Within the medical world, cardiology is a subspecialty that focuses on diseases of the heart and circulatory system. The need for cardiologists is growing since cardiovascular disorders are becoming more prevalent worldwide. You may decide if being a cardiologist is the correct career choice for you by understanding the career path of a cardiologist. In this article, we discuss How To Become A Cardiologist, explore their skills and salary and answer some common questions about this profession. We shall also cover subtopics like; How many years to become a cardiologist, How to become a cardiologist after 12th, How to become a Cardiologist in USA , What subjects are needed to become a Cardiologist, How to become a Cardiologist without MBBS, How many years does it take to become a Cardiologist?
If you are not sure how to become a cardiologist, you can follow these steps:
Get an MBBS degree.
Obtaining a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, or MBBS degree is the initial requirement for becoming a cardiologist. To get admitted to an MBBS degree program, candidates must take a pre-medical entrance exam, such as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) or the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) exam. If you pass the test, you may finish your 5.5-year degree with a required one-year rotating internship at hospitals or health facilities to become a licensed medical professional or doctor.
Enroll in a PG course.
You may enroll in a PG (postgraduate) study leading to a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in general medicine after you have earned your MBBS. This three-year postgraduate program offers a variety of specializations that students may choose from and pursue in accordance with their career objectives. The MD program prepares students to research, prevent, identify, and manage complicated illnesses. The majority of colleges have a straightforward admissions procedure, however certain medical institutions choose qualified applicants by holding entrance exams.
Get a DM in cardiology.
Enrolling in a three-year super-speciality Doctor of Medicine (DM) program in cardiology is the next step to becoming a cardiologist. By passing the entrance tests held by medical organizations like AIIMS, students may enroll in this programme. You must study a variety of specialized topics, such as cardiac catheterization, pulmonary hypertension, and general anesthesia, to get a DM in cardiology.
Begin practicing
You may work as a cardiologist at medical facilities and hospitals after you have received your DM in cardiology. There are two methods to work as a cardiologist and acquire relevant experience and abilities. You may either start looking for employment on well-known job platforms or get a placement at your institution. If you wish to work for yourself, you may open a clinic or health centre where you can treat people with heart-related illnesses or other conditions.
How many years to become a cardiologist
Becoming a Cardiologist takes a lot of time, energy, and effort. Therefore, you have to prepare for it mentally. It requires, at minimum, 13 years of studying and training after high school, and 10 years after undergrad.
After completing the PG degree holders’ degree, they have to appear for a super-specialized advanced course of DM in Cardiology. DM here means Doctorate of Medicine. The course requires 3 years of studying before the candidate finally becomes a Cardiologist doctor/ Physician.
To give you the greatest chance of success, let’s dissect this step-by-step.
Step by Step Guide on becoming a Cardiologist in USA
While studying cardiology, education is crucial, just as with other medical specialty. In order to proceed, you must first finish your undergraduate studies and get a bachelor’s degree.
Get a Bachelor’s Degree
Typically, it takes four years to get a bachelor’s degree, and those four years are well worth it. You’ll have a priceless chance to establish the groundwork for your career. Develop your profile throughout this period, and do all you can to be ready for the future.
To advance your knowledge and abilities and improve your prospects of admission to medical school, you must do well in your classes. The competition for medical schools is intense. To increase your chances of being admitted to medical school, you must attain academic achievement and a high GPA.
You must continue your studies in medical school after receiving your bachelor’s degree. You must pass the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in order to qualify for it.
Pass the Medical College Admission Test
Almost all medical schools need the (MCAT) as a requirement for admission. The exam consists solely of multiple-choice questions, and the results are determined by how many of the answers are accurate. Typically, MCAT test results must be fewer than three years old in order to be accepted for medical school admissions.
