Physician
Physicians, or doctors, diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries and teach people how to improve their health habits. Physicians may specialize in many areas of medicine, and some of these are listed below. Depending on their specialty areas, they diagnose and treat illnesses of children and/or adults through therapy, surgery or medication; teach people how to stay well; con-duct research on diseases and new methods of prevention and treatment; and teach medical students and residents.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Physicians work in clinics, private offices or group practices, Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), hospitals, medical schools, public health departments, government health agencies, research institutes, and the armed forces.

HIGH SCHOOL PREPARATION
General college preparation is recommended: Three courses in math including algebra I, algebra II and geometry, or a higher level math course for which algebra II is a prerequisite; three science courses including one biological science, one physical science and one lab course; four English units and two social studies units, including one in U.S. History; and two years of foreign language.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
Professional Associations To practice as a physician, one must earn a college degree followed by a four-year degree as a Doctor of Medicine (MD) or a Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) from an accredited school and pass an examination for state licensure from the N.C. Board of Medical Examiners as well as a National Medical Licensure Examination. At least one year of post-medical school experience is required, but most graduates of medical and osteopathy schools complete a longer period of specialty training called a residency. Residency training is required for persons entering any specialty, and can take from three to seven or more years. An in-depth examination is required at the end of the residency training in order to become certified by the board of examiners of the specialty. In general, requirements for entering medical school are: six hours of English; eight hours of biology, including vertebrate zoology; sixteen hours of chemistry (inorganic and organic) and eight hours of physics. Some medical schools also require college mathematics and even calculus. Applicants must also take the MCAT, a national examination, no less than one year before applying to start medical school.

AVERAGE STARTING SALARY
$60,000 - $300,000 depending on specialty, experience and geographic location.