Becoming a Doctor
Lengthy Training Yields Extensive Rewards

• Imagine having the skill to perform heart surgery on an infant. • Imagine having the knowledge to diagnose a life-threatening illness. • Imagine having the thanks of someone for saving his life.

The world of medicine can be an exciting and challenging career, and today's medical schools are ready for you. There are literally hundreds of opportunities in the health care industry for practitioners (general and specialized health care professionals who practice medicine).

What it's like
Doctors most often work in hospitals, clinics, or their own offices in private practice. Most physicians work in at least two of these environments. For example, many doctors often begin their day at the hospital checking on their patients. Then, they are off to their clinic or office to see their scheduled appointments. Most doctors work long hours. A 1998 government survey revealed that more than one-third of all full-time physicians worked 60 hours a week or more! The average work week for those in non-medical professions is 35-40 hours.

The U.S. Northeast contains the most doctors, while the South needs more medical professionals. Some rural and urban areas across the United States need many more doctors.

What it takes
It usually takes 11 years to become a doctor. It requires more training than almost any other occupation: 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years working in a hospital. If you want to specialize in certain fields of medicine, you may initially work in a hospital for up to 8 years!

It won't be easy getting accepted into medical school. You'll need to do very well in college and on medical school entrance exams. Good grades in the subjects of math, science and English are especially important. You will spend most of your first two years of medical school in classrooms and labs. During your next two years, you will spend your time in hospitals and clinics learning from doctors and helping patients. Then, after you pass another test, it's time to work in a hospital for a few more years as a resident. You won't be through with your education after you become a doctor. You will constantly learn about new techniques, equipment, and medicines throughout your medical career.

What it costs
More than 80 percent of all medical students must borrow money to attend medical school, but compared with other occupations, doctors earn more money then almost anyone else! The American Medical Association says half of all physicians earned between $120,000 and $250,000 in 1997. How much you make depends on several different factors: what kind of doctor you become, where you work, and how long you have worked there. In 1998-99, medical residents earned a little over $34,000 in their first year of residency, and just over $42,000 in their sixth year.

What's ahead
Physicians held almost 600,000 American jobs in 1998. More and more doctors are working in groups or for Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs). Due to most Americans living longer and new advances in medicine, the Federal Government expects more growth in the medical profession until at least 2008. There's more good news: the doctors of the future may work fewer hours and retire earlier! The government also predicts more physicians will work in urban and rural areas.

If you want to do more than just dream about what it would be like to be a doctor, one of this country's 144 medical schools awaits you.

With a degree in medicine, you hold not only your life but the lives of others in your hands.....imagine that.

Editorial provided by Gayle Converse. She is a Communications Officer in the Public Affairs Department of The Morehouse School of Medicine, a historically black institution, in Atlanta, Georgia.