Being a Premed, requirements? Options

[Laughsalot]

The typical courses that must be taken to meet the pre-medical requirement are:

* General Chemistry 1 & 2 (with laboratories)
* General Biology 1 & 2 (with laboratories) (some schools allow zoology in place of second semester)
* Organic Chemistry 1 & 2 (with laboratories) (some schools allow biochemistry in place of second semester)
* General Physics 1 & 2 (with laboratories)
* One or two semesters of math, at least pre-calculus (algebra and trigonometry). Of course calculus 1 and either calculus 2 or a statistics course are preferential.
* English and Writing

Pre-medical students may be advised or required to take upper level biology and chemistry electives, such as cellular biology, physical chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, etc. Specific requirements for these courses vary by institution.

Schools may also have requirements for non-science classes. Some schools require a certain number of general humanities credits, while others have specific requirements for courses in English, Psychology, or other disciplines.

^Are these the requirements to be a Premed? Is anyone here a Premed? How much work does it take to become one and what is the best year to be one(age). And what are the best doctor categories? Like what's the most stable, lots of money type of doctor to be? I really like these types right now:
Psychiatrist
Anesthesiologist
Physician

Tell me what you think?

[LoveToMySilas]

I'm pretty sure those are the basic requirements depending on what you want to specialize in. I want to become a pediatrician, but thats just one of the many different medical fields. Hm...I'm pretty sure any sort of doctor (for the most part) makes a lot of money. Go for the ones that they don't really have a lot of. They should make a lot of money. I think I'll move this to school or lounge for more exposure. If thats alright with you. You can try posting in the Official Career Thread: http://www.createblog.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=137459 Perhaps someone with the same interest will be able to help you.

Moved to School.

[Comptine]

I'm premed right now in Boston University. That is basically my curriculum with the addition of required physical education and humanities electives. It's a lot of work. A lot. It's very demanding and require a lot of concentrate and time.

Premed isn't like a title. It's just a guideline/curriculum to follow. It's like any other major. When you want to become premed, in college since some high schools do offer a prepremed like thing, you follow a tract that sets up all the basic knowledge and background you need to carry into the medical field. Some colleges change for curriculum but most is the same with Intro Bio and Chem.

On what age... premed has a certain number of requirements and schools also have a deadline to declare your major. Being a freshman and being a sophomore won't change how well premed stuff will work with you.

Pharmacists make a lot of money. A ridic amount of money. But I think it's boring.

[Laughsalot]

^What type of doctor do you want to be? And is it possible to be a Premed when you're a senior or a junior? Or do you finish highschool and become one in university/college?

[Comptine]

I want to be either a fertility specialist or a pediatric oncologist.

Well, I do know that in some high schools you can fulfill premed requirements during high school like taking AP Bio or Chem so you can skip Intro Bio or Chem and take more advance classes. It all depends on your high school so you should talk to your HS guidance counselor.

Most people declare premed in university/college. It's like any other major. However, you can't do anything with it unless you go to medical school so try to get a major that can be premed and applicable without going to medical school. My major is a Human Physiology so I get a BA of Science to use in different health fields. It also is on a premed track so that I fulfill requirements to medical school.

[Melissa]

There usually isn't a major called "premed" - it can be a concentration or a program you go through while you major in something else. It's basically a list of classes that most medical schools require that you take.

Generally, it's good to know if you're gonna be premed freshman year because the list of classes is long and many people drop out sophomore year.

And money-wise, be a physician.

[Comptine]

^That's false. Declaring premed is marking that down as your MAJOR or intended DEGREE. Which is why a lot of people advise someone whose premed to double major so they can also have a double degree in something substantial. When you fill out forms and the college ask you what major you are, PREMED/PREVET/PREDENTAL are choices.

And physician don't make THAT much money. First of all, a physician usually practices general medicine (sometimes they do surgery or specialize in internal medicine) which means usually they don't have a specialty which means they don't get paid as much as an MD who does specialize in something. Also, since they do general medicine, the only real way to make money is to open a private clinic or practice and that takes time, experience, and lots of money. In a hospital, they get a large workload and sometimes have to be oncall, which means bad hours. A physician is the basic level of being a doctor.

