Is it possible to work while studying medicine?
Many people who dream of studying medicine have serious doubts about the feasibility of working throughout their undergraduate studies. This is due to comparisons with other higher education courses. After all, many of them make it possible for students to enter the job market even before they graduate.
In some cases, this entry is even encouraged via internship programs (mandatory or not). But what are the chances of being able to work and study medicine at the same time?
To arrive at a good answer, it is necessary to follow the path to be followed by undergraduate students. At the end of this article, you will have a very clear vision regarding the possibility of combining work with this academic formation so particular in several aspects. Come with us!
How is the medical course workload?
One must keep in mind that adapting to a higher education course depends on the list of personal characteristics and skills of each person. That said, one of the points that most calls attention in the profile of medical students is the dedication of almost full time to studies. The course grid itself is already assembled based on this expectation.
Every higher quality course includes a set of disciplines, divided harmoniously among all the semesters necessary for the conclusion of the graduation. Like many other higher education, Medicine also initially needs a space for theoretical accumulation.
In a second step, the student needs to practice all that content in order to understand how it is inserted and shaped in the daily medical rush. It turns out that the beginning of the practice, that is, when you start the first contact with patients, for example, is accompanied by the continuity of the theoretical load of the curriculum.
To visualize all that we are talking about and find out how long the medical course lasts, follow the details below!
Basic theoretical content
Regarding the total course time , the minimum required is 6 years, divided into three phases. Thus, in the first two years, the student receives a dense material that addresses a wide range of concepts in the medical field. Consider this step as a kind of resumption of several theories that were only brushed up during High School.
Some of the subjects dealt with are anatomy, genetics, physiology and biology. However, as you may already imagine, the bias and the level of deepening of these disciplines during the course are completely different from the summary presented in any year of the previous school period. In the lectures of the teachers, it is necessary to set aside a good amount of time to fulfill the reading load inherent to each subject. In general, the bibliographic references are long, previously selected and updated (when necessary) by the professor in question.
Added to this is the fact that a medical course of excellence is characterized by the offer of digital platforms, present in diverse and modern laboratories. In them, you have the opportunity to advance the practical phase of graduation. Provided they are well-equipped, the labs project the anatomy of human bodies in 3D reality and provide digital desks, used for clinical case studies and training in surgical techniques.
For these reasons, creating and maintaining a good study routine is essential so that you don’t get lost along the way. Staying in the same range as the class on a course like this requires a lot of discipline, time to study and, above all, concentration. Running after the loss can be extremely complicated, under the risk of putting the graduation project at risk.
Beginning of the practical phase
As long as the student has worked hard enough during the first years of the course, he will arrive ready to start this next stage. Previous care is essential to make the best use of the practical phase.
Following the pre-programmed sequence, this time the course asks the student to combine practical experience with the study of disease evolution , epidemics and pandemics. Thus, the functioning, in the real world, of the most varied therapeutic approaches is highlighted. As Medicine is not just a remedy, effective forms of prevention also gain time.
It is up to you, the student, to observe and record, through your personal notes, the different relationships between symptoms and diseases, in addition to the reactions of patients to the proposed treatments. Whoever intends to work and study medicine simultaneously with these tasks needs to be a person who has immense power of organization and concentration.
What are the practices of medical students?
Finally , you will be able to carry out the long awaited boarding school. Third phase of the course, it corresponds to the mandatory internship. Therefore, do not confuse it with residency, a period made after obtaining a bachelor’s degree. After thinking well about the specializations in Medicine, you start the residency to deepen the training in the chosen area.
Note that boarding school plays a decisive role in selecting the specialization of your residence. While you spend part of your time in outpatient clinics and hospitals, you accumulate experience and begin to better outline your professional future. With the proper supervision and guidance of an experienced doctor, it is possible to draw great lessons from the entire period.
During the internship, you have the chance to exercise the quality of your anamnesis, be an assistant in surgical interventions , in addition to working as an on-call physician. When in this part of the training process, the student must make the most of it. It’s time to ask lots of questions to the different specialists and clear up all doubts.
When can medical students enter the job market?
From the moment they finish their internship , you complete the minimum 6 years required to graduate in Medicine. This means that you will already be a general practitioner and therefore will be able to act as one. However, it is worth emphasizing the importance of only going to the labor market when you are ready to face the challenges.
In this sense, the ideal is that the dedication to training is full and uninterrupted, which makes it difficult to attempt to reconcile work with study. Due to the high degree of responsibility associated with the medical profession, many people even choose to improve their studies through residency.
Considering all the factors that we present here and reflecting on their respective impacts is essential for anyone who wants to be a doctor. Working and studying medicine at the same time is not necessarily impossible. However, it is evident that the difficulties tend to be redoubled, since the work usually takes part of the student’s focus and energy. As a consequence, the quality of graduation can be compromised.
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