Education · 1 of 5

The path

Eleven years after high school. Shorter than most specialties, and the residency is only 3 years.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Biology, chemistry and physics, with the grades to get into a college where you can hold a high grade point average.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Any major, as long as you finish the pre-medical science courses and sit the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

3. 3

   Medical school

   4 years

   Two years of classroom science, two years of hospital rotations, ending in a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO).

4. 4

   Pediatrics residency

   3 years

   Three years across clinic, inpatient wards, newborn nursery, intensive care and the emergency department. Paid, supervised, increasingly independent.

5. 5

   License and board certification

   During and after residency

   A state medical license to practice, then the American Board of Pediatrics certifying exam.