I am currently a junior in high school, and I have considered becoming a doctor. The health and medical field exhilarates me. Of course, I need to go to medical school, and as far as I understand, medical school students undergo rotationals in different medical fileds (i.e. pediatrics, surgery, etc.) I am wondering if anyone is able to tell me what this is like. Are these periods of experience like learning and testing, or is it more like a clinical internship in the field? Any response is appreciated. Thanks.
You seem to be more describing the last two years of med school when the med students are doing rotations in various specialties.
The first two years is intense learning. My son is a second year med student. At his SOM, they have modules. During each module they seem to focus learning on a particular aspect…such the heart or liver or ??? Then they are tested at the end of each module. They also have a big exam at the end of each semester. His med school purchases certain national exams that the students take “early” to see how they’re doing prior to taking the official national exams.
I may not have everything exactly right…lol…this is just what I hear from him in bits and pieces.
Med school education is flat. They all have to teach the same things. The students all have to pass the national exams.
How fast can you type? (from what I’ve seen, medical records will take up about half your time. . .)
A lot of med schools still have traditional science classes the first two years–book work, tons of memorization and testing–anatomy, pathology, biochemistry, etc. Then the last two years students do clinical rotations–experiencing what it is like to work in different specialties so they can choose which field suits them best. So yes, it is more like an internship–going around with practicing physicians, seeing patients, getting “hands-on” experience.
You need a different mix of book smarts, people skills, and procedural skills to excel in different clinical rotations.
Why don’t you ask some local doctors if you could “shadow” (observe) them for a few hours/days–next summer, perhaps. See doctors in different specialties. Find out what their days are actually like–then you will have a better idea if this is a field you really want to go into.
Before even considering medical school you need to do well in college. Medical students are intense but like to have fun. The first two years are the “basic science” ones with other courses intended to get the students ready for the final two clinical years which are spent mainly in hospitals. It is a 24/7 commitment- you need to study many hours and be immersed in it. It is not at all like some 40 hour/week job or only thinking about it while in class. Once you become an MD you then have several years of residency and although hours are limited compared to my day you still will have long days and some nights spent at the hospital, including weekends. How courses are arranged depends on the medical school- you can look up how classes are run online for individual schools. Some clinical rotations are more intense than others. There is likely to be one or two junior/3rd year medical students, perhaps a senior student, and an intern (1st year resident) who visit each patient and report to the more senior resident and staff doctor. It involves practicing being the doctor and learning. Senior year often is a series of chosen electives while junior year involves rotating through the same basic specialties. Plus keeping up for the national tests at the end of basic sciences and the clinical rotations et al. No matter where you attend medical school every student needs to learn the same basic knowledge and decision making skills.
A lot of hard work but interesting to those who choose it. There are always “subjects” you like/dislike. You make your career choice based on which fields most appeal to you with your medical school clinical experiences. For now you might try to shadow physicians as posted above.
You need to learn as much as you can in your HS courses to prepare you for your college courses. Once you are accepted to and enter a college (any can suffice) you need to take all of the necessary prerequisite science and other courses, do well in them and take the MCAT. Of those who express an interest in medical school perhaps 1 in 3 will actually attend. Some will not be academically strong and others will refine their interests and choose other professions. There in no such thing as a “premed” major- that is an intention. You major in anything you desire in college. Many choose a science because they like it, logical for someone intending to study a lot more science. But as long as you take the prereq courses you can major in anything- music, arts, literature… However you may need to use your electives for the medical school required courses (eg chemistry, biology, calculus and physics) instead of other classes. If you intend to go to medical school do not just take all serious/needed courses. Find time for fun courses to enrich yourself- courses you won’t have time for in medical school. Art and music, lit… You will also be involved in activities that show your interest. Most/all colleges will have a site for premed giving advice on courses and other things.
PS- being a nurse, physical therapist and many other related professionals involve different interests and skill sets. Now is a good time to read up on all of the various fields. You may enjoy some you haven’t yet heard of more than just being a physician. Things have changed since my day when women were a small but increasing minority in medical schools- we paved the way for the next generation.
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A lot of med schools still have traditional science classes the first two years–book work, tons of memorization and testing–anatomy, pathology, biochemistry, etc.
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Yes, I should have mentioned the above as well.
I never thought about shadowing before. I think I’ll try that this summer.
Sometime in the 4th year, a student may be rotating as AI (acting intern). In this capapcity student is taking complete care of assigned group of patientce, admitting to the hospital, ordering drags, running the team, absolutely everything. D. liked these rotations the best, and especially she liked to work at VA. She loves these patients!!
