A career in medicine offers doctors an opportunity to provide a necessary service to the public through the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, diseases and infections. There are so many different areas of medicine in which you can choose to practice. A community based practice, or family practice, would offer daily face-to-face contact in which you and your patients would get to know each other in a long-term doctor-patient relationship. There are over 50 medical or surgical specialty career paths that include surgery, psychiatry, genetics, oncology, research, lecturing, and ophthalmology. No other business offers as many different possibilities under one umbrella as does medicine.

Although medicine is an extremely rewarding career --, being a doctor involves a lifetime of learning, both formally and informally. Doctors have to update their knowledge and skills throughout their entire career because of the new discoveries constantly being made. In terms of the initial training period, it can take up to nine years to become a family practice doctor and up to 12 years or longer to become a specialist or sub-specialist. All applicants must have completed 90 credits and all prerequisites in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, and English courses before applying, and this is followed by four years in medical school, and then residency and/or internship in a hospital setting.

It should be recognized that the skills that doctors attain means they are in high demand and so often work long hours and are expected to be on-call at times. Doctors going through training are expected to work long hours in the hospital setting, and still study and write exams.

If you are considering a medical career - do your research. Be sure that this challenging and demanding career is for you. Some useful references are listed below.

UBC Faculty of Medicine: www.med.ubc.ca

What qualifications are needed to enter medical school?
All applicants must have completed 90 credits and all prerequisite courses in Chemistry, Biology, Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry and English. In addition, all entrants must write the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) where total scores in the physical sciences, biological sciences, and verbal reasoning must equal at least 23.

Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) information: www.aamc.org/mcat

There are also non-academic requirements necessary for entering medical school. The medical school wants to ensure that students are well-rounded individuals who are dedicated in their endeavours. Therefore, the school looks for strong community volunteer pursuits and participation in extra-curricular activities. An autobiographical essay will need to be written and three separate, confidential references will need to be submitted. It culminates in a thorough face-to-face interview at the school of medicine at UBC.