Medicine 101

1. Formal education and training requires 4 years of medical school, and 3 – 8 years of internship/residency training
2. Allopathic (MD) conferring schools and Osteopathic (DO) conferring schools have similar requirements for admission; licensed practitioners from both programs have access to residency slots in all sub-specialties and can prescribe medications. DO and MD residency programs have merged as of 2019 so all medical school graduates (including from international programs) are applying to the same pool of residency positions 
3. Many physicians work long and/or irregular hours
4. Acceptance to medical degree programs is highly competitive
5. Job opportunities are excellent, particularly if you are interested in primary care where the need will be the greatest. 

Physicians (MD, DO) diagnose illnesses and prescribe and administer treatment for people suffering from injury or disease.  Physicians examine patients, obtain medical histories, and order/perform diagnostic tests to ascertain the root cause of the illness.  In addition to treatment of acute or chronic diseases, they may also practice preventive care.  Most of the distinctions between osteopathic and allopathic physicians have disappeared over the last 50 years.  Historically osteopathic physicians focus more on preventive medicine and holistic treatment including musculoskeletal manipulation (Osteopathic Musculoskeletal Manipulation).  DOs often pursue careers in primary care or in rural or underserved communities. 

Nearly 50% of practicing physicians are in primary care in areas such as family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology and 50% are specialists in a wide range of areas including surgery, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, psychiatry among others. To practice medicine in all states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, physicians must be licensed by passing the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) and/or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam (COMLEX). 

For a list of medical schools and residency programs, as well as general information on premedical education, financial aid, and medicine as a career visit Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) or American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM).

With the rollout of the updated MCAT exam in 2015, many medical schools modified course requirements for admission to their program.  Some switched to a competency-based approach to review of an academic record meaning they will look for evidence of exposure to content within competency areas and have abandoned a specific course “checklist” approach in admissions review. Others have stayed with a more “traditional” set of courses but have tweaked that to provide some flexibility or have added updated content (i.e. Biochemistry or statistics or both).  Therefore, in the age of holistic admissions, these are the best course suggestions for pre-medical candidates to add to the undergraduate VU curriculum to meet preparation standards for the MCAT exam and application to the breadth of medical schools (MD and DO). 

You are also urged to access and review the more detailed MCAT and Pre-Medical Curriculum Advising Guide section of this guide for additional suggestions on preparation for the exam.

Any undergraduate major is acceptable provided that you have completed the required prerequisite courses and taken the application exam (MCAT). A majority of applicants come from the sciences; however you do not need to major in the sciences to apply to medical school.  Students are accepted at comparable rates from all majors.  The best major is a subject you enjoy and in which you excel.  Medical schools appreciate students who have a breadth of academic knowledge and reasoning skills.  Science majors should be sure to explore coursework beyond the required core curriculum courses in the humanities and social sciences, while humanities and social science majors should demonstrate an ability to carry a heavy science load and be academically successful.   Non-science majors may need to be flexible as to course section or choice of electives in the sciences, as registration priority is given to majors in the departments. Any inquiries or requests for access to a course must be made through the department office which manages that course, not the Health Professions Advising Office. 

Most schools require applicants to take the MCAT. Refer to the separate publication entitled MCATand Pre-Medical Curriculum Advising Guide section of this documentfor details.  Visit the AAMC MCAT content website for more information about the exam.  At present the following main sections are included in the exam:

(1) Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems

(2) Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

(3) Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behavior

(4) Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills The MCAT is administered many times a year.  Typically, students take the MCAT in spring of their junior year or early summer after junior year to be on target for application timing with the option to enter medical school the summer after graduation. More applicants to medical school are now opting to take at least one gap year between college and the start of medical school which means that the MCAT may be taken spring senior year or shortly after college graduation. In fact, at most medical schools, ~60-70% of the first-year class has taken at least one gap year prior to matriculation. As such, curriculum planning may be considered so that courses are plotted to produce a strong GPA outcome and align with a reasonable timeline for MCAT completion by late spring of senior year if one gap year has been determined to be an optimal plan.  Some students find it helpful to take an MCAT preparation course. Go to the MCAT preparation website for more information on free resources for MCAT planning and preparation from the AAMC. To get access to basic MCAT prep program options visit the HPA Blackboard resource center. A folder on the main content page (and within the Medicine main folder) provides links to access prep program websites to explore options.

Admission is extremely competitive. Accepted students nationally for allopathic (MD) programs have an overall GPA of 3.6 or above with strong MCAT scores (70-80^th percentile or better; 510 or above).  For osteopathic (DO) programs, accepted students nationally have an overall GPA of 3.4 with an MCAT score of 504 or above. 

Successful applicants are also those who have knowledge of the profession through shadowing/volunteer activities, demonstrate evidence of humanitarian instincts, altruism, and passion for working with people through quality service, volunteer, or work experiences, and have supportive letters of recommendation (at least 2 from science professors/professionals). Admission committees are looking for well-rounded individuals with a breadth of extracurricular activities and academic enrichment that reflect a willingness to challenge oneself to stretch beyond your comfort zone and gain a real life understanding of cultural circumstances and diversity issues that will impact all healthcare providers.  Evidence of maturity, professionalism, altruism, and leadership skills is essential for a strong application.

Students applying into medical school must submit application materials through AMCAS (American Medical College Application Service) for allopathic programs and AACOMAS (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service) for osteopathic programs.  Students who are from Texas and wish to apply to any public medical school within the state will need to complete an application in TMDSAS (Texas Medical and Dental School Application Service). Application packets must include transcripts for each U.S., U.S. territorial or Canadian college, university, junior college, or graduate school attended which must be sent by the Registrar of each institution directly to the application service. 

Students must regularly meet with their academic advisor in the major and are also encouraged to meet with a Health Professions Advisor (HPA) as they move forward with plans to pursue a career in medicine.  Pre-Medical applicants are encouraged to consider obtain a letter packet as a critical component of their application portfolio. A Letter Packet is a composite letter that includes full content of all required evaluator letters, but it does not additionally include a pre-health committee evaluation. In its place, we include an institutional cover sheet from the Pre-Health Advising Program. The Pre-Health Advising Program’s institutional cover sheet provides context to your academic and experiential preparation.