All you really need is a stethoscope.
In order to become a doctor, you don't simply sign a few applications, take a few tests, and simply stride into your shiny doctor's office. In order to become a doctor, you can expect to spend almost a decade and a half in school before becoming a full-fledged doctor. What that means is that, you must be willing to throw away your early adult life and let go of the little pleasures of life such as eating out or taking a extra nap on the weekends in order to become a doctor in the future. If you're not willing to spend and commit your entire 20s and half of your 30s in school, don't walk half the journey before deciding to go a different route.
Becoming a doctor will require 4 years in a university, 4 years in medical school, and 3-7 years of residency, if you're lucky. During all that time, you must remain diligent in studies in order to compete with the extremely competitive medical field. Your parents aren't the only parents that want their children to become successful doctors. During your time in a university, you must aim for a 4.0 GPA with a 3.5 GPA at minimum. Medical schools won't accept "having a bad term" as an excuse. Although, if you plan to actually get into a medical school, you must do extra-curriculum activities if you want to have a good enough transcript. In the journey of a doctor, the university portion is like elementary school for us.
Pictured: University Students
Let's pretend you graduate from your prestigious university with a 4.0 GPA and a transcript full of wondrous compliments and remarks. Well congratulations, you're in medical school, four more years before you become a real medical doctor! After getting into a medical school however, it isn't time to start prancing around like a deer in the forest. Now, you're going to get four years of medical education packed into less than two years. But don't lose hope, after your first two years are over, you'll spend your last two years learning to put everything you've learned in class to practice.
It isn't all fun and games though, don't expect to be walking around like a hipster as you discuss possible diagnosis for exciting fictional characters, instead you can expect to stay up two days in a row doing nothing but work all day.
After you finish medical school, you must spend the next few years in Residency in order to receive the proper amount of education to work in a real hospital, and as always, it's not going to be daises and rainbows. You're probably going to end up working full-time in a hospital, without pay. After working for another half-decade, you'll be allowed to officially work as a medical doctor with (full?)pay at around 35-years-old. How was that for a crazy summer?
Here's the deal, we think it'll be gosh darn fantastic if you can become a doctor. However, if you don't feel you're going to be committed long enough, don't waste your time and money. At the end of the day, pick a job you can wake up to every morning and be looking forward to it.
It isn't all fun and games though, don't expect to be walking around like a hipster as you discuss possible diagnosis for exciting fictional characters, instead you can expect to stay up two days in a row doing nothing but work all day.
Not Pictured: You
After you finish medical school, you must spend the next few years in Residency in order to receive the proper amount of education to work in a real hospital, and as always, it's not going to be daises and rainbows. You're probably going to end up working full-time in a hospital, without pay. After working for another half-decade, you'll be allowed to officially work as a medical doctor with (full?)pay at around 35-years-old. How was that for a crazy summer?
Here's the deal, we think it'll be gosh darn fantastic if you can become a doctor. However, if you don't feel you're going to be committed long enough, don't waste your time and money. At the end of the day, pick a job you can wake up to every morning and be looking forward to it.
Wallowing your youth away doesn't help.