are skills on the MCAT needed in med school?

[rleung3]

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Hi,

I am wondering if the critical reading skills required of you on the MCAT are really needed for success in med school. I have heard that tests in med school reward you for being a good memorizer, while the MCATs reward you for being a good reader.

Granted, what others think about this won't matter since the MCAT is a necessary hurdle to get over to get INTO med school, but I was just curious. I have always been bad at reading sections on standardized tests, but I am pretty decent at biology and chemistry.

I did pretty average (I think 22) on the science section of the ACTs in high school, but that was before I had too much experience reading/interpreting graphs and scientific literature.

I haven't taken or started studying for the MCAT since I am not too sure I have what it takes to be a doctor. My GPA is 3.7.

 

[NonTradMed]

Med school classes cultivate the exact opposite skillset that the MCAT requires. The MCAT is a test of comprehension and quick thinking, the exams in med school is all about memorizing and regurgitating everything in your notes. There is very little conceptual work involved in the preclinical years.

 

[indo]

-filling out scantrons

 

[stoic]

the first two years of med school have very little to do with the mcat, aside from NBME shelf exams (the NBME shelfs are very MCAT-esque).

however, step one of the USMLE does seem to have MCAT relationtions. as i understand it, the first step of the boards is the only thing in med school that is strongly correlated with the MCAT.

the MCAT is a critical thinking test. real life is a critical thinking test. so in the end, it's not hard to see why the MCAT is a valuable as it is. the MCAT isn't a perfect match for med school.... but it is a decent predictor of who will do well on the boards and who will be able to problem solve down the road.

in the end, it's just one piece of the getting into med school puzzle.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

however, step one of the USMLE does seem to have MCAT relationtions. as i understand it, the first step of the boards is the only thing in med school that is strongly correlated with the MCAT.

The first step of the boards is arguably the most important thing when it comes to residencies, so yes those skills will be applicable.

 

[rleung3]

So what you're saying is that the MCAT is not just a test designed to weed out people who can't critically read well, but is designed to be an actual predictor of who will be successful as a doctor, right?

 

[Wizard of Oz]

So what you're saying is that the MCAT is not just a test designed to weed out people who can't critically read well, but is designed to be an actual predictor of who will be successful as a doctor, right?

It is administered by the AAMC which represents accredited medical schools across the United States, and regardless of whether it's true or not; they believe that MCAT success is a good predictor of USMLE step 1 scores. Now if you are talking about being a good doctor, I have no idea. The USMLE tests your ability to retain the knowledge necessary to prescribe and dose medication and/or assess physical exam findings. It's not going to measure bedside manner or patient satisfaction accurately.

If it does in fact weed out people who can't critically read well, then I'm guessing that the AAMC would be fine with that too since interpreting medical data and examining literature is all about critically reading.

I recommend Exam Krackers for practice verbal passages.

 

[Law2Doc]

-filling out scantrons

It's all computerized now. As are the boards. Bye Bye scantrons.

 

[NonTradMed]

So what you're saying is that the MCAT is not just a test designed to weed out people who can't critically read well, but is designed to be an actual predictor of who will be successful as a doctor, right?

That's what the AAMC believes. If you are struggling with the verbal, try ExamKrackers, they have a huge verbal book that's great for practice. I also recommend making a habit out of reading the newspapers like New York Times, Wall Street Journal etc. Verbal is also a test of how quickly you can read and comprehend and the best way to do it is to read a lot.

 

[Anastasis]

That's what the AAMC believes. If you are struggling with the verbal, try ExamKrackers, they have a huge verbal book that's great for practice. I also recommend making a habit out of reading the newspapers like New York Times, Wall Street Journal etc. Verbal is also a test of how quickly you can read and comprehend and the best way to do it is to read a lot.

Agreed - I thought the single most helpful course for the MCAT verbal was my philosophy course because I concentrated so heavily on learning how to think critically. I'm not saying that's the only field where you learn that but that's what gave me a leg up.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

to perform well as a doctor you need both the information you memorized in medical school and good critical reasoning skills. you can't have one without the other. the MCAT thus tests weather you can think well and medical school teaches you all the crap you need to be able to regurgitate. then on the step 1 you need to integrate the two.

 

[adoggie]

and you need to be able to get into another person's head and understand things from their perspectives. that skill is tested on the MCAT, as evidenced by those reading passages they give us with slightly flawed points of view. haha.

 

[smq123]

Hi,

I am wondering if the critical reading skills required of you on the MCAT are really needed for success in med school. I have heard that tests in med school reward you for being a good memorizer, while the MCATs reward you for being a good reader.

Critical reading skills required for the science MCAT portion will help you in med school.

Critical reading skills required for the verbal MCAT portion will (probably) not.

My friend said that his MCAT verbal was the weakest part for him, mostly because he's a really, really slow reader. (I think he even had to skip an entire passage because he ran out of time.) He did fine in the first 2 years of med school, and blew Step 1 out of the water. (His USMLE Step 1 score is what most dermatology hopefuls shoot for. He really did very, very well.) So, it's not a rigid indicator of your future med school performance.