<p>I have wanted to become a family doctor ever since 8th grade. Nothing else seems to be what I want. I just graduated from high school and lately I have been rethinking about going on to med school. I'm scared it's gonna be too hard, and take too long to go through. Is it normal to be scared to go to med school, even though you feel like it's your passion? Has this happened to anyone else?</p>
<p>It's normal to be a little afraid, but I must confess that your fear is setting in a little bit earlier than most. Family medicine is pretty quick compared to something like surgery, college and medical school and a three year residency add up to 11 years. Compare to 15 for surgery or up to 19 if you're applying for an MD/PhD or something like that.</p>
<p>Of course, must of family practice medicine can be practiced by a nurse practitioner or a physician's assistant -- they're not identical, but it's pretty close. There are not bad options to investigate -- each is probably ~6 post-HS years of training.</p>
<p>The graduation rate for med school is very high (I think the dropout rate due to academic reasons is only approx. 1-5% depending on race). So if you're good enough to get into med school, you are good enough to become a doctor.</p>