Doctor

A doctor, or physician, is a professional who practices medicine and maintains and restores human health through the diagnosis and treatment of injury; disease; and any other impairment. Doctors may focus their practice on certain types of patients or disease categories. Medical practice requires both a detailed knowledge of underlying diseases and their treatment and competence in applying these treatments.

Education

The road to becoming a doctor is long and hard, and remains this way even when you finally are employed. You will work long hours and your life will revolve around your work. You need to commit completely to becoming a doctor, and work extremely hard to get excellent grades, which are required to gain entry into medical school. You also need to demonstrate that you are a responsible, well-rounded individual. Begin by attending an undergraduate school for pre-medicine and try to choose a strong pre-med program. You then need to take the MCAT. Try to take a review course and at least one practice test before you take it. It is graded on a scale of 1-15, and you need to score above 10 in each category to get a competitive score. You then need to apply for a medical school. Harvard (https://hms.harvard.edu/) and Stanford (https://med.stanford.edu/) are the top medical schools in the country but are very difficult to get into. While in medical school, you will undergo 4 years of schooling. The first two years you will learn the fundamentals of the medical sciences and the principles behind diagnosing disease. You will then need to pass the USMLE exam to progress into the third year, where you will work patients in clinics while being supervised by experienced physicians. You then decide which speciality you want to pursue, and in your final year you take electives based on this speciality. You then complete your residency in a hospital setting. This lasts between 3-7 years. You will be required to pass the USMLE Step 3 during your residency to become state-certified.

Job Description

Doctors have a wide range of responsibilities and duties. Diagnosing and treating injuries, illnesses and other medical conditions is a large part of the job, but not the entire job. Doctors also advise and educate patients and their families on the effects of medical conditions, and recommend therapies or medications that can help treat or cure them. Primary care physicians develop long term relationships with their patients, and teach them how to prevent or minimize specific conditions while promoting general wellness. Specialists diagnose and treat a smaller range of conditions, which are usually segregated by the type of condition or where they occur on the body. They offer treatment, procedures and therapies that surpass the ability of a general practitioner. Job duties and the types of patients differ depending on what kind of physician you become but these are some of the general duties.

Pros & Cons

Debt is a significant disadvantage to becoming a doctor. According to the American Medical Association, the average debt of a graduating medical student was $156 456 in 2009. Of these graduates, 58% were at least $150 000 in debt, and 79% were over $100 000 in debt. In 2008, however, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average salary for a general practitioner was $186 044. Thus the debt can be paid off relatively quickly but it is still an uncomfortable feeling to have. Although the schooling is very competitive, the number of jobs for doctors is expected to grow over the next decade and there are many job opportunities available. New medical technologies and machines allow doctors to treat a wider range of health problems which is helping create more jobs. Doctors also have very good benefits and job security. There is a lot of stress that comes with the profession however, and many doctors have to deal with emergency calls. When they are paged, they have to stop what they are doing and get to the hospital immediately, which can have a negative impact on family time.