Why don't med schools require psychology and sociology?

[Charizard]

Hey everyone,

I'm an undergraduate Indiana resident going to school in-state. This means that, for IU Med School, I am required to take psychology and sociology. But I realized that IU is the only med school (except for maybe a few others) that requires these two classes. I understand that these classes are both very helpful and their material will be on the MCAT, but why don't other med schools require them? Does anyone have any links to resources about the rationale behind the medical school requirements?

For example, at the bottom of Harvard's med school admissions requirement page (http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying/requirements-admission), there is a link to this journal article (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dcal/documents/TSS_NEJM_reading). They explain that they want students to learn concepts form those fields without overburdening them with extra requirements.

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

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[Boolean]

Because the new MCAT hasn't even been released yet and these sections have only recently been added to topics that premeds should focus on, not to mention psych was already a prereq.

 

[WillburCobb]

Hey everyone,

I'm an undergraduate Indiana resident going to school in-state. This means that, for IU Med School, I am required to take psychology and sociology. But I realized that IU is the only med school (except for maybe a few others) that requires these two classes. I understand that these classes are both very helpful and their material will be on the MCAT, but why don't other med schools require them? Does anyone have any links to resources about the rationale behind the medical school requirements?

For example, at the bottom of Harvard's med school admissions requirement page (http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying/requirements-admission), there is a link to this journal article (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dcal/documents/TSS_NEJM_reading). They explain that they want students to learn concepts form those fields without overburdening them with extra requirements.

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

You should do some more research. A considerable amount of med schools require at least 1 - 2 semesters of psych/soc - and this was common prior to the new MCAT.

 

[Charizard]

You should do some more research. A considerable amount of med schools require at least 1 - 2 semesters of psych/soc - and this was common prior to the new MCAT.

Which ones? I know a lot require humanities but which ones specifically require one semester of psych and one semester of sociology?

 

[WillburCobb]

Which ones? I know a lot require humanities but which ones specifically require one semester of psych and one semester of sociology?

Google and the MSAR are your friends.

 

[WillburCobb]

I wouldn't say it's common. I'm pretty sure only UI, Nevada, Brown, PSU, and WVU do and the other 136 don't.

I suggest following the advice from my post you quoted...

 

[Lamel]

A decent amount require it, and a lot recommend it, along with other social sciences and humanities courses.

 

[ithd]

I suggest following the advice from my post you quoted...

You should really follow your own advice...

 

[WillburCobb]

You should really follow your own advice...

I did when I was applying. It's more than just a few.

 

[WillburCobb]

It really isn't, unless you're counting DO schools. I listed the only 5 MD schools that I've seem that are listed as having psych/soc/behavioral science requirements on the MSAR. If you know of others link them.

I'm including DO schools. Regarding MD schools though, off the top of my head OSHU, Iowa, and UND require behavioral sciences as well. A number of schools require humanities courses and recommend social science courses to fulfill this requirement.

 

[WillburCobb]

Of those three only one requires psychology. None require sociology. This whole thread is about the specific requirement for those two classes, not for general humanities which can be anything from english to woman studies

I initially stated psych/soc not psych AND soc. I also listed schools off the top of my head from when I was researching schools 2 years ago. I also stated that I was including DO schools (and I'm not sure why their requirements are null in this discussion) and that a number of schools have humanities requirements which they recommend be filled by social science courses.

 

[Flashfan]

I have no doubt that more will adjust their requirements to include sociology as well. OP just happens to live in a state where both the state school and the DO school changed their requirements for THIS year. Both schools did state that they would review courses individually this year, but they expect their requirements to match the MCAT prep.

 

[Law2Doc]

There's really no good reason for any of this to be prereqs -- you need none of this as foundation in med school. A better argument could be made for a foreign language or business class. That being said, there is value to med schools forcing people to take various similar non-science classes for comparison purposes -- it would be nice to know that the guy who aces physics could also ace something outside of his wheelhouse. And of course if it's on the new MCAT in some substantial way beyond the point you could learn from a short review book on your own (doubtful), I suppose you might want it under your belt.

 

[CrimsonKing]

Agree with @Law2Doc above. While it's possible that upper level psych or sociology coursework might enrich someone's medical school experience (though I'm still doubtful of this), intro psych and intro socio are utterly worthless in the practice of medicine.

