• Question: what should I study at GCSE to become a pediatrician

    Asked by anon-187708 to Stewart, Miriam, Marton, Laura, David on 8 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Miriam Hogg

      Miriam Hogg answered on 8 Nov 2018:

      A paediatrician is a type of medical doctor, so you would need to do a medical degree and then specialise in paediatrics later.

      So for a medical degree you normally need the basic English Language, Maths and Science. (If they are split into biology, chemistry and physics I would suggest biology and chemistry but physics is always handy) . I don’t think the others matter too much as long as you do well. My school did history of medicine as part of the history GCSE which I enjoyed and may be good if your school has it.

      for A levels (or equivalent) you would want chemistry, with another science or maths.

      If you aren’t not sure which other GCSE’s to choose other than English, Maths and Science your school teachers may have some good advice for you based on the GCSE’s your school has.

    • Photo: David Ho

      David Ho answered on 8 Nov 2018:

      Miriam’s given a great answer already, but another thing that I’ll add is that in order to study medicine, universities normally want to see you’ve had some experience helping people. You don’t have to have done work experience in an actual hospital, but if you do enjoy helping people things like volunteering in an old people’s home, or with special needs people or something like St. John’s Ambulance are all great options. They’re pretty rewarding too!

    • Photo: Stewart Martin-Haugh

      Stewart Martin-Haugh answered on 9 Nov 2018:

      Just to add to the excellent answers – the British Medical Association is the professional body for doctors in the UK, and has a lot of resources about becoming a doctor:
      https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/career/studying-medicine/becoming-a-doctor

Comments