Are you curious about the MCAT’s content? The following four major subjects are covered in the test:
The Biochemical and Biological Basis of Life Systems
Biological System Foundations: Chemical and Physical
Foundations of Behaviour: Psychological, Social, and Biological Aspects
Critical Thinking and Reasoning Capabilities
The MCAT is a difficult exam that requires adequate preparation. Getting a good score makes you a more attractive candidate.
Get a medical school degree
To become a cardiologist, you need to attend medical school, which typically takes an additional four years after earning your bachelor’s degree. The majority of your training in cardiology will start here.
The first two years of a conventional medical school are exclusively classroom-based. You’ll enroll in advanced courses in medicine and health, including:
Anatomy
Physiology
Biochemistry
Pathology
Pharmacology
Also, you will gain knowledge of medical vocabulary, how to make wise medical judgments, and how to carry out a number of routine tasks including talking to patients, looking over their medical history, and running diagnostic tests.
Throughout your last two years, you’ll participate in guided training in a real hospital. Here, you’ll put everything you’ve studied into practice and get practical experience. In a rotation of several medical specialties, including internal medicine, obstetrics, and gynaecology, you will take part.
Upon completion, you’ll get your Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree (or an equivalent). Yet because residency will be your next step, you should pass the USMLE test and apply for one before you graduate.
Pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination
It is extremely encouraged that you pass the United States Medical Licensing Examination while attending medical school (USMLE). In order to get licensed to practice medicine in the United States, you must pass three exams, each of which must be taken at a separate time during medical school.
USMLE STEP ONE
After your second year, you typically take Step 1 of the USMLE. Seven 60-minute chunks make up the eight-hour long total testing period. While each block will include a varied number of questions, it will never contain more than 40.
Your awareness and capacity to apply fundamental scientific principles to medical procedures are tested in Step 1. To function successfully, you must have a firm grounding in contemporary medical practices and academically educated medical and scientific ideas.
USMLE STEP TWO
Typically, Step 2 is taken in the last year of medical school, just before graduation. It is broken up into eight separate 60-minute segments and lasts nine hours. Similar to Step 1, each block has a variable number of questions but never more than 40.
Step 2 tests your ability to offer supervised patient care while emphasizing disease prevention and health improvement. It assesses your ability to use your medical knowledge, abilities, and grasp of fundamental clinical ideas and procedures. Several various bodily systems, jobs, and abilities for doctors are covered in Step 2’s material.
USMLE STEP THREE
The last component of the USMLE test is Step 3. To be eligible for Step 3, you must possess an MD, pass Steps 1 and 2, and pass Step 3. Step 3 takes two days to complete and is lengthier than the first two; it includes multiple-choice questions and computer-based simulations.
The majority of Step 3 is how well you can use the clinical principles and techniques, medical knowledge, and medical knowledge necessary for the unsupervised practice of medicine. You must provide medical treatment responsibly and autonomously in a real-world context in order to do well in this section.
If you complete this last stage, you may apply for the license required to practice medicine independently.
Take a residency in Cardiology
Your residency as a cardiologist must be completed after medical school. To allow recent medical school graduates to obtain experience in their chosen speciality, a residency is basically postgraduate-supervised training.
A three-year internal medicine residency program is required for potential cardiologists. You’ll work in a variety of internal medicine specialities, including gastrointestinal, pulmonary medicine, and cancer. Throughout your residency, you’ll master cardiac methods like:
How to talk to and get ready for patients
Catheterization of the heart
Hemodynamic research
Pressure tests
Echocardiograms
Fluorescence imaging and Radiography
You will develop your experience, abilities, knowledge, portfolio, and contacts throughout your residency, all of which will be crucial in the future.
Enroll into a Fellowship Program
The next step is to enroll in a cardiac fellowship program after finishing your residency. It takes an additional three years to complete this more sophisticated, hands-on training, which has a strong emphasis on cardiology. Hold on, you’ve nearly made it!
