How many years is Med School, the Internship/Residency? When can a doc expect to begin real work?

Well, it depends where you live.

1. In most places, the Doctor of Medicine degree is four years long.

2. The first year out of medical school is your internship, and during this time, you pick your speciality - surgery, cardiology, etc.

Edit: A lot of places just include the internship in a residency now though, so it's not an extra year.

3. The standard residency for the United States is four years; in Canada it's five. Most countries have similar-length residencies. You may end up doing six-seven years if going into a field that's highly specialised.

4. Eight is the average minimum. Depending on what you do, it might be a couple extra years.

Medical School Internship Residency

1. Medical school is 4 years (assuming you don't fail any classes).

2. Residency is pretty much required if you want to practice medicine. You will need at least 1 year to be licensed by the state, at least 3 years to be certified by the boards and approved by insurance companies.

3. Residency can be anywhere from 3 - 8 years.

4. It will take you at least 7 years from the first day of medical school to practice medicine as an attending.

Its never too late to ask. You should contact a number of medical schools and see what they say. Since you have a degree you may be able to do a shorter pre-med for entry to medical school. Your grades will make a difference but you may do much better a second time . You could consider doing the organic chem at night if you can and keep your existing job . Then decide when you get a good grade in chem .