Hey Kyuuei,
As you probably know already, I'm in pharmacology... which is sort of one of the stepping stone BSc majors people pick to head into med school. Although you don't need to be in any specific program to get it as long as you've completed the pre-req courses. I'm in Canada though and haven't looked at schools in the state, so the course requirements are likely slightly different... but not by much.
You need the following
1st year Biology, Chemistry, English (2 terms each)
Calculus I, II, III (1st year + multivariable)
Intro Organic Chem
Intro Biochem
That's the basics... It's also a good idea to take intro courses on human physiology and microbiology because 1st year med will be a "review" of all of that compacted together.
Oh and you also need a minimum of 90 credits (aka have completed courses for 3rd year standing before entering med school)
If you look at websites for the individual schools, they'll tell you exactly what you need.
Volunteering is important. Varied type of volunteering + the hours.
Even more important is your interview. Your grades etc is only the first screen to weed out 2/3rd of the field. After that it's strictly based on your performance at that hour or so long interview... Funny enough, nobody really knows how they did on it. Some schools here in Canada use standardized questions... but I've heard most schools in the state don't. So you just "chat". The final outcome seems like the luck of a draw.
MCAT... way back I've taken the paper version which was a horrendous 7(?) hour ordeal... but now it's electronic so it's been cut down to 4(?) hours?
They'll be testing you on Verbal (reading comprehension), Bio (for the most part basic high school Biology class knowledge on cells and human body plus some basic chemistry) and Physical Science (just basic high school physics). Of course there's the essay writing portion. Don't get fancy with your writing... stick to the 5 paragraph format.
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Anesthesiology
That's a specialty where you can enter AFTER getting your MD for family practice. Entrance into specialities are tough... But it's a 5-year residency program. The hardest part is the month long examination period at the end of it all. The most difficult is the verbal defense section where the panel will grill you with questions to the point where you answer "I don't know" to stuff or ramble off some incorrect answers. I've heard places in the states (of which Texas is one), working anesthesiologist don't need to be "board certified" but only "board eligible"...
My supervisor is an anesthesiologist... actually the research group I'm under is focused on anesthesia and analgesia...
Agree with Usehername's assessment. There's a lot of monitoring and observing patients, routine work to get a patient ready for surgery, monitor vitals during surgery and handling recovery/pain management afterwards. Stuff starts flying when the patient experiences problems (e.g. massive bleeding, plunge in blood pressure, adverse drug reactions etc)