Friday, October 23, 2009

A quick explanation of the medical education process

So it seems most people have no idea what is actually involved in becoming a doctor. It's OK, I didn't either until I started school. So here is the basic breakdown:
Years 1-2- Basic science and clinical education in the classroom
Years 2-4- Rotations in hospital and private practices gaining hands on experience.
After year 4 you graduate and become a doctor. However, you are not yet licensed to practice unsupervised so you go to residency, or specialty training. This is when you learn to be an internist, or family practitioner, or surgeon, etc... During this time you are paid (but much less than an attending physician is paid). Residencies last anywhere from 1 year (psychiatry) to 7 years (neurosurgery) with an average of 3 for most. After residency there is also the option of doing a fellowship, which allow you to sub-specialize (cardiology, ICU, infectious diseases, etc...)
There ya have it.
Also: D.O.= Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. As a D.O. I will have the ability to sit for M.D. boards (although MD's are not allowed to sit for D.O. boards).

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