Many people aspire to a career in medicine but are put off by the long years of training that they have to undertake in order to become a qualified doctor or nurse. However, although it can take up to eight years to become a registered doctor and up to four years to become a qualified nurse, your world is your oyster once you are qualified as it is such a worthwhile area to work in.
There are so many different fields within medicine and most people choose to specialise in one field or other. Apart from the general Practitioners, you have several areas that a doctor can work in such as Psychiatry, Podiatry, a Surgeon or a Psychologist.
You also have the related – but quite different - fields such as a dentist or a vet, so you could end up studying a laser dentistry guide or the insides of a horse! So one of the major decisions that you have to make is whether you wish to work with animals or humans and which part of the body or mind!
Nursing too is very varied, as you can find openings in everything from general hospital work, to community nursing, midwifery or caring for the elderly.
If you are really interested in a career in medicine it pays to think long and hard about which type would be best suited to you.