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• A Medical School is a post graduate institution that prepares students to become physicians.

  American medical schools are divided into two major categories--"allopathic" schools which lead to the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree, and "osteopathic" schools which lead to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.). Graduates of either type of institution are eligible for board certification in general practice or any of the recognized medicial specialties (listed below).

• Fast Facts

  1. Medical schools may also operate as hospitals and medical research facilities
  2. Four-year bachelor's degree required
  3. Average cost of medical school 2004-2005: $34,680 a yearAspiringDocs.org: Financing Medical School
  4. 75.5 percent of graduates have debt of at least $100,000American Medical Association: Medical student debt
  5. 87.6 percent of graduating medical students carry outstanding loansAmerican Medical Association: Medical student debt

• Curriculum

  The structure of the medical school curriculum varies from institution to institution, but classically is divided into two years of basic science, followed by two years of clinical clerkships.

  Typical basic science courses include:

  • Human Anatomy
  • Immunology
  • Medical Genetics
  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology
  • Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics
  • Histology
  • Embryology
  • Neuroscience
  • Pathology
  • Pathophysiology
  • Pharmacology
  • Immunology

  The second half of medical school is typically devoted to a series of clinical clerkships during which the student serves an active role on a medical team in a hospital or outpatient clinic. The clerkships which form the core of clinical training include:

  • Internal Medicine
  • Family Medicine
  • General Surgery
  • Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN)
  • Pediatrics
  • Neurology
  • Psychiatry

  Additionally, the student may participate in clerkships in fields such as:

  • Radiology
  • Pathology
  • Anesthesiology
  • Radiation Oncology
  • Dermatology

  Medical Subspecialties (e.g., Hematology-Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Cardiology, Nephrology, Pulmonology, Critical Care) Surgical Sub-Specialties (e.g., Urology, Neurosurgery, Otolaryngology, Ophthalmology)

• Post-graduation

  • Medical Internship
  • Medical Residency
  • Medical Fellowship
  • Board Certification

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