Corey Said:

A few questions about becoming a doctor (:?

We Answered:

For your math and science averages, that's fine. What matters most is the grades you achieve when you reach college, not so much as in high school. Your math and science grades can help to determine what type of college or university you apply for or what ones you get into or what programs you get into, but they only go about that far. Once you get into a college or university, then you have to make sure that your science grades especially are astronomical. I was looking at a printout of those who got into a certain med school and most had at least a 3.5 GPA and above in their chosen major. Most had a 4.0.

As for classes for high school, it depends on where you would like to get into college and what type of work load you can handle. If you want to get into a top notch university, say Rice, than you need to take all the AP classes you can and achieve high grades in all of them. Taking AP classes also helps prepare you more for college. Try to do some research and find out what sort of classes your school offers. For instance, my school offers classes where you can do clinical rotations at the hospital and train to become a Pharmacy technician, Emergency Medical Technician, or Certified Nurse Assistant. They also offer Anatomy and Physiology, which is another science class you can take pertaining to the human body. You just have to see what your school offers.

You typically go to a university for 4 years. However, if you want, depending on the graduation plan you have and what you decide to major in, you can graduate in 3 years.

It can be difficult to get into a university, but then again, it also depends on which you are applying for and to what school within the university you are applying for. I'm not sure what you mean by hard to pass, but in order to secure a spot in a hard to reach university, you must try to attain the highest GPA you can (get as many A's as possible) and score a high score on the SAT or ACT. On some of the more rigorous and prestigious schools, they may require you to take the SAT subject tests or ACT with writing, and expect you to attain certain scores, especially if you plan to become a doctor, then they would expect you to achieve higher scores in the science areas, then say, you would achieve in English. Being well-rounded also helps. Volunteer as much as you get a chance to, and try to be consistent with it. They would rather see you do, say an Alzheimer's Walk, once a year for 4 years in a row then sporadically volunteer here and there. Involvement in sports or youth groups or clubs also helps.

A Master's in Epidemiology means that after graduating from a University, you go back for 2 more years and earn a "higher level" degree in your chosen area of study, in your case, Epidemiology. A PhD means you have a doctorate leveled degree in your chosen field, which means you would go back for 2 more years following the Master's degree, totaling to about 8 years in school total after graduating high school. It is optional, but probably best if you did both.

As for IPC, I don't know what that stands for, so you might want to look that up. For experience in the health-related field, that shouldn't be too hard to come by. Usually after you graduate from medical school, you apply for residency programs in specific fields of study that interest you. Usually the years of residency you undertake depends on the field of study you want to go into. For example, since I want to do Neurosurgery, my residency program would last between 6-8 years, whereas someone who wanted to do something else might only have to go into their program for 4-6 years. It all depends.

Experience in patient care can be working in the hospital; I've done it before. As for the other two, I'm not sure about and you'll probably have to look into that a bit more.

On the certification, there are all types of various medical boards that you have to apply to and achieve in order to even start practicing medicine, including state and national boards. The other skills required are sort of self explanatory; you have to be able to understand and talk about and with medical terminology fluently and know what others are talking about, be able to be a leader, etc. As for the membership, you have to join the association that is related with your chosen profession. For example, there's the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, which I would probably have to join in order to start practicing. Some professions require you join and it's strongly recommended, however, not all require you to be a part of them in order to practice.

I hoped this helped some!

April Said:

I am faced with a huge problem. Can someone provide advice?

We Answered:

Since you like data entry and want to be in an office....you can try being a medical billing specialist. You would just sit at a desk and type patients' info into the computer. You will also do insurance verifications and billing. It;s not very hard and it only takes months to complete the course. I'm not sure what the pay is...it might be pretty low for entry level. You can also work in a call center...these jobs usually pay very well. You sit in a cubicle and take calls. Actually, I think this would be best for you because you don't need any additional education (just high school diploma) and you will have little social interaction. You will also use a computer and do data entry.

Ian Said:

Joke : Interesting Cover letters..can I have some stars ?

We Answered:

These were really good.

Mae Said:

Should I make a counter offer? It's an entry level application consultant position & I'm just out of college..?

We Answered:

you got a better than average offer - no one ets 3 weeks vacation their 1st yr - I had to wait until I was at my current company 5 yrs and you starting wage is right in the middle - in this economy, with no relevant job experience, you do not have any negotiating power - be happy you got an offer. there are plenty of other people who will say yes if you don't

Sean Said:

SCIENCE JOBS - what's the best?

We Answered:

Hi Chris...I am in the same situation and I suggest you apply to as many jobs as possible and see what comes about...as you gain more experience you will earn more (like you didn't know that) but apply to them all and see what sparks your mind the most, also look into entry level engineering too...as for the lab, a QA job was my only way to get a foot in the door to using my science degree...many entry level jobs may be just that - a foot in the door or experience to put on your resume so you can go after something better! I know my responce does not help much but it's all I can offer you considering I am in the same boat...keep looking and you will be successfull!