What Degree Do You Need To Be A Doctor

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Now that you understand that you want to

heal people as your profession, it’s time to
learn just what it takes to become a doctor.
While there are lots of di!erent kinds of
doctors, for our purposes, we’ll cover all
the details regarding what you need to do
to become a medical doctor. Here’s what
you need to know about the skills,
education, and certification you’ll need to
become a successful medical doctor.
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What Skills Do You

Need to Have?
To be an e!ective medical doctor, you’ll
need to have a genuine passion for
making people’s lives better. Doctor’s live
by the Hippocratic Oath, which demands
that you “do no harm” to your patients.
That means you’ll need to learn everything
you can about medicine and practice your
best judgment instead of simply acting like
an automaton and spouting the dogma
you learned in medical school.
In your quest to become a full-fledged

M.D., you’ll cover a lot of ground in terms
of course material. However, here are a
few simple examples of the skills you’ll
need to hone as you aim to become a
medical doctor:
1. Anatomy
Anatomy is the study of the structure of
the human body. To accurately diagnose
and treat patients, you must understand
where all the organs are and how they are
interconnected.
2. Biochemistry
Biochemistry is the study of the chemical
processes that occur within living things. A
thorough understanding of biochemistry is
essential to understanding how drug
reactions and other chemical processes
occur in human beings.
3. Pharmacology
Pharmacology is the study of how drugs
are structured and how they a!ect the
human body. Even though you aren’t
training to be a pharmacist, pharmacology
is essential to M.D. course material since
you’ll be prescribing drugs to your patients.
4. Pathology
Pathology is the study of how diseases
come about. Every disease has a
pathogenesis, which is the process by
which it comes into existence, and a good
M.D. program will also cover how nutrition
and other factors can cause disease.
What Degree Do You

Need?
To practice as a medical doctor, you will
need a Medical Doctor degree (M.D.). To
enter an M.D. program, you’ll need to first
get an undergraduate degree. Most M.D.
programs also view applicants who studied
relevant disciplines when they were
undergraduates as more eligible for
admission.
M.D. programs generally last four years.

Once you’re done with medical school,
you’ll need to complete 3-7 years of
residency before you can receive licensing
and start practicing medicine. Throughout
these seven to 11 years, you’ll spend
countless hours in clinical settings
performing your duties as a doctor, but
you won’t be fully licensed yet.
Here are some examples of the subjects

you might study as part of your M.D.
program:
• Microbiology
• Immunology
• Behavioral science
• Physiology
• Genetics
Do You Need Any

Certifications or
Licenses?
All doctors in the United States must be
properly licensed to practice medicine.
Doctors who are licensed are called
“board-certified” since they have received
their licenses from a respected medical
board.
To become board-certified, you must first

get your undergraduate degree and
complete your M.D. program. In most
cases, you’ll need to perform a one-year
internship before your residency program,
but some programs might include the time
you spend in this internship in your
residency time.
Depending on the type of medical

specialty you’re pursuing, your residency
might be longer or shorter. For an intensive
discipline, you may have to go through
seven full years of residency before you
become licensed. Doctors in residency are
paid, but their salaries aren’t as large as
those of licensed doctors.
When you’re ready, you’ll take the board

exam to become a doctor. Once you’re
licensed, you’ll be able to start your own
practice or become a full-fledged member
of a hospital’s medical team.
How Long Does

Doctor Training
Take?
Altogether, you may spend more than 15
years training to be a doctor. Assuming
you start out on your career path in
earnest in the summer after high school,
you will spend four years as an
undergraduate, four years in medical
school, and up to seven years in residency.
How Much Will You

Make as a Doctor?
All your hard work to become a medical
doctor will pay o!. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the
median pay for physicians in 2018 was
$208,000 . At a median of $267,020,
anesthesiologists were the highest-paid
doctors, and general practitioners made
an average of 211,780. Depending on the
specialty you pursue, you could end up
making more than $300,000 per year as a
doctor once you have some experience.
What Are Your Job

Prospects as a
Doctor?
According to the BLS, there were 713,800
doctor and surgeon jobs in the United
States in 2016. The number of physician
positions is growing faster than the
average; while job numbers in the USA are
projected to grow by seven percent
between 2016 and 2026, jobs for doctors
and surgeons are expected to grow by 13
percent during the same period. While
competition is high for the best medical
doctor jobs, 91,400 new job openings will
open during the 10 years between 2016
and 2026.
How Do You Find

Work as a Doctor?
While you’ll have to compete heavily for
the best jobs available, it’s generally easy
to find work as a medical doctor once
you’ve completed your residency. If you’re
competent in your field, you’ll have gained
attention from employers during your
residency, and the hospital where you
completed this advanced training may be
happy to add you to its team as a full-
fledged member.
Licensed doctors can also start their own

practices. Starting your own practice right
out the gate can be risky, but it can also be
highly lucrative. Use the contacts you
made during your training to find job
opportunities.
Recommended
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Degrees
Contact schools for information on enrollment,
tuition, and aid
BSC BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
Designed by LSE, earn an online BSc Business

and Management or BSc Economics and
Management from the University of London,
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social sciences and management and #6 in
Economics and Econometrics.
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READY TO START YOUR JOURNEY?

Now that you understand that you want to

BSC BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

Designed by LSE, earn an online BSc Business

Click For Info

View More Programs ADVERTISEMENT

What Skills Do You

In your quest to become a full-fledged