A specialist comes out of med school and should have a salary of over $100,000, out of respect for the doctor's expertise. Pharmacists also can make from $60,000 to $100,000 in their first year. It all depends on where you go to practice. If you're a much needed specialists in a small city, you can open your own practice and make lots of money. If you are a run of the mill specialist in a big city, you usually make around average. It all depends on the offers you get.

[*yrrnotelekktric*]

^are you a double majoring?

[misoshiru]

you can't BE a premed major. Usually it's a bio major and chem minor or the other way around.

[Comptine]

^are you a double majoring?

I'm not sure. I'm still a freshman but I was thinking a Public Health minor. My premed track major doubles as a BA of Science in Human Physiology.

you can't BE a premed major. Usually it's a bio major and chem minor or the other way around.

Princeton Review (WHO SPECIALIZES IN KNOWING COLLEGE STUFF)

Major: Pre-Medicine

Basics

Reality check: a pre-medical degree does not guarantee that you will be accepted into medical school. Pre-medicine is a curriculum designed to best prepare you for the MCATs (the Medical College Admission Test) and for the rigors of medical school. Rich in biology and chemistry, this major dovetails neatly into several other related areas of study (such as chemistry, biology, and biochemistry). It also provides a solid background in physics and mathematics.

If you declare pre-medicine as your major, be prepared to forget about a social life from time to time. Colleges design pre-med programs to weed out prospective applicants to medical school (read: organic chemistry). Med schools can only accept a certain number of students a year because a limited number of doctors may be licensed in the United States each year.

So if the thought of hundreds of hours spent poring over organic chemistry notes appeals to you in a strange way, if you refer to ER as one of your “stories,” if you think that the unabridged Gray’s Anatomy makes for some interesting reading, or if you think you can really study harder than most of your friends for four years, then pre-medicine just might be the major for you.

Following premed curriculum to fulfill requirements is VASTLY different than MAJORING in premed. One makes it easier to get the credits you need while leaving you free to do other stuff. The other is USELESS unless you get into medical school.

Most people advise against declaring PREMED as a major and some schools don't even have PREMED as a MAJOR. Instead, they have other degrees that are on the PREMED TRACK or follow a PREMED CURRICULUM.

[Laughsalot]

This sounds kinda intimidating. But i like it. hah. Ok so this is the summary of what you're saying:
-Declaring premed as your major isn't a smart thing to do cuz if you don't get into medical school, it's pretty much worthless
- General doctors don't make as much money as the doctors that specialize in something(a specialist)
-Double majoring is the smart thing to do cuz if you fail getting into medical school you always have that other major.
-And you need to major in premed to get into medical school.

There's some things i'm not clear about. So like you said ppl can major two things..and you said that declaring premed as your major isn't a smart thing. You can only delclare one thing as your major right? you can't declare two? Sorry i'm only a freshman in highschool. but i think its a good thing to get interested in this in your early years in hishchool so you have an idea of what to do.

[Comptine]

Well, it all depends on what your college is like. Some colleges want to make sure their students have a safe future so they don't have a Premed Major. Instead, they have "programs" or majors that fulfill premed requirements. Others do have a PreMed major so that if you complete it, you get Premed Degree.

You don't need a Premed major to get into medical school but you do need certain requirements to get into med school. There are people out there who major in History but also take the required classes (Bio, Chem, Orgo) to get into medical school.

Premed comes in too forms:

1) As a major (you get a degree for Premedicine)
or
2) As a curriculum plan to supplement with other classes you want (you simply just take the required classes needed to go to med school)

Most schools let you Double Major, which means you can have two majors.

You're only a freshman in high school. You have plenty of time. Some people, like my aunt whose a nephrologist, don't decide to be a doctor till they are in undergrad college.

[Melissa]

^That's false. Declaring premed is marking that down as your MAJOR or intended DEGREE. Which is why a lot of people advise someone whose premed to double major so they can also have a double degree in something substantial. When you fill out forms and the college ask you what major you are, PREMED/PREVET/PREDENTAL are choices.

And physician don't make THAT much money. First of all, a physician usually practices general medicine (sometimes they do surgery or specialize in internal medicine) which means usually they don't have a specialty which means they don't get paid as much as an MD who does specialize in something. Also, since they do general medicine, the only real way to make money is to open a private clinic or practice and that takes time, experience, and lots of money. In a hospital, they get a large workload and sometimes have to be oncall, which means bad hours. A physician is the basic level of being a doctor.

