How Long Does It Take to be a Doctor in the Philippines?

How many years does it really take to be a doctor? As soon as you've finished your senior high, here's what happens:

1. 4-5 years of pre-med
I wrote 4-5 because there are courses that take 5 years to finish, like architecture and dentistry. After graduating, you can decide if you'd want to start working or if you want to pursue your dream to become a doctor. If you choose to become a doctor, you have to take the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT).

NMAT FAQs | NMAT Tips

2. 4 years in med school
The first 3 years are spent in the classroom. The last year is known as clerkship where you'll be spending a year rotating in different hospital departments.
After you've completed these four years, you can finally graduate but you're not a doctor yet.

3. 1 year internship
After graduation, you'll have your internship. It also involves spending time and working in the hospital under supervision. This part is required.

4. 6 months review
After your internship, you'll have to take the physician licensure examination. You're given a few months to half a year to review for this. Upon passing, you can finally call yourself a doctor and start working as a general practitioner. General practitioners usually work in clinics.
You can stop here, or like what most do, further your career.

5. 3-6 years residency
The number of years you'll spend during residency depends on the specialization you want.
3 years: anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, ophthalmology, pediatrics, rehabilitation medicine
4 years: ENT-HNS, ObGyne, orthopedics, pathology, psychiatry, radiology
5 years: surgery

Medical residents are given around PHP 15,000 - 50,000 monthly, depending on where they are training.

6. Certifying exam
Yet another exam to know if you are worthy. After passing the exam, you can choose to stop here or keep going further.

7. 2-4 years fellowship
This one's for those who want to become a cardiologist, endocrinologist, gastroenterologist, geriatrician, oncologist, hematologist, nephrologist, pulmonologist, or rheumatologist.

8. Exam, again

Medical Schools in the Philippines: Tuition Fees

Angeles University Foundation
As of 2018 = P123,000

Ateneo de Manila University
As of SY 2017-2018 = P140,564.40

Far Eastern University - Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation
As of 2018:
1st year = 132,000
3rd year = 140,000

Mindanao State University
Without miscellaneous fees = P12,000

Our Lady of Fatima:
As of SY 2017-2018:
1st year = P106,909
2nd year = P111,376
3rd year = 110,727

Saint Luke's College of Medicine
As of SY 2018-2019, 2nd semester
1st year = 139,095.62
2nd year = 140,575.62
3rd year = 140,475.62
4th year = 285,251.24
5th year = 299,513.80

Xavier University
As of 2019, for 1st years = P167,193

To be continued...

Medical Schools in the Philippines: NMAT Cut-Offs

This post is a list of several medical schools in the Philippines and their corresponding NMAT cut-offs.

Ateneo de Manila University: 90
Cebu Doctors' University: 60
Cebu Institute of Medicine: 70 (90 for foreign students)
De La Salle: 80
Emilio Aguinaldo College: 40
Far Eastern University - Dr. Nicanor Reyes Medical Foundation: 40
Metropolitan Medical Center: 40
Mindanao State University: 45
Our Lady of Fatima: 40
Pamantasang Lungsod ng Maynila: 45
Saint Louis University: 40
Saint Paul University Philippines: 40
San Beda University: 55
Silliman University: 60
University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (UERMMMC): 75
University of the Philippines Manila: 90
University of Santo Tomas: 85
West Visayas State University: 60
Xavier University: 60

Medical School FAQs

What courses are accepted for med school?

Just as long as you have a bachelor's degree in sciences or arts, you can apply for med school. So graduates of pharmacy, IT, commerce, etc. can apply for med school.

However, the most common pre-med courses are biology, nursing, medical technology, and even pharmacy. There are different pros for each of these pre-med courses.

Those who graduated from non-medical field courses can be at a disadvantage since they haven't been exposed to medical subjects during their pre-med years. However, this does not mean that it is impossible for them to survive med school. They just need to push themselves a little harder to catch up. But has it been done before? Absolutely.

What is the best pre-med course?
As I've said earlier, each course has its own advantage. I'll just give a few of them: the biology course is advantageous when it comes to the NMAT, nursing is helpful when it comes to physiology-related topics and students are exposed to a lot of medical cases, medical technology is helpful when it comes to laboratory-related stuff like bacteriology and parasitology, while pharmacy graduates would be more familiar on the different kinds of drugs.

Choosing The Best Pre-Med Course for You

How many years does it take to be a doctor?
Read this post.

Are there scholarships available? How do I get them?

Yes, there are some universities that offer scholarships like UP, St. Luke's, and Xavier University. You can visit your target school's website to view their offered scholarship grants, if there are. There are different qualifications for different scholarships. Some scholarships are based on your parents' annual income, but most are based on your academic performance during your pre-med years. Scholarships are usually granted to those with a high GWA.

To be continued...