Tuesday, December 22, 2009

I'm going to school to become a dermatologist and i have a queston about medical school..?

serious answers only!





i want to go to University of Vermont for undergraduate and medical school (i'm a high school senior) and i'm going for dermatology. my question is, do I go through general medical school and my residency is just dermatology, or do i do plain medicine? please explain how i go about medical school.I'm going to school to become a dermatologist and i have a queston about medical school..?
In the United States, you complete 4 years of medical school (either allopathic or osteopathic) where the goal is to train you to become an undifferentiated physician (surgeons, pediatricians, internal medicine docs and dermatologists all go through the same medical schools). During this time, you are exposed to most of the specialties and subspecialties in medicine so that you can make a more informed decision about the further training that you would like to pursue (residency). For dermatology, after medical school you will then complete an intern year program followed by a 3 year residency in dermatology. There is some choice in what you do during this intern year. Some choose a transitional rotating internship (kind of like an extension of medical school where you rotate through a number of specialties such as medicine, surgery, etc). Others choose an internship in a specialty (one full year of medicine or surgery). This intern year gives you one year to learn how to become a doctor in general before diving into the more specific dermatology residency.





My best advice to you would be to do the best that you can at every level (doing well in undergrad will prepare you to be admitted to and excel in medical school, doing well in medical school will allow you to get a residency in the VERY COMPETITIVE field of dermatology) and to keep your mind open at every step. You may take a class that you love in undergrad and decide that medicine is not for you and that is ok. You may go to medical school and find another field that you love and want to pursue that and that is ok, too. I would say that less than 25% of my medical school class ended up going into the field that they thought they would when they started med school. Most of them changed 5-6 times before they actually chose a residency. You've got to follow your heart. In the meantime, I would suggest trying to spend some time shadowing a variety of doctors to see if you like how they spend their days and if their lifestyle is compatible with the lifestyle that you hope to have in your future. Most doctors are very receptive and love to help young future physicians. You may even find a mentor in the process. Hope this if helpful.I'm going to school to become a dermatologist and i have a queston about medical school..?
The short answer: don't worry about it at this point. Go to the undergraduate you like best (preferably a fairly good one), do well, and if you're still into medicine, finish the premed requirements and take the MCAT.





If you do continue into medicine and have aspirations for dermatology, yes, you go to medical school. You do really really really well (dermatology is one of the hardest residencies to match into) and match into a dermatology residency for your specialist training.

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