • figure out your routines, and work to optimize your efficiency

  • if you want to have a semblance of a balanced life while also being a top performer.

  • You'll remember the middle and end of your first year as some of the best times in medical school.

  • The stress is comparatively low to the later stages, you have more free time,

  • and you are bonding with new people and solidifying life long friendships.

  • You'll be amazed by your classmates,

  • as medical students are some of the most impressive and diverse people you'll come across.

  • There are a total of three United States Medical Licensing Exams.

  • During your second year, you'll begin ramping up for the dreaded USMLE Step 1.

  • It's the most important test for matching into residency, hence the high stress surrounding this exam.

  • If you thought you studied hard for the MCAT, just wait until you get to Step 1.

  • After taking Step 1 at the end of your second year, you'll begin third year and transition to your clinical rotations.

  • Clinical rotations are particularly challenging, because for the first time in your life,

  • you're not just studying out of books and taking tests.

  • Rather, you still have to do that, but now most of your waking hours are spent in the hospital or clinic,

  • and your evaluations from your seniors hold tremendous weight in your overall grade.

  • It's a different game entirely. During your third year, you'll rotate on internal medicine, family medicine,

  • general surgery, psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, ob/gyn, and emergency medicine.

  • USMLE Step 2 is usually taken at the end of third year, although some push it into their fourth year.

  • It's not nearly as important as Step 1, but it's a great opportunity to make up for a lackluster Step 1 score.

  • Rather than spending up to 6 months studying, 1 month will usually suffice.

  • You'll start your fourth and final year of medical school with away rotations, also known as audition rotations,

  • where you act as a sub-intern at institutions across the country.

  • You'll usually do 2 or 3 away rotations each lasting one month

  • at institutions you would like to ultimately match at for residency.

  • Think of it as a month long interview.

  • If you're going into a specialty with a suboptimal lifestyle, like surgery, expect long hours and high stress on your aways.

  • While doing a plastic surgery away rotation, I remember having three 19 hour days in a row,

  • but I was graciously saved by 3 subsequent days of only 12-13 hours.

  • That's 95 hours in a single week, plus studying and preparing for the next day's cases.

  • Away rotations can be tough, but not all sub-internships are going to be this rigorous.

  • In September of your fourth year, you'll apply to residency

  • using the Electronic Residency Application Service, or ERAS for short.

  • It's analogous to the AMCAS experience used when applying to medical school.

  • Interviews will follow, occurring anywhere between October to February.

  • At the end of February, you submit your rank list to participate in the match process.

  • In March, you'll attend Match Day with your medical school classmates

  • and open an envelope that informs you of the program you'll be training at for the next 3-7 years.

  • Congratulations, you're now a doctor with an MD or a DO after your name.

  • You'll begin your first year of residency, or intern year, on July 1st, and it's going to be a long ride.

  • In the first year of residency, you'll do several rotations across various specialties,

  • some of which aren't all that relevant to the specialty you've chosen.

  • In your second and third years, however, you'll be doing rotations that are more focused on your specialty,

  • and you'll even get options to select electives to focus on your areas of interest within the specialty.

  • If you'd like to specialize further, you can elect to do a fellowship after you complete residency.

  • Medical school and residency are both difficult, but for different reasons.

  • Medical school is challenging as you must work hard to earn strong evaluations,

  • the level of competition for Step 1 is next level,

  • and balancing clinical work with doing well on exams is challenging to say the least.

  • Think of it as multiple bursts of very high intensity.

  • Residency is never as challenging on a short term scale, but it will test you in the form of an endurance race.

  • You won't have cutthroat competition or the pressure of getting top evaluations from your preceptors.

  • However, you'll have greater responsibility for your patients, the hours are long, and it goes on for years.

  • Depending on your specialty, residency will last anywhere from 3-7 years.

  • Fellowship is optional and can add another 1-3 years on top of that.

  • But once you're done, congratulations, you're an attending physician and your training is complete!

  • Just take the board exams for your specialty and you'll be a board certified doctor or surgeon.

  • A quick note about alternative routes.

  • BS-MD programs combine college and medical school into a single application and begin immediately after high school.

  • Rather than 4 years of college plus 4 years of medical school totaling 8 years,

  • most BS-MD programs are only 6 or 7 years in duration.

  • If you'd like additional degrees in medical school, there are two main options.

  • First, you can add a master's degree for an additional 1 or 2 years,

  • the most common of which are a master's in public health or MBA.

  • You can decide to do this once you're already accepted to a traditional 4 year MD program.

  • Second, you can get a PhD in addition to your MD,

  • but that requires you apply to MD/PhD programs up front through the AMCAS application,

  • not when you're already enrolled in medical school.

  • If this all seems intimidating and complex, I get it.

  • I was the first and only person in my family to pursue a career in medicine,

  • and I definitely made some mistakes along the way.

  • I don't want you to repeat my mistakes, and it's for that reason that my team and I have created

  • the Pre-Med Roadmap to Medical School Acceptance course.

  • We go in painstaking detail through each year of college and provide an adaptable blueprint

  • that will help maximize your chances of getting into a top medical school.

  • By following the practices in this course, I was able to achieve a 99.9th percentile MCAT score,

  • get accepted to multiple top 5 medical schools, and got a full-tuition scholarship to my number one program.

  • Click the link in the description to learn more, or visit MedSchoolInsiders.com.

  • 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.

  • Trust me.