I'm 15 and interested in medicine/being a doctor...what can I do to familiarize myself with the field?

Question

I'm 15 and interested in medicine/being a doctor...what can I do to familiarize myself with the field?

Answer 1

Take lots of science and math in high school, it will definitely help you in college if you make yourself familiar with the material early on.

Answer 2

take science and math classes

biology, chemistry, anatomy, physics, for science, and make sure you take math classes all four years of high school

also you could see if you could volunteer at your local hospital

Answer 3

It's great to hear about your interest in medicine.

As a start-up, I would suggest to concentrate on strengthening your concepts of what is normal i.e. normal structure (Anatomy) and functioning (Physiology) of human body.

All good doctors (from my personal experience) have a very strong background in basic medical sciences which allows them to differentiate Normal from Abnormal (Pathology).

All the best for your future studies.

Answer 4

make sure you are ready for a very hard life. not only is the road to getting into medical school extremely difficult........but getting through medical school and then finally into a specialty........is tremendously difficult.

even if you get through all that, depending on what kind of doctor you are, be prepared for a very stressful life. you have to see a large number of patients per day because HMO's simply don't pay doctors what they used to be paid in the 80's. this means instead of seeing 25 patients a day, you need to see 50 per day (just an example, not an exact number), in order to make your business worth being open.

its not fun at all. i would suggest really thinking about some other options besides becoming a medical doctor.

Answer 5

Good for you for starting early. The best thing right now is to shadow a doctor. Usually a family doctor is a good start. If you can't do that, try volunteering in a hospital or nursing home. University hospitals usually have a volunteering program that accepts teens. Academically, make sure you take biology, physics, and chemistry. Doing well and taking an interest in these areas is a good sign, particularly in biology. If you find yourself not enjoying biology, you most likely will not enjoy the rest of the required coursework for getting into med school or any of the coursework you will be taking while in med school. You should also be comfortable working with people, enjoy the prospect of helping others, and take an interest in problem solving. It's also good if you don't get queasy around blood, needles, etc. I think that covers it for now. Once you've done all of this and determined that you still want to be a doctor, then be sure to look into what you will need to do in college to prepare for med school, but that's still a long ways away for you. Good luck.