What is the route to becoming a doctor or a physician in US/Canada?

[flyingpig]

No I am not becoming a doctor, I am just curious. Whati s the route because at a physics curriculum talk, the prof talked about having a BS in Physics helps the "MCAT"

I thought you have to have a degree in Biochemistry to apply to med school (is it like 4 years and then another 2yrs as an interin? That's how it was for that guy from Scrubs)

Shed some light thank you?

 

[eri]

In the US, you can major in anything and apply to med school as long as you take the premed classes - 2 semesters of bio, 4 semesters of chem (organic and inorganic), 2 semesters of physics, math through calculus, and English. Physics majors tend to score higher on the MCAT than most other majors, but any major is fine. After the bachelors, it's 4 years of med school, followed by 3-5 years of residency - one year of internship, two more for internal medicine/GP/pediatrics (like JD on scrubs) and four more for surgical residencies (like Turk).

 

[flyingpig]

So their BS in Physics will take 6 years? "2 sem of bio, 4 sem of chem, ..."

 

[Number Nine]

So their BS in Physics will take 6 years? "2 sem of bio, 4 sem of chem, ..."

Most people would just take the courses at same time as the courses required for their major. There's no need to spend an extra 2 years.

 

[Jokerhelper]

So their BS in Physics will take 6 years? "2 sem of bio, 4 sem of chem, ..."

I'm pretty sure the other poster meant semester courses, not actual entire semesters.

But the requirements certainly vary from school to school. In fact, my school's program doesn't require any subjects, though it recommends helpful subjects without taking them into consideration for admission.
Also, I know that many if not most MD schools here in Canada actually only require 2 years of undergrad, but competition is so high that a degree has become the de-facto minimum requirement. It's kinda sad that students have to take 2 extra years just because of high competition when we always seem to be suffering from a chronic shortage of doctors.