As part of a cardiology fellowship program, you’ll interact alongside doctors and get practical instruction in various ideas, habits, and techniques. Some of these techniques consist of:
Catheterization of the heart
Clinical study
Echocardiography
Intervention
Also, you will discover how to identify, manage, and prevent a number of heart problems, including:
Heart attack
Heart problems
Arrhythmia
Hypertension/Hypotension
Cardiovascular disease
Heart valve disease
The most crucial component of your fellowship program may be your training to become a cardiologist. To develop a thorough grasp of cardiology, you’ll draw on your prior general education and knowledge. You need to have acquired all the knowledge required to become a cardiologist by the conclusion of your fellowship
Before you start your eagerly anticipated profession, there are still a few things you need to complete. So don’t worry, they won’t be too challenging.
Get a License
Several medical organizations, such as the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), state that you need to have a license in order to practice medicine in the US unsupervised.
Thankfully, you must pass the USMLE while you are in medical school if you want to get a license. Yet, even after you’ve graduated, you’re still qualified to sit for and pass this test. If you are a student or alumnus of an MD program at a medical school in the United States or Canada, you are qualified to take the test.
Nevertheless, you are no longer qualified to take the USMLE if you were expelled from medical school or withdrew.
Getting certified
Cardiologists must pass an ABIM test to get certified after finishing their education. Your knowledge of cardiology and accepted standards of practice, methods, and procedures will be tested on this exam.
The exam consists of two parts: a multiple-choice section and imaging and ECG tests. Your knowledge, ability to recognize various cardiovascular conditions, diagnostic reasoning, and judgment are all tested in the multiple-choice portion. The majority of these questions provide plausible patient-related situations.
When it comes to the ECG and imaging studies component, you’ll need to be able to evaluate, analyze, and make judgments based on the findings. Such information and content includes:
Electrocardiograms
Electrocardiograms intracardiac
Recordings of the heartbeat
X-rays of the chest
You have completed all required study and training after you have been certified, obtained your license, and earned your PhD degree. You can now begin working as a cardiologist!
What subjects are needed to become a Cardiologist
You must first finish your medical education at a university in order to become a cardiologist. Anybody who is 17 years of age or older who has finished Year 12 with the necessary preparatory subjects, including one or more of the following topics: Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics, is eligible to enroll in a medical program.
How to become a Cardiologist without MBBS
No you cannot become a cardiologist without doing MBBS. First candidate must complete the MBBS course. After successful completion of MBBS course, candidate should select the post graduation department as per their choice of field and proceed accordingly.
How many years does it take to become a Cardiologist?
It takes about 14 years from start to finish to become a cardiologist from the time you enter an undergraduate program.
FAQs on How to become a Cardiologist
At What Age Do You Become a Cardiologist?
Assuming you enrolled in college right after high school with no gap years, you can expect to be in your early 30s when you become a cardiologist.
How Long Is a Cardiology Residency?
You must complete a three-year internal medicine residency to become a cardiologist, plus a fellowship program.
What Is the Career Outlook of Cardiologists?
The U.S. Department of Labor Statistics projects that during the next ten years, total employment for doctors and surgeons will increase by 3%. On average, there are expected to be 22,700 new opportunities for doctors and surgeons per year. Cardiologists are included among the “physicians and surgeons” in this.
What Are the Best Medical Schools for Cardiology?
According to U.S. News and World Report, medical schools that offer the best programs in Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems include:
Harvard Medical School
Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, of Columbia University
Duke University School of Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Stanford Medicine, of Stanford University
Conclusion
The road to becoming a cardiologist is certainly a long and rigorous one. However, if cardiology is something that your heart truly yearns for, and you have the necessary work ethic and grit, you’ll be heavily rewarded with an extremely respected profession. Best wishes on achieving your goals!
In this article “How To Become A Cardiologist,” we covered the following subtopics: How many years to become a cardiologist, How to become a cardiologist after 12th, How to become a Cardiologist in USA , What subjects are needed to become a Cardiologist, How to become a Cardiologist without MBBS, How many years does it take to become a Cardiologist?