I am a rising junior in high school and I really want to become an anesthesiologist; however, I’m not sure what I should major in so, can someone please tell me what I should major in for anesthesiology? Also if anyone knows what being an anesthesiologist is like, can you please tell me?
Thanks in advance!
Your target college will have several premed track degrees. I would suggest a biology or chemistry degree. Biochem could be ideal for a future anesthesiologist. But there are lots of solid premed programs that would work.
You will need strong chemistry, biology, calculus and physics. You will also need good communication skills and good writing skills, I would recommend a Bachelor’s of Science program rather than a Bachelors of Arts for your undergrad.
During medical school, students in anesthesiology can pursue either a degree as a medical doctor (MD) or a degree in osteopathy (DO). Gaining entry into medical school truly isn’t dependent on your major, but on proving your ability in medical subjects like chemistry, biology, calculus and physics.
Another route worth considering is becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. (CRNA) They are registered nurses with a master’s degree in anesthesia.
Thank you so much!
-Biochemistry or chemistry are good majors if you are interested in those fields, but you can major in anything in college to be premed and that won’t affect what medical specialty you should pick. Anesthesiology is a specialty pursued in residency post-med school, which is really at least 8 years down the line from here on out, and you may change your mind significantly about what specialty you want to pursue or whether you want to be a doctor at all.
-Bachelor’s of Science vs. Bachelor’s of Arts really doesn’t matter. Some schools are only authorized by their state to offer Bachelor’s of Arts degrees, but their majors may still be very science-intensive. In other cases - at schools where both the BS and BA are offered - students are sometimes advised to do the BA if they are pre-med because it gives them more flexibility to complete the pre-med courses. What really matters are the courses that you take - making sure you take the premedical prerequisites and any additional courses that will help you prepare for medical school.
I just thought of this but would microbiology be more beneficial to me since I hate chemistry? I’m ok with the concepts but the math is what gets me
If you hate chemistry and math, you should not be an anesthesiologist…since you know…the very basis of keeping people alive is biochemistry and conversions and precise math are required in both dosing and monitoring vitals.
Microbiology is a terrific premed major, but involves lots of chem. My kid is a Microbio major…she’s had to take (or test out of) General Chem 1 and 2, Organic Chem 1 and 2, and BioChem. Requirements are different at different colleges, but she’s also had to take Calculus 1 and 2, and Statistics.
hint: there’s no way of becoming a doctor without Calculus, Chemistry, Biology and Physics.
There are a lot of special fields in nursing, however, that could be a good fit even with some (limited) weakness in chem and math.
What you major in doesn’t really matter. Doing well and completing the pre-med prerequisites does. BA vs BS is irrelevant. In the final year of medical school, you will apply for anesthesiology residency which is 4 years total (1 year of general medicine and/or general surgery followed by 3 years of anesthesiology). After that you will be board certified and can enter practice or pursue more specialized fellowships.
Bulk of anesthesiologists are working in operating rooms and post-anesthesia care units (recovery rooms). You can also work in labor and delivery, an intensive care unit or do pain management.
http://www.asahq.org/lifeline/types%20of%20anesthesia/what%20is%20anesthesiology
I came across post below on SDN the other day by Gonnif, I can’t post link as it’s against CC rules. .
Consider a major that you may be interested in because if you like material you’ll tend to do well GPA wise. Most premeds are some flavor of a bio major, perhaps out of interest, but also because one can complete major reqs and most premed reqs at same time whereas if you an art history major, it could be more challenging (not impossible) to schedule. Consider a major with a Plan B in mind as most premeds will never apply, much less gain admittance to a med school.
You may hate chemistry, but you’ll need to take at least 5 semesters of chem to fulfill med school pre-reqs. (gen chem 1 & 2, ochem 1 & 2, biochem)
OTOH, you only are required to take 2 semesters of bio.
Undergrad major is pretty much irrelevant once you get into med school since your coursework and clinical rotations will teach you everything you need to know about general medicine. You won’t start to learn about anesthesiology until residency.
BTW, there are other shorter career pathways for anesthesiology. CRNA (nurse anesthetist) and AA (anesthesiologist assistant).
[Nurse Anesthetist](Nurse Anesthetist)
[Anesthesiologist Assistant](Anesthesiologist Assistant)
CRNA requires 7 years of school. (4 year undergrad plus a 2-3 years in a master’s program) AA requires 6 years of school. (4 years undergrad plus 2 years in a master’s program) Anesthesiologist requires 12 years of school. (4 years undergrad, plus 4 years med school plus 4 years residency.
I think OP think too much as a HS student. You are WAY WAY Way ahead of yourself
Most Anesthesiologist also take a 2 to 4 years fellowship after 4 years of residency program. And you really cannot focus in Anesthesiology until AFTER you got into the med school and:
- You have a good grade in med school.
- You have a acceptable USMLE step 1 or even step 2 score to be accepted by the PDs
- You have a good LOR and shelf test results in your rotation.
- The most important, after all the med school education and rotation, you are still interested in Anesthesiology.
Following is a list of fellowship opportunities.
https://www.asahq.org/resources/career-resources/fellowship-opportunities
yes, this student is getting way ahead of him/herself. Who knows if they’ll even have the grades and mcat scores necessary to get into med school. And, then, if they do make it to med school, who knows if they’ll end up with the grades and Step scores to be competitive for anesthesiology.
First focus on being a top college student. Then see how you do in med school and as you do clinical rotations, you’ll decide on a specialty for yourself.
I agree that some one who doesn’t like math and chem probably will not like aneshesiology