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WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A DOCTOR?

Becoming a doctor requires a serious educational commitment. It takes from twelve to sixteen years to complete your education, including six years of medical school, a year of housemanship, a year for National youth Service Corp and from four to eight years of residency training in a desired specialty. Doctors also are required to maintain licensure and certification and to undergo continuing education in order to keep up with advancements in the field.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENT

Be a science student, excellence in science courses (Chemistry, Biology and Physics).
In university, you'll definitely be taking a lot of science classes in your first year so it's important to have a strong foundation in these subjects by the time you enter the university. Doing so will likely allow you to take more advanced science classes in university and get higher grades to proceed to the medical college in your 200level.
Also, these three subjects are required when you write UTME so getting a firm foundation on them early on will help you when it comes time to study and write UTME. Keep your notes from these classes, as well as any finals or comprehensive exams you took in them. They may come in handy later on if you need to quickly review basic information on a subject.
Also, pay particular attention during labs.It can be tempting to zone out and let your lab partners take over every now and then, but lab work is something you'll be doing throughout medical school (and sometimes beyond), so it's critical that you understand how to set up, run, and analyze an experiment
Be good in Mathematics and Further mathematics. You will be taking multiple math classes as a medical student in your first year, and as your science classes become more advanced, they'll begin to incorporate more high-level math as well. Med students often have rigorous course schedules in their first year, so you don't want to fall behind or get overwhelmed because your math skills aren't where they should be.
Other Subjects. Even though math and science are the two most important subjects to focus on to prepare yourself for medical school, you shouldn't let your other classes suffer. Aim for solid, if not spectacular grades across the board in your other subjects. Universities add up your SSCE performance and UTME score to secure a spot on the admission list. Aim for not just good grades but excellence grades in your WAEC and UTME, that give you an extra edge and increases your chances of admission.
English Language. In particular, you should also work to do well in your English classes. Strong writing and communication skills are important for both secondary school and medical school, and all universities have an English requirement for their applicants. So, doing well in your high school English classes can only benefit you down the road. English is also a required subject when writing UTME.

Being an Exceptional Student

For all of your subjects, particularly your math and science subjects make sure you talk to your teacher if there is a concept you are struggling with. High school classes are usually much smaller than university classes, and you can use that additional one-on-one time to ask for help and clarification. This can be much more difficult to do in university because courses generally move at a faster pace, teachers are working with more students, and you're often expected to come in with sufficient background knowledge. In order to do your best in your first Year University and classes and beyond, you want to minimize all the content gaps you have. So, if you don't understand a particular chemistry lab or are baffled by your physics homework, speak up! It'll help you be more successful when you're a pre-med student.

Additionally, in your classes you should work to be a model student, not just through your grades but through the way you act as well. Make an effort to always complete work on time, encourage cooperation and teamwork when working in a group, and offer help when a teacher or classmate needs it. Developing such traits will help you adapt quickly and survive the university voluminous work and stressful environment. Also boost your performance in your course of studying medicine. Acting in a responsible, mature, and helpful way in high school will make it an easy pattern to follow by the time you start university.

Using Your Extracurricular to Prepare for Medical School

Your extracurricular are also an important way to prepare for pre-med in college. Getting involved in extracurricular that relate to medicine, or even just working directly with people, can help you decide if medicine is really the best choice for you. The best extracurricular to get involved in if you want to prepare for pre-med is volunteering at a hospital. This is because, even though you won't be personally performing any medical work, it'll give you the best idea of what being a doctor is like because you'll be in a hospital, be working with patients, and be able to learn more about medicine by observing doctors and other medical professionals.

During your summer break, visit a clinic or a hospital; apply to be a volunteer, acclimatize your mind for the job. Watch the doctors do their work, get insight into the career path you have chosen. Having such experience will keep you enthused to become a doctor or an eye opener to whether medicine is the best choice so you can quickly redirect.

Attend medical programs recommended for secondary school students. Have a career mentor, ask questions, and learn as much as you can. Interview medical students and get acquainted with the basic knowledge of what medicine entails.

CHOOSING UNIVERSITY

Choose a university with medical accreditation, an esteemed teaching hospital and updated modern facilities. The better the quality of your knowledge and exposure the more trained and exceptional you become as a doctor. Do not just aim to be a doctor but the best doctor you can be.

WAEC REQUIREMENT

English Language
Mathematics
Physics
Biology
Chemistry
And any other subjects you registered to write.

(You need at least credits in these subjects, but for a greater chance of admission, aim for As and Bs)

UTME REQUIREMENT

English Language
Biology
Chemistry
And physics

(Aim for at least 250 as your UTME score)

CHARACTER TRAITS

Study Habit

Study habits that you establish and maintain throughout your high school directly affect how well you do in medical school. High-school students who recognize that they want to pursue a career in medicine should begin incorporating medical-school-level study habits as soon as possible to prepare themselves for the demands of the career. The acknowledgment of and preparation for the amount of studying that medical school demands can help students meet their goals while pursuing a health career.

Academic excellence: Intelligent, hardworking with excellent scores.
Altruism: Show concern for the welfare of others even at a risk or cost to oneself.
Written and verbal communication: Have a six sense of people's intention and situation, quick to understand people and quick to respond. Be aware of a situation and the environment and can act immediately on instinct or prior knowledge.
Desire to learn: Be a reader, intuitive for knowledge.
Integrity and ethics: Medicine has its own ethics, you should be able to uphold laws given to us even at your inconvenience.
Leadership: Be in control and act fast, compel people to act and be a team leader.
Reliability and dependability.
Resilience and adaptability.
Social/interpersonal skills and teamwork.

By Oreoluwa Aderinmola