Physician career research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Physician career - Research Paper Example This paper investigates the academic requirements, career outlook, and potential income of studying medicine as a career in addition to talents and personal attributes necessary to succeed as a physician. In United States, all medical practitioners with a professional degree in medicine are regarded as physicians. UBLS (2010) classified physicians in two different categories, including Medical Doctor (MD) or allopathic physicians and Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO). Both classes of doctors apply all acceptable practices of treating patients, including prescription of drugs and carrying surgical operations. However, doctors of osteopathic medicine emphasize mostly on preventive medicine, muscular skeletal system of the body and holistic care of patients. Medical doctors are mainly the primary medical care providers and they are normally specialized in all medical specialties (UBLS 2010). According to OES (2011) about 50% of medical doctors practice general medicine, pediatrics, an d internal medicine. Physicians could be specialized in one or more areas of medical specialization, including anesthesiology, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology in addition to general medicine among others. The requirements for becoming a physician differ depending on the final area of medical specialization in the United States. However, physicians are normally required to complete a four-year undergraduate degree program and then proceed to a medical school where they spend another four years. This is followed by a compulsory three to seven years in resident training after which they become eligible for being licensed as doctors. In this regard, medical doctors in the United States are required to complete two degrees and specified duration of clinical residence. According to AMA (2009), both of these degrees involve general course work while during the residency; the aspiring doctor chooses his or her preferred specialty. A four- year undergraduate degree marks the beginning of physician training program in the United States. The undergraduate program involves coursework in sciences, math and English. The first degree prepares the student for entry into the medical school and students must attain specific grades to qualify. Aspiring medical students have the freedom to choose any undergraduate degree, but many of them enroll in programs with heavy emphasis on chemistry and biological sciences. However, undergraduate training differs from one institution to another. Some tertiary institutions offer pre-medical programs that include mandatory classes for medical school in addition to preparing students to pass Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) (AMA 2009). After successful completion of the undergraduate degree, aspiring medical students are required to take Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The test compromises of multiple choice questions that examines the student‘s knowledge on physical scienc e, critical thinking, biology and communication skills. The test is computerized and it takes a maximum of five hours. The performance on this test and undergraduate degree play major role in securing admission in medical school (AMA 2009). Students who score high marks in the test and have good undergraduate degrees are almost assured of admission into the medical