How to Become a Dermatologist

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Mark MacBayne. I'm the practice administrator for hematology oncology at UCSF Medical Center, and I'm here today to talk about how to become a dermatologist. A dermatologist is a physician who specializes in the skin. The skin is actually the largest organ of the body. The first step in becoming a physician is to go to college. Typically, one would complete a four year degree program in a science such as biology. However, it is not necessary to major in a science during your undergraduate career to go to medical school. If you choose not to major in a science however, you will need to complete all of the science prerequisites for medical school, being at least two years of biology, two years of chemistry, a year of physics and a year of calculus. Upon completing your undergraduate education, you'll need to take the MCAT or the medical college admissions test. This a standardized test that medical schools used to evaluate students. Medical school admission is very competitive and they will use the combination of your GPA and your MCAT scores to determine acceptance. Upon being accepted to medical school, which is an additional four year educational commitment, you will do your first two years typically in didactic training and health sciences and your second two years in learning clinical skills. Once you've completed medical school, you are a medical doctor but are not yet ready to practice. First you must complete a residency. And in this case we're talking about dermatology. So you would complete a residency in dermatology. This is time the during which a physician actually will specialize in a particular area within medicine. After completing your residency in dermatology, you will need to sit for the board exam in dermatology and after passing are ready to practice as a board certified dermatologist. This Mark MacBayne, practice administrator for hematology oncology at UCSF."