Agree with everyone above, but I’d add two things. As to third, fourth year rotations, each student’s learning experience will overall be rather unique as the experiences they encounter are dependent on who they are working with (i.e., MDs), where they are at (e.g. hospital, clinic, office settings), and the needs of the patients that show up on the days they are in any given rotation.The point being it’s difficult to describe rotations other than in rather broad terms.
Also adding to wis75’s post above, the road to and through med school is a long slog from being a high school junior… But I’m a big believer that when you graduate with an MD, you may know a lot of stuff, but you don’t know anything. The real learning begins in residency and will continue throughout your career.
That’s what I’ve been told. Thanks for the insight! 
FWIW, I have some friends who say they are sorry they had to quit their education in order to attend Medical School.
Unfortunately, there is a whole 6 years of schooling to be done before you get to med school if you are still a junior in high school.
“FWIW, I have some friends who say they are sorry they had to quit their education in order to attend Medical School.”
that’s pretty funny
I know how long it takes to school to become a physician and I’m definitely ready! I think it’s worth it if I’m good at what I do.
I know one (MS-3) student who is convinced med school is the most rigorous educational program in existence!
Obviously that is a matter of opinion but it’s probably a fairly accurate statement.
Says he knew it would be challenging but had no idea it would be so hard. He is doing very well but admits to be surprised by the rigor. He is in line for their honor society and expects to do a very competitive residency. If he were answering OP’s question, he’d be honest about the long hours of study, etc.
As I understand it, he has completed the ‘book learning’ piece (first 2 years) and is now doing the clinical piece. Still has a few more standardized tests ahead of him, but believes the most rigorous academic piece is behind him.
Good luck!
Med students are notorious whiners. It’s a lot of work but it’s so structured that you just have to show up and do as you’re told and you’ll do well. Failing out of med school is extremely hard to do. As I cross the halfway point of my PhD phase I can say that med school (at least preclinical) is more stressful but grad school is way more difficult.
Failing is hard to do but scoring low (or lowER which in some cases is about 245) is not that hard to do and then you cannot retake it, only failure are allowed to re-take. So, I quess, not a biggy, just ruin your life long dream if you socre low, but you would not care, right,…or would you?
…on the other hand, while I do not know anything about PhD, the Research rotation is considered to be a vacation, some are splitting it into 2 parts, so that they can breathe for a bit in between clinical rotations.
Where did I say anything about Step 1 in my post Miami? My point was that med school babies you. Yes, you are expected to learn a lot of material but there’s so much direction and so many targeted prep materials given to you that it was often easier to study for a med school exam (albeit required many more hours) than an under grad exam and certainly easier than a grad school exam.
If you want me to talk about that, I can. Yes, failing Step 1 is very hard to do only about 6% of US MD students fail the first time. Since it’s not pass/fail though, you are right, “passing” doesn’t mean very much. Scoring well on step 1 is is definitely not easy and you will never hear me say that. However, there is a ton of prep material and lots of other resources out there to assist students in preparing for the exam. It was far easier to study for step 1 than my PhD’s general knowledge exam for which there exists no such prep material or classes or tutors since the exam is administered orally by a group of professors in my department and the questions are not decided on before hand but instead vary by who is administering the exam and what you say during the exam.
Step 1 and Step 2 a huge part of Medical school. They are taken during Medical School, cannot apply to residency without at least Step 1 and have to have Step 2 score before you start residency. Cannot separate Boards out of Med. School, they are big part of it, but probably not the most difficult one. The most difficult ones are clinical rotations. Cannot separate them out of Med. School either. The easiest part are pre-clinicals, you do not even need to attend lectures and there are med. schools that even do not have lectures, you study on your own. At D’s school pre-clinicals only last thru Feb. of the 2nd year, so the “easy” part is a short one, about 1.5 years out of 4. And while 4th year is easy for some, it is unbelivably stressful for others, residency application cycle does not resemble anything that you have experience before, pretty wild and completely un-predictable.
Well, in regard to how “easy” Step 1 is, the “easy” is equal to 14 hrs / day study for about 7 weeks. If you are smart, you will have couple days off, many will not allow themselves even that. Step 2 is somewhat easier though. There are 2 reasons for studying that much. One is to absorb enough material to do well and another to develop a brain stamina to seat thru 8 hrs and 9 hrs (Step 2) exams. Maybe some have this stamina naturally, D. said that she had to work on it.
245 is not a required score to make the cut for residency, only the very competitive ones. One person’s goal is not a universal passing requirement.