With a growing population & the worldwide need for curers & administrators needed to run medical facilities, the need for medical professionals all over the world is greater than ever. Today the medical & healthcare profession has become one of the world’s largest industries with a vast variety of specializations & supporting fields, involving everything from administrative & clerical work to medical research, development & technology. Indeed in the new millennia, healthcare has become a priority area for governments & corporations all over the world to invest in.

Overview

Medical education is the internationally acceptable foundation of learning the healing arts & about modern procedures & medicine used today. Every country in the world has its own, internationally acceptable format for the teaching & training of medicine & healthcare students & each has its own – closely similar – methodology to train & qualify (& license) practitioners entering into this field. All over the world, there are many great traditional medical training institutions with a philosophy focused on the comprehensive development of the future generations of experts & industry leaders in this field, & prospective medical students have a variety of choices when looking for the right institution to join, & the right Doctors to learn from.

Entry into the medical field

All over the world, different curricula are followed & entrance into medical schools for training requires prospective students to fulfill certain criteria.

- Undergraduate entry (European & Asian countries)

Undergraduate entry usually requires students to have completed at least a high school (or A levels in the UK) certificate & sometimes a year of preparatory study before entrance into dedicated medical education.

- Second entry (first professional degree – USA & Canada)

A second entry degree is one for which a student is required to have completed between 2-3 years of study (graduate level) as a pre-requisite for entrance into medical education. This degree is considered as a ‘first professional degree’ (like a PhD or MS degree) after the first degree is completed in a sciences related discipline.

- Graduate entry – Graduate entry program (GEP or GMP)

These are medical programs, occurring outside of the US & Canada, where entry is offered to college or university graduates who have already completed a degree & have taken an aptitude test (MCAT etc).

Post Graduate Education

Newly trained doctors are required to complete a certain period of practical training, usually with a hospital or clinic. Before doctors can become registered as licensed practitioners anywhere in the world, they are required to complete this supervised ‘h&s-on’ training period (called a residency or internship – aka ‘scrubs’ program) which usually takes a year.

- Continued medical education (CME)

Continued medical education is a necessity in many parts of the world for doctors to maintain their practice licenses. This education is undertaken periodically by physicians & other practitioners (like medical technicians & nursing professionals) in order to maintain an up-to-date knowledge on current advances, modern practices & the latest medical technology (some examples are; IV Certification)

- Core medical education & technical medical training

Core medical training, provided at traditional medical institutions, is divided into two separate forms. These are called;

- Preclinical

These constitute of the basic sciences having to do with the human body & its functions & a deeply detailed study of pharmacology, physiology, pathology, anatomy, biochemistry etc.

- Clinical sciences

These involve a study of procedural sciences & clinical medicine & constitutes of studies in internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics & gynecology, psychiatry, & finally, surgery.