Are the pre-req’s a good indicator for what’s to come in PT School

[tb1065]

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I’m a pre PT student completing a post bac and I’m having a hard time with Chemistry, I barely got a B in gen chem I and I’m starting the new semester off with a 60% on my first exam in gen chem II. I find the class ridiculously challenging to the point it’s almost overwhelming and most importantly I just don’t like it. Will I ever need to calculate how much free space is in a simple cubic packed molecule besides in a chemistry class? My question is, are the PT pre-requisite courses a good indicator of the difficulty of the actual PT courses or are they more of a tool to narrow the applicant pool?

 

[qtran]

don't worry i absolutely hated chem too. But i highly doubt we have to learn those crazy formulas and do those tedious labs in Pt school.

 

[schnell8]

Yeah, I had to retake both Chem 1 and Chem 2 personally....I have my schedule and have gone over the program with one of my schools I got accepted to...I am 98% certain that Chemistry will barely show up if at all for any of the PT school courses...lol The only thing that I could really see chemistry coming into play would be with general Kinesiology fitness testing...all undergrad stuff. Check out your programs website and they should have a course schedule of PT school...Generally, it starts off with Anatomy and basic PT Assessment classes..then goes to Orthopedics and Neuro Classes...and then course just dive deeper and branch off from there...and then clinicals...

 

[nicolej5]

You can ask this question in the pt forum too, current pt's and students are over there and might have some insight 🙂

 

[DancerFutureDPT]

chem is important in the sense that you need a basic chem foundation to understand physiology (the ideas of ion exchanges, etc.). A lot of the actual material your learn in chem labs and lecture, though, are not going to show up in PT school, and if it does, it will be in a way that makes much more sense. It's just a necessary evil you have to get through to get to PT school.

 

[Azimuthal]

chem is important in the sense that you need a basic chem foundation to understand physiology (the ideas of ion exchanges, etc.). A lot of the actual material your learn in chem labs and lecture, though, are not going to show up in PT school, and if it does, it will be in a way that makes much more sense. It's just a necessary evil you have to get through to get to PT school.

👍 this.

 

[NewTestament]

chem is important in the sense that you need a basic chem foundation to understand physiology (the ideas of ion exchanges, etc.). A lot of the actual material your learn in chem labs and lecture, though, are not going to show up in PT school, and if it does, it will be in a way that makes much more sense. It's just a necessary evil you have to get through to get to PT school.

It's another weed-out class. Very little of chemistry will come back in PT school. Schools want to see that your can persevere and persist through a class like chemistry. Can you apply yourself and learn challenging information? Can you learn hard science? That's what they really want to see.

If your real question is if these classes are similar in difficulty with classes in PT school, I would say it's pretty close, but you'll be taking four or five chemistry classes in PT school during one semester/trimester.

Kevin

 

[DPTHopeful921]

like they said above: some basic physiology like ion exchange, and maybe a little chemistry knowledge when it comes to pharmacology and medications. but thats about it...nothing to detailed.

 

[tb1065]

Thank you everyone for the great advice. I expect to be challenged in PT school and I hope the intrinsic value of the courses themselves along with solid hands on experience during the clinical rotations will keep me motivated through some of the more difficult science portions of the program.

 

[okramango]

I think another value of taking Chem and Physics as prerequisites is learning how to problem solve in a scientifically grounded way. While a good portion of the actual material in those classes does not directly apply to what will be covered in PT school, they do seem to build some of the more fundamental skills that are used in evidence-based practice. (Note: I have not yet started PT school, so this is just my theory).

 

[Azimuthal]

I think another value of taking Chem and Physics as prerequisites is learning how to problem solve in a scientifically grounded way. While a good portion of the actual material in those classes does not directly apply to what will be covered in PT school, they do seem to build some of the more fundamental skills that are used in evidence-based practice. (Note: I have not yet started PT school, so this is just my theory).

A lot of vectors, forces and basic trig. You'll also be reintroduced to the basics of torque, etc. I like your thought.