Once you get a better understanding of the responsibility and everything that a physician has to know, you will understand why it takes so long. There is an incredible amount of knowledge needed to become a physician and even after 10 years, many Drs. still feel “not ready” to take over full responsibilities. Drs continue to learn–both formally and informally–their entire career. “School” is never really over.

Remember many of these years are done as medical students, interns and residents where they spend most of the time actually working with patients, not all in a classroom. It takes supervised EXPERIENCE to develop the decision making and judgement skills a physician needs. Do your really want a 22 yr old, 4 year degree person as your neurosurgeon?

Yes, it takes that much time. No, you can’t do it faster–it’s already learning at lightspeed. Ask any med student or intern. Check out the realities of becoming a Dr. before you sign up!

Yeah, it sucks, but you can really make a difference out there. It doesn’t take that long though for all health professions. You could become a medical assistant in two years at a community college if you wanted to. But there are other options too, like being a dental hygenist, you only need a Bachelor’s degree, and some schools are accelerated, and you finish in three years. Also, look into being a nurse. You need a Bachelor’s degree, and it’s only four years….and it really pays off. You can start out, and be a nurse, but then you can go back and become an RN or a Registered Nurse, while still working. Also, look at Pharmacy. There are schools that offer an accelerated 6 year Doctor of Pharmacy program, which is what I’m in…you do two years of undergrad and four years of the pharmacy classes….it’s not too bad at alll. Also look into being a Xray technician, it’s only four years

Try to take AP classes in high school to knock a few classes out of the way if you pass the exams. To get out of undergrad. school faster (but it would definitely be more difficult) it would be best to take a full course load (about 18 credits. depends on school tho) each semester and take full summer semesters too. You may be able to finish undergrad. school with in 2 1/2 to 3 years. It’s all about what you want to do and what you think would best benefit you.

This depends on what kind of doctor you wan to be. You could try to do some online classes to knock the least important crap out of the way, but to honest nobaody wants a flake for a doctor. It’s not an easy job so if you’re not willing to bite the bullet and finish school maybe you’re not cut out for it. I hear that the fast-food field is quite lucrative, I’m sure they’ll take you.

What’s wrong is that you aren’t thinking of the time you spend in your education as part of your life. Education isn’t something to finish as fast as possible so that you can get on with life; it IS life, if handled well. You are learning and growing, and for part of that time you will even be earning, while not as much as a fully-trained medical specialist, a salary. Plus, you will probably be seeing much more interesting medical situations than you will ever get to see during your career again. This isn’t ten years of your life “gone” or “lost”, this is ten of the best years of your life. If you can’t understand that, perhaps medicine is not the field for you.

There are accelerated programs. At Temple they have 7 and 8 year MD. Hey, it knocks off a few years, that’s something.

Yes, you will be in college a long period of time. But ask yourself this question, “Would you want to go to a doctor who took shortcuts and wasn’t fully prepared?”

To shorten the time spent in college you can take CLEP exams in various areas to receive college credit. Also take classes in the summer.

Go during the summer……………should knock off 9 months at least……….

MD is a tough road but lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and respect….

yeah, change majors