What purpose do the prereqs REALLY serve?

[MuscleHead]

This question mainly goes out to students in PT school, practicing PT's, or anyone who thinks they have a good answer.

I'm beginning PT school in the fall. After a couple years of working in the "real world" after college, I decided i was heading down a dead end path, and ultimately decided i wanted to pursue a career in physical therapy. It took me almost 2 years to complete all of the prereqs (currently finishing chem II). I did quite well in them, but honestly, I just worked through most of the classes to get the grade, without really caring whether I learned anything.

My question is, is the material I learned in the prereqs going to be important when I begin PT school? Will the knowledge derived from those courses serve as a foundation from which to build on it PT school? Or are these courses (i guess with the exception of anatomy and phys) simply there to weed out students who arent exactly good in science? Am i going to really need to remember stuff from physics chem and bio? Or does ALL of the learning really begin on day 1 in PT school?


What do you guys think?

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[eder10986]

Several (Like AP and psychology (developmental)) are directly correlated, even statistics - for research purposes. However, I strongly feel that the rest are simply there to challenge us students, enhance our knowledge greatly, but in all honesty, I feel chem and physics are implemented to weed out the weak or those who simply dont want it as bad as the rest.....

 

[MinnDasota]

Several (Like AP and psychology (developmental)) are directly correlated, even statistics - for research purposes. However, I strongly feel that the rest are simply there to challenge us students, enhance our knowledge greatly, but in all honesty, I feel chem and physics are implemented to weed out the weak or those who simply dont want it as bad as the rest.....

Agreed. And learning does begin on day 1...

 

[MJHUSKERS]

What about Kinematics and Kinetics from physics? That has to be used in kinesiology courses or biomechanic courses right?

 

[eder10986]

They absolutely do! There's several things we learn in classes like chemistry, statistics, psychology, sociology that we will utilize in the field of physical therapy, however, MuscleHead asked what REALLY are the purposes of said classes and I answered from my perspective. Although I havent liked many pre reqs, I have definitely learned to appreciate the knowledge they have offered me. But I really think that many of them, especially physics and chem are to weed out those who are academically weak and those who PT schools may not want to risk investing their time on interviewing when they may offer the spot to someone who is academically stronger and will represent the program better

 

[MuscleHead]

hypothetically....say you didnt take the prereqs but got into PT school and decided to go....would you be screwed?

 

[vederosa]

hypothetically....say you didnt take the prereqs but got into PT school and decided to go....would you be screwed?

I think you'd be screwed by not taking hard classes, because those "hard sciences" teach you how to sit down and study and get the job done. Grad school is the next level up, and if you don' t have good study skills, you will have a difficult time keeping up with the pace. You will have to study every day, as opposed to undergrad where you can cram the night before and figure it out.

 

[MuscleHead]

I think you'd be screwed by not taking hard classes, because those "hard sciences" teach you how to sit down and study and get the job done. Grad school is the next level up, and if you don' t have good study skills, you will have a difficult time keeping up with the pace. You will have to study every day, as opposed to undergrad where you can cram the night before and figure it out.

no i get that. im talking strictly knowledge here. is the knowledge derived from these going to be important?

im really starting to think the answer is no

 

[MotionDoc]

no i get that. im talking strictly knowledge here. is the knowledge derived from these going to be important?

im really starting to think the answer is no

It is...

You are joining an allied health profession, and are expected to understand basic science. With that said, from my experience, individuals with science backgrounds fair better in PT school than those not...whether they are better PTs because of it is the real question.

 

[jesspt]

I agree with Motion. Those few classmates of mine who weren't science majors struggled mightily throughout PT school. And, those students whose preparation in undergraduate physics wasn't very good really had a hard time with our bio-mechanics and applied anatomy classes.

Additionally, I would say that undergraduate statistics is very important, and would argue that a good grasp of statistics is crucial in order to be able to apply evidence based practice once you become a clinician.