Individuals who want to enter the medical profession must attend an accredited medical college. Medical school lasts four years. To get into an accredited medical college, students typically must have completed a four-year bachelor's degree program, with most students having studied math, engineering or science at the undergraduate level, according to Washington University in St. Louis. Students also must have completed coursework in English, math, biology, inorganic/organic chemistry and physics. Students have to submit transcripts, recommendation letters and scores from the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), and they typically must participate in an interview with the medical college's admissions team as well.
Classes at an accredited medical college cover topics such as pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistry and anatomy/physiology. Other classes include human genetics, health care policy, the molecular and cellular basis of medicine and medical ethics, according to Harvard University. Students also learn how to diagnose illnesses, take medical histories and perform patient examinations during their first two years of medical school.
During their final two years at an accredited medical college, students gain hands-on experience working with patients under the supervision of licensed doctors. They practice preventive, acute, rehabilitative and chronic care in clinics and hospitals through rotations in specialty areas such as pediatrics, family practice and internal medicine. Other specialty areas include obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry and surgery. A student's four years of training at a medical college prepare him to complete a residency that could last two to six years.
Medical colleges that award an M.D., or Doctor of Medicine, degree are accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, or LCME. Meanwhile, the American Osteopathic Association is the accrediting body for medical colleges that award a D.O., or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, degree.
Training at an accredited medical college prepares M.D. students to pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination and prepares D.O. students to pass the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam. Medical college graduates also can seek board certification in a specialty by completing up to seven years of residency training and passing a final examination through the American Board of Medical Specialists or the American Osteopathic Association.