Career Advice & News Center

Part of the territory that comes with becoming a physician is the multitude of training programs throughout the career in addition to the countless years of medical school that are needed to become certified. Individuals might want to be extremely dedicated to the profession before they decide to go through with all of the education requirements, as they can be costly. According to Aspiringdocs.com, medical school starts at $22,199 a year for in-state students attending public universities, which does not include other expenses that can set a person back at least $18,000 a year.

As many facilities are experiencing budget crises, more hospitals are beginning to offer their training tutorials through online education as opposed to paying travel expenses for attending lectures. A study published in the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions reveals that approximately 50 percent of physicians will be receiving their training through online tutorials by 2016.

"These findings are very provocative," stated Dr. John Harris Jr., president of Medical Directions, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Arizona and the study's lead author. "We know that lots of health professionals are using the Internet for ongoing education. We also know that the tried and true approaches, such as live meetings, are still quite popular. But these analyses, which are based on 11 years of data, show that the growth rate for online continuing medical education (CME) is well-established and exponential."

Part of the reason for this increase is the abundance of online course offerings. As virtual learning continues to become an integral part of the education system, more schools and companies are utilizing the programs to further their students' potential.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a career as a physician can take up to 16 years to attain because of undergraduate programs, medical school and internship residency.