How Can I Become a Medical Doctor in Texas?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, doctors are among the highest paid professionals in any field, bringing home a median annual salary of $186,044 as of May 2008. Doctors specializing in particular areas of medicine made over $300,00 per year. Although the process of becoming a doctor is nearly the same nationwide, if you live in Texas and wish to remain there throughout your medical education and career, there are a few steps you can take to complete your training and become a doctor in Texas.
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Instructions
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Obtain a bachelor's degree from an accredited Texas college or university. Contrary to popular opinion, you do not have to major in pre-medicine in order to go to medical school. You can choose an undergraduate program based on any number of different factors such as cost, location or even religious affiliation. When choosing a school, pick one that has an established reputation in the sciences and math. Even though you may not major in pre-medicine, most medical schools admit students based on their aptitude in these subjects, along with other factors like overall GPA and test scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). A list of four year colleges and universities in Texas is maintained by the University of Texas on its website.
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Apply to and complete medical school. If you wish to attend medical school in Texas you have eight possible choices for medical school. Each program has its own strengths, so you should look at each one carefully to determine which will be the best fit your plans as a doctor. Medical school takes an additional four years of study beyond the bachelor's degree, so choose wisely. Options include the University of Texas at Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Galveston, the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas A & M University, Texas Tech University and the University of North Texas.
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Pursue a medical residency offered in the state of Texas. A residency is a three to five year period of additional hands-on training that you complete after graduating from medical school. Residencies allow you to learn a specialty, like pediatrics, by working under the direct supervision of an expert in the field. There are numerous residency opportunities in Texas. For instance, anesthesiology residencies are offered through the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, the Baylor College of Medicine, the UT Houston Medical School and the UT Southwestern Medical School. Emergency medicine opportunities are offered through Scott & White Healthcare in Temple Texas, Christus Spohn Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi, Darnall Army Community Hospital in Fort Hood and Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center in Lackland. Numerous other residencies are available throughout the state.
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Take and pass your licensing exam. In order to work as a medical doctor, it is necessary to pass a national licensing exam, the United States Medical Licensing Examination. The content of the exam is determined by the Texas Medical Board and is administered by Pearson VUE. The fee for the examination was $63 as of 2010. The medical board provides an online study guide for a cost of $149.
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Search for open positions in your area of specialization and apply for jobs. In all, there are dozens of specialties represented by physicians throughout the state of Texas. According to the Texas Medical Board, as of September 30, 2010, there were 60,864 physicians employed in the state of Texas. Of these, 56,876 held the M.D. degree, while the other held the less known Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) degree. Internal medicine, family practice, anesthesiology, pediatrics and obstetrics, and gynecology were among the most represented specialties.
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