Doctors: 7 Things You Should Know (For Students)

For many becoming a Doctor is a lifelong dream.

Becoming a Doctor requires relentless commitment and resolve over several years.

It is a challenge for even highly qualified capable and committed individuals.

You might be asking, how hard can it be to become a Doctor?

What if I don’t have the grades and am not good at maths or science, can I still be a Doctor?

So are doctors smart? Do you have to be smart to be a doctor?

Are Doctors Smart? Do you have to be Smart to be a Doctor? (Explained)

Yes, Doctors are intelligent, and they must have an above-average IQ to comprehend and memorise a large amount of information. Doctors must be intelligent to perform difficult exercises and comprehend difficult material.

Being intelligent also helps doctors in practice, as it allows them to draw on medical knowledge to think quickly and through complex issues and situations.

While it is evident that being a Doctor requires a high level of intelligence, we’ll now discuss common concerns people have around becoming a Doctor.

Can I be a Doctor if I am not too intelligent?

To be a Doctor you do need to have some level of intelligence to understand to study medicine and also practice medicine.

If you are someone who struggles with learning, is not very focused, or has trouble understanding complex subjects, then being a Doctor might not be for you.

However, nothing is impossible, if you work hard, be focused, and believe in your abilities anything is possible.

To become a Doctor you will need the following attributes:

- Some level of intelligence, not necessary at genius level but be able to comprehend complex issues and situations

- Ability to memorize and understand vast amounts of information, over several years of determination, having to study between 12 to 16 years to become a Doctor.

The timeline to become a Doctor looks something like this; you need to complete an undergraduate degree then there is the medical school itself that takes at least 4 years, then an internship of 1 year, next residency of at least 1 year, and finally vocational training of 3-8 years.

With few places on offer, getting into medical school can be difficult.

If there is a high cut-off point you will need to reach a higher score than your competition to obtain a spot.

For some students, this won’t be such an issue.

But for some who are less scholastic, then more study effort is required to prepare for the medical school entrance exam.

To be a Doctor, do you have to be good at Science?

Yes, you must be skilled in science. Being uninterested in science will jeopardise your chances of becoming a doctor.

Just to get into medical school, the prerequisites are biology, biochemistry, and chemistry.

The better you are at those subjects, the better your chance of being accepted and passing medical school, and becoming a Doctor.

Do Doctors have to be good at Biology? (Explained)

Yes, you can still become a Doctor; however, it will be more difficult for you to gain admission to medical school and achieve the required grades.

One of the prerequisites is getting into medical school and becoming a doctor knowing biology.

Thankfully, Biology is one of the easiest pre-medical subjects you can understand.

If your ambition is to become a Doctor not being good at biology should not set you back.

There are plenty of online courses (most are free) that you can improve your knowledge and understanding of biology.

Doctors required to be good at Physics? (Explained)

No, you don’t have to be a Physicist to be a doctor. It should not be a barrier to entering Medical School and becoming a Doctor.

However, If you are seeking out a Medical School to attend, check out if there is any requirement to know physics.

Probably even worth getting your hands on any entrance exams that have been used in the past.

If there are questions relating to physics then you might have to learn the basics of physics, enough to get you through.

The good news is there are plenty of online courses in Physics to get you through.

Doctors required to be good at Chemistry?

You are not alone if you are having difficulty with chemistry. It is difficult to learn because it combines the use of math, chemistry concepts, and language.

If you are not good at Chemistry, it will be more difficult for you to become a Doctor.

Medicine is largely based on chemistry and physics.

Therefore, having A grade marks or being comfortable with chemistry will set you in a strong position to join a medical school and become a doctor.

If you are not that great at Chemistry, there are things you can do.

But first of all, you do need to realize that learning Chemistry requires a lot of hard work and dedication.

Secondly don’t freak out, despite Chemistry being difficult to learn it can be learned.

To improve your understanding, there is plenty of books or even better tons of free accessible online materials available to learn and upskill.

Do Doctors need to be good at Mathematics? (Solved)

If you are not good at math, you should not be able to become a doctor. Most medical schools require one year of college-level mathematics.

Typically the math required is calculus 1 and 2. There is also a need to learn statistics, but it is not the “hardcore” calculus-based statistics.

Having an understanding of basic mathematics and statistics will help you to understand statistical concepts when dealing with research paper conclusions.

If you are bad at maths you can overcome this hurdle by practising formulas and concepts until you have a firm understanding.

The good news there is plenty of free content online.

Do Doctors require good high school grades?

Yes, even if your high school grades were poor, you can become a Doctor. Grades in high school are unimportant. However, high college grades are required for admission to medical school.

If your grades at high school were bad, you will need to adjust your approach to studying if you want to become a doctor.

There is a huge amount of studying required to become a doctor.

Noting that college is much harder than high school, medical school is much harder than college.

Final Thoughts

To become a Doctor you do require a high level of intelligence.

You also need to be committed to spending 8-12 years studying and memorizing a huge amount of information.

The need to study continues once you become a Doctor keeping up with updates in the medical field.

If there are subjects that you are not strong in, preventing you from fulfilling your dreams of becoming a Doctor you can take additional studies to improve and lift your understanding.