Are there any medical disciplines that require doctors to use & understand math/physics?

[veryborderlineapplicant]

I really like physics and math, and I'm a bit surprised at generally how little doctors seem to use it (if this generalization is wrong, please correct me). Is there any medical discipline that requires doctors to use math or physics frequently? I'm thinking radiology would and maybe anesthesiology (dosage equivalents, keeping track of all the patient vital variables). I also know a lot of surgeons who have done engineering in undergrad, and supposedly it helps a lot in terms of how to think. There's a lot of math and physics behind pretty much everything though, so I'm wondering if there's any medical disciplines that use math less "behind-the-scenes". If there's not a particular discipline is there any way I could combine medicine and a MD with physics?

Also, in my opinion advanced math and physics were some of the most important classes I took in undergrad because they really improved my critical thinking skills and reasoning skills in every subject, so even if a discipline doesn't explicitly use math, I can still see knowing it helping me a ton.

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[deleted407021]

Radiation Oncology residents have to pass a physics section in their board exams but I gather it's relatively basic, university level material. Rad/Onc departments do employ full time medical physicists, though. Physician scientists might use some advanced modeling programs that could require a basic foundation in calculus. Most math is done by computers...I can't think of any physicians I've seen who do much more math other than calculating Rx dosage on their iPhones.

 

[Zebra Hunter]

Radiation oncology. I've heard rad onc programs actually prefer individuals with a physics background, although I'm not sure how much truth there is to that.

 

[giantswing]

In trauma surgery they get a ton of people affected by gravity and newtonian mechanics.

 

[FutureOncologist]

In trauma surgery they get a ton of people affected by gravity and newtonian mechanics.

 

[Spinach Dip]

Anesthesia.

All the extra time you have can be used to manage your portfolio. That requires math skills, right?

 

[Stagg737]

Not 100% sure, but I'd also guess epidemiologists would use statistics frequently since they track disease incidences and populations affected. Might be something to look into.

 

[alpinism]

Lol

Thats like asking if any doctors use organic chemistry...

 

[moop]

Wrong profession if you want to be mathy or creative.

 

[veryborderlineapplicant]

Wrong profession if you want to be mathy or creative.

What makes you say that? I'm just interested in hearing your reasoning more explicitly.

 

[demystifie]

Also orthopedics if you're interested in joint replacements, range of motion, etc.

 

[ciruji]

Also orthopedics if you're interested in joint replacements, range of motion, etc.

LOL

 

[aprimenumber]

What makes you say that? I'm just interested in hearing your reasoning more explicitly.

Think about it. Do you really want to play engineer with your patient? Doctors follow procedures and protocols for a reason.

Also, it's about making sure that the people who are the most qualified to perform certain actions perform those actions. Physician radiation oncologists are not as qualified as actual medical physicists when it comes towards calculating radiation dosages for certain patients. Even if the physician has a physics or BME background, it would be more productive for the technical jobs to be handled by the people who have the most experience with performing those. The physicians are trained for different situations, and it would be the most beneficial for the patients if the professionals remain in their most qualified roles.

Having said that, I think having a math/physics/engineering major background can still be very useful because of the rationality and problem-solving mentality that one develops, and the fact that being able to survive those majors pretty much means that you'll never learn anything in medicine that will go over your head.

 

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I love math and physics, but I also love the clinical setting. I can't see myself letting go of the problem solving and research aspects, so I'm applying MD/PhD. I did engineering in undergrad.

I imagine if you got involved in basic research as a "physics-heavy" specialist (rad. onc., or even electrophysiology) you would still be doing math/physics, but not like you do in class. Even pure MDs can do basic research on a part-time basis in teaching hospitals.

 

[sliceofbread136]

In medical practice the only one I can think of is rad onc.

If you also want to do research then some big possible math ones would radiology and neurology. Cardiology can be too, or maybe even cancer bioinformatics stuff

 

[amazing tekkers]

Anesthesia.

All the extra time you have can be used to manage your portfolio. That requires math skills, right?

 

[WingedOx]

Think about it. Do you really want to play engineer with your patient? Doctors follow procedures and protocols for a reason.

Also, it's about making sure that the people who are the most qualified to perform certain actions perform those actions. Physician radiation oncologists are not as qualified as actual medical physicists when it comes towards calculating radiation dosages for certain patients. Even if the physician has a physics or BME background, it would be more productive for the technical jobs to be handled by the people who have the most experience with performing those. The physicians are trained for different situations, and it would be the most beneficial for the patients if the professionals remain in their most qualified roles.

Having said that, I think having a math/physics/engineering major background can still be very useful because of the rationality and problem-solving mentality that one develops, and the fact that being able to survive those majors pretty much means that you'll never learn anything in medicine that will go over your head.

You will never get creative with physics, but you do need an understanding of it in a lot of places, especially when you need to troubleshoot. Your understanding of electricity/current/voltage etc comes into play in a lot of ways. Hell, even the psychiatrists need to know quite a bit of electromagnetics just to understand what's going on with ECT.

 

[Lil Mick]

Any of the disciplines can turn into a bit of math and physics if you're doing basic research. GWAS and microarray studies often employ machine learning techniques derived from research in either of those fields. Radiologists and some respiratory/cardiology sorts of specialties will allow for some study and application within your clinical practice (more if you're doing applied biomedical or electric engineering sorts of research).

One of the benefits of studying math and physics is gaining the ability to problem-solve, which you will use in your practice. The thought process will serve you well.

 

[iBro]

I really like physics and math, and I'm a bit surprised at generally how little doctors seem to use it (if this generalization is wrong, please correct me). Is there any medical discipline that requires doctors to use math or physics frequently? I'm thinking radiology would and maybe anesthesiology (dosage equivalents, keeping track of all the patient vital variables). I also know a lot of surgeons who have done engineering in undergrad, and supposedly it helps a lot in terms of how to think. There's a lot of math and physics behind pretty much everything though, so I'm wondering if there's any medical disciplines that use math less "behind-the-scenes". If there's not a particular discipline is there any way I could combine medicine and a MD with physics?

Also, in my opinion advanced math and physics were some of the most important classes I took in undergrad because they really improved my critical thinking skills and reasoning skills in every subject, so even if a discipline doesn't explicitly use math, I can still see knowing it helping me a ton.

MD/PhD and do basic science research in biophysics.