Education · 1 of 5

The path

One of the longest routes on this site. Thirteen years from high school, minimum.

1. 1

   High school

   Grades 11 and 12

   Top grades in biology, chemistry, physics and math. Medicine is a numbers game long before it is a caring one, and it starts with your college admission.

2. 2

   Bachelor's degree

   4 years

   Any major, as long as you finish the science prerequisites and keep a high GPA. Sit the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), which about 95,000 people take each year.

3. 3

   Medical school

   4 years

   Two years of science, two of clinical rotations, ending in an MD (Doctor of Medicine) or a DO (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). There are 174 medical schools in the country and admission is brutal.

4. 4

   Internal medicine residency

   3 years

   Paid, supervised hospital training in adult medicine. You are matched to a program by a national algorithm, not by applying job by job.

5. 5

   Pulmonary and critical care fellowship

   2 to 3 years

   Lungs, ventilators and intensive care. Two years for pulmonary alone, three for the combined pulmonary and critical care training most people do.