A specialist comes out of med school and should have a salary of over $100,000, out of respect for the doctor's expertise. Pharmacists also can make from $60,000 to $100,000 in their first year. It all depends on where you go to practice. If you're a much needed specialists in a small city, you can open your own practice and make lots of money. If you are a run of the mill specialist in a big city, you usually make around average. It all depends on the offers you get.

Look, just because whatever college you go to has premed as a major, doesn't mean that you can assume that every single college is the same. Most colleges don't offer premed as a major; you have to take the program and major in something else. I'm a premed at Columbia, and when I declare my major, it's going to be a concentration in medicine and a major in Neuroscience, so don't tell me that what I say is "false." I know what I'm talking about.

And uh, the girl is 14 freaking years old. If she wants to be a doctor, she should first focus on getting that MD then deciding what to specialize in - all specialists are first and foremost physicians.

So PLEASE just CHILL out.

[Comptine]

I tried to cover all bases of it. I clarified several times that there's the MAJOR approach and the CURRICULUM approach. Not all have the "help you fulfill requirements premed program while you major in something substantial" because it takes money and counseling. It's only recently that colleges are moving away from a set premed degree to just a simple overall curriculum. Plenty still have Premed as a major and even if they don't, the alternative majors are still very much Premed and not very substantial to the outside world because it has no real application in the outside world.

Look, just because whatever college you go to has premed as a major, doesn't mean that you can assume that every single college is the same.

So how can you accuse me of answering under the pretense of my college when you outright said there's no Premed major just because Columbia doesn't?

She asked what type of doctor makes the most money. Saying physician doesn't cover it because it's the base level of being a doctor. All doctors are considered physicians, true. However, in the context of that question, answering physician is like answering, "What type of doctor makes the most money?... Doctors"

[Teesa]

I'm doing pre-medicine as well. My majors are psychology and journalism, but I am taking the pre-med requirements for medical school.
I'm interested primarily in becoming a psychiatrist, but we'll see :)
It definitely takes A LOT of work and there's not a lot of room to make mistakes, especially since medical schools look most at how well you perform in your sciences.

[Melissa]

I tried to cover all bases of it. I clarified several times that there's the MAJOR approach and the CURRICULUM approach. Not all have the "help you fulfill requirements premed program while you major in something substantial" because it takes money and counseling. It's only recently that colleges are moving away from a set premed degree to just a simple overall curriculum. Plenty still have Premed as a major and even if they don't, the alternative majors are still very much Premed and not very substantial to the outside world because it has no real application in the outside world.
So how can you accuse me of answering under the pretense of my college when you outright said there's no Premed major just because Columbia doesn't?

I believe I wrote down "USUALLY isn't a premed major" which you then proceeded to tell me was false. I didn't assume that every single college was run the same way as mine; but out of every single school I looked into before applying, MOST of them (as I said) didn't have Premed as a declarable major. Therefore, what I said is NOT false, tyvm.

And my point in answering "physician" is that she really shouldn't decide what kind of doctor she wants to be right now purely based on which field makes the most money.

[Comptine]

What schools did you look at? Did they remain in the top two tiers? If so, then absolutely, I agree, Premed is no longer a major. They're trying to weed out harcore Premed concentrations because it does not help their students.

You go to city/community/state schools that don't get millions in grants or have huge resources, Premed is still a major. In addition, a major that people use to concentrate in for medical school is still called a Premedical Study major. Premed is still a major just now the method is centering the major on different concentrations. When you apply for internships or other college related forms, all those new majors (like mine) are classified as PreMed and that is the major you put down.

I'm sorry. Correction then. "Not completely true".

It doesn't matter how she decides. She asked, What kind of doctor makes the most money?

[*yrrnotelekktric*]

I'm not sure. I'm still a freshman but I was thinking a Public Health minor. My premed track major doubles as a BA of Science in Human Physiology.
Following premed curriculum to fulfill requirements is VASTLY different than MAJORING in premed. One makes it easier to get the credits you need while leaving you free to do other stuff. The other is USELESS unless you get into medical school.

Most people advise against declaring PREMED as a major and some schools don't even have PREMED as a MAJOR. Instead, they have other degrees that are on the PREMED TRACK or follow a PREMED CURRICULUM.

oh gotcha.

i read that article awhile back. i think the whole "social life" thing is quiiiite interesting.