Personally I am a huge fan of humanities, but the two courses being discussed in this thread (the INTRO versions) are a waste of time. I think that schools that just require X amount of humanities credits to show a more wide range of learning experiences have the right idea, while those who require specific humanities courses are foolish. There is a reason that no top school requires psych or sociology.

 

[DermViser]

Hey everyone,

I'm an undergraduate Indiana resident going to school in-state. This means that, for IU Med School, I am required to take psychology and sociology. But I realized that IU is the only med school (except for maybe a few others) that requires these two classes. I understand that these classes are both very helpful and their material will be on the MCAT, but why don't other med schools require them? Does anyone have any links to resources about the rationale behind the medical school requirements?

For example, at the bottom of Harvard's med school admissions requirement page (http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying/requirements-admission), there is a link to this journal article (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~dcal/documents/TSS_NEJM_reading). They explain that they want students to learn concepts form those fields without overburdening them with extra requirements.

Does anyone have any other thoughts?

Most good universities (not just Ivies) require Psych and Sociology to graduate.

 

[litotes]

Most good universities (not just Ivies) require Psych and Sociology to graduate.

umm really? are you sure? I go to an Ivy and neither psych nor soc are required at all...

to answer the OP's question, it's because these classes aren't really informative to the medical school experience. I'm gonna take intro psych since it's now the 2nd most tested subject on the MCAT (bleh), but I'll be damned if I'm gonna waste one of my yale course credits on intro sociology

 

[DermViser]

umm really? are you sure? I go to an Ivy and neither psych nor soc are required at all...

to answer the OP's question, it's because these classes aren't really informative to the medical school experience. I'm gonna take intro psych since it's now the 2nd most tested subject on the MCAT (bleh), but I'll be damned if I'm gonna waste one of my yale course credits on intro sociology

Usually it falls under General Education requirements along with Freshman English, Sophomore English, etc.. That being said it will likely become a requirement for all schools since it's now necessary for the MCAT (still utterly useless for medical school).

 

[Charizard]

Agree with @Law2Doc above. While it's possible that upper level psych or sociology coursework might enrich someone's medical school experience (though I'm still doubtful of this), intro psych and intro socio are utterly worthless in the practice of medicine.

Personally I am a huge fan of humanities, but the two courses being discussed in this thread (the INTRO versions) are a waste of time. I think that schools that just require X amount of humanities credits to show a more wide range of learning experiences have the right idea, while those who require specific humanities courses are foolish. There is a reason that no top school requires psych or sociology.

This is what I was thinking. I know that those subjects are valuable to people, but I also know that I'm going to be extremely bored and banging my head against the wall in frustration as I take the intro to psych and intro to sociology classes. I'm actually considering not taking those two courses and not applying to IU med school, but I feel like that wouldn't be a smart idea since I wouldn't be applying anywhere in-state. I really want to go to med school out-of-state and I hate the idea of taking those mind-numbing classes just for the application to ONE med school.

What would you recommend?

I am taking plenty of humanities courses (one of my majors is philosophy) so I think I would be prepared in the humanities.

 

[Law2Doc]

This is what I was thinking. I know that those subjects are valuable to people, but I also know that I'm going to be extremely bored and banging my head against the wall in frustration as I take the intro to psych and intro to sociology classes. I'm actually considering not taking those two courses and not applying to IU med school, but I feel like that wouldn't be a smart idea since I wouldn't be applying anywhere in-state. I really want to go to med school out-of-state and I hate the idea of taking those mind-numbing classes just for the application to ONE med school.

What would you recommend?

I am taking plenty of humanities courses (one of my majors is philosophy) so I think I would be prepared in the humanities.

This whole path is about jumping through hoops regardless of the obstacles. Might as well do one more.

 

[raiderette]

Double check with IU. They said that they will review each class on an individual basis and they are including anthropology, multi-cultural studies, etc. I can't believe that you don't already have some social science classes that meet the requirement. Besides, the heavy in-state bias is too good to pass up. You may want to go to school OOS but sacrificing a possible acceptance (and the relatively cheaper COA) doesn't seem prudent.