Cynthia Said:

How do i start my career in medicine?

We Answered:

I'm assuming you mean you are a sophmore in high school?

First of all - congrat's on knowing what you want to do already! Takes most people much longer to figure that out.

1) Get the best grades you can in college. Get on the pre-med track if possible. This will take you about 4 years.
2) Take your MCAT's and score, of course, as high as possible.

For a look at exactly what kind of grades/scores you'll need to get into good medical schools, check out this US News & World Report link...
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/ra…

3) Get into the best medical school possible. You'll spend two years taking classes, then two more years in rotations at various hospitals. As a student, there is no cap on the hours per week you are allowed to "work" in rotations, so it can be in excess of 80 hours. You'll want to earn honors in your surgical rotations. In between, you'll have to pass several "Boards" - extremely difficult, comprehensive exams.
4) After you finish your rotations, you'll need to "match" for your residency. A surgical residency is typically five years long, approximately 80 hours per week (this is regulated - most surgical residents want MORE time).

Hope this helps you begin your planning! Good luck.

Kristin Said:

Which college for an eventual career in medicine?

We Answered:

All three of these schools are well respected and can give you a fine education in all the premed areas. They are quite different as far as a college experience is concerned, though. Tufts is in a close suburb of Boston - kids there are tied in to the whole Boston area student network. Vanderbilt is definitely a southern school. Different tone completely. Michigan is a giant state university school which could be daunting for someone who wants a more personal relationship with the college and other students. I think you would get much more personal attention from the faculty and staff at Tufts. Tufts is not as well know nationally, but it is certainly well known and respected in the northeast and among the admissions committees of the medical schools. I would be willing to bet that a much higher per cent of the kids who start in premed at Tufts actually finish as premeds, apply to med school and are accepted, compared to kids who start at Michigan as premeds. Michigan has way more who start, but way more who never finish their programs.

Janet Said:

I am very interested in pursuing a career in medicine and what infectious diseases should I memorize?

We Answered:

Any disease that you learn about will help you be a good doctor. Make sure you learn about the signs and symptoms of the diseases, what drugs can cure these diseases/disorders. I'm a nursing student, and I find that learning the physiology (how the disease affects the body) can help you to remember the signs and symptoms.

Lena Said:

Help On College Information-Sports Medicine?

We Answered:

For sports med, there are specific undergraduate programs, otherwise take a general major, and go to Med school. A lot of sports med docs are orthopedic

Bonnie Said:

What are the risks with a career in Nuclear Medicine?

We Answered:

The main 'risk' i guess would be a slight increase in the chance of developing a stochastic disease due to exposure to radiation. This is of course if you stick to the NRC's Linear Dose:Damage equation for radiation. Honestly, however, unless you're doing a ton of I-131 Therapy you're not really going to get that much total body dose over a normal career. That and you have to have a Bachelor's degree to be accredited as a NMT.

Advantages are that it's the highest paying radiography modality (though someplaces pay sonographers the same) as well as it being far more forgiving than MRI/CT.

Aaron Said:

How would you go about a career in Emergency Medicine?

We Answered:

Depends what type of job you want in Emergency Medicine. There are emergency dept nurses--they get the basic RN training & then go to work in the ED. EMTs work as ER techs; there are ER physician assistants, who graduate from a general PA program & then either do a residency or on the job training in the ER, and ER doctors. Emergency medicine is its own boarded specialty--so after med school you would apply to an ER residency (not internal medicine).