Physics What kind of a career path would a physics graduate have in medicine?

[hagopbul]

Hello all:

I had a debate about physics and medicine.

The topic of that debate is can a physics graduate , enter medicine by studying radiology for few years less than it requires , for normal high school students, for example 2 years

The other topic is about radiology equipment, how much time for a graduate to train and became a specialist in that domain , or it is an electrical engineering one.

Best
H.B.

 

[Choppy]

There are no short cuts I'm afraid.

If you're talking about entering medicine proper (in the North American system), you need to complete an undergraduate degree with a specific set of prerequisite courses. The actual degree itself doesn't matter so long as you have those required courses. (Some schools will allow admission prior to the completion of the degree, but this is rare, even for high-achieving students.) Physics undergraduates tend to do quite well on the medical college admissions test as a group, but by no means is following this path a guarantee to admission to medical school.

Something else you might want to look into is medical physics - the specific application of physics to problems in medicine. This is a professional field, largely (~ 80%) made up of people working in radiation oncology. The route starts with an undergraduate degree in physics, then a graduate degree in medical physics (MSc and/or PhD), and then a two year accredited residency. It's a long path, but a rewarding field. More information can be found in this Insights Article.

 

[Klystron]

Consider the growing field of kinesiology and its close ties to neuroscience, robotics and biomedical sensors.

 

[gleem]

The topic of that debate is can a physics graduate , enter medicine by studying radiology for few years less than it requires , for normal high school students, for example 2 years

Radiology is a medical specialty and serious instruction and experience are only gained in a residency program after receiving an MD degree. Radiologist may continue with residencies into sub specialties e.g., interventional radiology or neuroradiology. Lots of work and lots of reward.

 

[jtbell]

If you're talking about entering medicine proper (in the North American system), you need to complete an undergraduate degree with a specific set of prerequisite courses. [in order to gain admission to a medical school after that]

And of course the situation may be different in other parts of the world.