Many people see the dream of becoming a doctor as the job of a doctor is highly respected in society. Especially, medical students are desperate and ambitious about this profession. Apart from having a respectful image in society, it is a wonderful career opportunity that lands you a good income and job security. Rather the doctor is seen as equal to God as he or she is the person who can save the lives of many.
But this profession demands a high level of responsibility and service to humanity. It requires working for long hours, day and night, serving the people. If you want to be a doctor, you need to study hard. It requires determination and patience to treat the diseases of patients. A person aspiring to be a doctor should have strong analytical and problem-solving skills as well.
Steps of Becoming a Doctor
Medical Education
For taking admission to the best colleges or institutes, you need to appear in medical entrance exams. There are state-level and national-level exams on the basis of which you can pursue your education. Your rank decides the type of college you are eligible to study in. So, study hard to score well.
Your study in class 11 and class 12 medical streams will provide a basis for a medical career. Thus, clear the concepts and work hard to get a good understanding of the subjects. Physics, chemistry, and biology are the main streams that you need to have a grasp on. There’s cutthroat competition to become a doctor, so you need to work very hard.
After clearing the entrance exams, you need to choose the specialization in which you want to work in the future. Various graduate and postgraduate level degrees are available. There are a number of specializations to choose from viz. pathology, neurology, cardiology, hematology, immunology, haematology etc.
An MBBS (Bachelor course in Medicine and Surgery) degree is the course you can pursue. A master’s degree like an M.D (Master of Medicine) or research work will help in you in getting more career opportunities. Medical education requires several years of focussed study and special pieces of training.
Professional Training
Start working closely with professional doctors in hospitals or medical centers. You can go for an internship in hospitals and observe how the treatment and medication is done. This is the best way to get exposure to the work environment and get to see how theoretical knowledge is being applied. Start your internship or training in a professional medical center where you are under the supervision of senior officials. There are paid as well as free training available that you can opt.
Be attentive during on-the-job training as this is the most important learning process in your life. An internship or training in a medical center is termed a residency. You need to complete a residency program to be job ready. Depending on the specialty, the duration of residency differs.
Job
To practice as a doctor, you need to have a license and certification. You can apply for a license from the respective medical authorities. A doctor either works in government or private hospitals, organizations, medical centers, etc. or can open his or her own hospital or clinic. Depending on the specialization, there are different kinds of doctors. A family doctor or practitioner is one who treats common problems related to fever and other minor diseases.
If the patient is suffering from a specific disease that is severe in nature, common practitioners send him or her to specialists. Specialists are experts in almost all types of health-related problems. There are skin specialists, bone specialists, heart specialists, brain specialists, and many others. Depending on your specialty area, you can become one of the specialists.
Continuing Education
Further education can help you in getting senior-level positions like Chief Medical Officer (CMO) or director in a hospital or medical research center. You can pursue professional courses and pieces of training for being advanced in your field. More knowledge of different fields of your specialty will be good for your career. You can attend seminars, conferences, and other professional classroom courses to be in touch with what’s new is happening in medical education.