Dibilitating Math Disability

[JosephScotLacek]

Say that 3x fast.

Hey everyone,
first off thanks for taking the time to read this. It means a great deal to me that you've taken your time to click on my post.

I will keep this short and sweet, & if need be, I can elaborate further.

I'm a male student, going for my generals in college with a disorder called Dyscalculia. A severe math disability/deficiency.
What doesn't make sense is that I excel at nearly all other subjects, but when it comes to the dreaded M, the word excel disappears from my vocabulary. Some background, I was placed in remedial math courses through the majority of high school. Due to my math disability, I was granted a diploma without completing geometry (a requirement).
I struggled with algebra, and my senior year of high school I graduated with a D in the class... It was my second year of algebra, I had failed the course that previous year (junior year).

Y=mx+b is as hard for me as I imagine writing is for some of you.
The only difference is that some of you can get by with shabby writing.
I cannot get by with shabby arithmetic, it doesn't work that way. Either you understand it, or you flop.

Biology & the anatomy of the human body are so simple for me to understand, and yet I can't grasp simple numerical concepts! It has really crippled a large portion of me and my life.

How is it possible for someone like me, who in the very literal sense cannot grasp some of the more conceptually challenging subjects; succeed in becoming a physician?

I've found that medicine is really the only thing in life that matters. I've considered very briefly becoming a nurse. But this always leads me to think, I guess, why not Aristotle become a renowned painter? Musician? Cobbler?
I am human, it's only my nature.

So! with all that being said.
I need to beat this math demon of mine.
Is it possible?
If so, what do I need to do.

Thank you again for your time, and again for any replies.
I'll be checking my post periodically for your responses!

-Joe

<@=0D

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[AestheticGod]

Have you tried contacting good tutors? Medications(Adderall? lol)?
Are you trying to memorize the steps, or learning WHY you're doing, what you're doing.

 

[Ismet]

As a physician, you really won't have to utilize calculus, geometry, or algebra. However, you will have to take the MCAT to get into medical school, parts of which require rounding, arithmetic, algebra, and possibly simple geometry. AAMC provides accommodated testing for those with disabilities, and you may qualify for that. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/accommodations/85280/accommodations_examples.html

As for getting over your math disability, I'm not sure if SDN is the place to seek treatment. There may be therapies available to improve or adjust your mathematical techniques, but for that you should seek specialized treatment. We are still lowly pre-meds! 🙂

Kudos to you, though, for being so determined in the face of something so debilitating.

 

[AestheticGod]

As a physician, you really won't have to utilize calculus, geometry, or algebra. However, you will have to take the MCAT to get into medical school, parts of which require rounding, arithmetic, algebra, and possibly simple geometry. AAMC provides accommodated testing for those with disabilities, and you may qualify for that. https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/accommodations/85280/accommodations_examples.html

As for getting over your math disability, I'm not sure if SDN is the place to seek treatment. There may be therapies available to improve or adjust your mathematical techniques, but for that you should seek specialized treatment. We are still lowly pre-meds! 🙂

Kudos to you, though, for being so determined in the face of something so debilitating.

What will med school think when they see that you have a learning disability?

 

[JESSFALLING]

Hop on the khanacademy website and start going though the math playlists starting from the basics. You need to be able to do basic algebra and very basic trig to become a doctor (mainly because you won't do well in Chem and Physics unless you have some basic ability). These videos are the best place to start. After you have the math down you should take an intro to Chem class. Then you should be ready to take General Chemistry. Wait until you've completed Gen Chem to take physics.

If you can make it through the above with passing grades then you can make it into med school.

 

[AestheticGod]

Hop on the khanacademy website and start going though the math playlists starting from the basics. You need to be able to do basic algebra and trig to become a doctor (mainly because you won't do well in Chem and Physics unless you have some basic ability). These videos are the best place to start. After you have the math down you should take an intro to Chem class. Then you should be ready to take General Chemistry. Wait until you've completed Gen Chem to take physics.

If you can make it through the above then you can make it into med school.

I thought getting an A in orgo chem meant you're capable for medical school 😳

 

[Ismet]

What will med school think when they see that you have a learning disability?

Why would AAMC offer accommodated MCAT for people with learning disabilities if said people would not become doctors? And as OP stated, his only disability is with math, it's not an overarching learning disability.

I know of an MD/PhD student who is quadriplegic and is now completing her last 2 years of medical school. She has to have an assistant with her, but her brain is the doctor, not her arms or legs. OP's issue with math is not going to prevent him from caring for patients.

 

[JESSFALLING]

I thought getting an A in orgo chem meant you're capable for medical school 😳

Getting an A in OChem should qualify you for an MCAT waiver in my world... Oh well...

 

[ADolefulDream]

Why would AAMC offer accommodated MCAT for people with learning disabilities if said people would not become doctors? And as OP stated, his only disability is with math, it's not an overarching learning disability.

I know of an MD/PhD student who is quadriplegic and is now completing her last 2 years of medical school. She has to have an assistant with her, but her brain is the doctor, not her arms or legs. OP's issue with math is not going to prevent him from caring for patients.

This is an excellent example of "if you want something bad enough, you will find a way". Chem and physics will likely be difficult, and there is some math invovled with being a doctor (doses, etc.). But a good tutor can help you get through. Just don't give up!

 

[coyotelime]

Try to find professors that teach conceptual physics rather than plug and chug number crunching. I had one and it was brutal, but it sounds like you would excel in a class like that. For chemistry I'm afraid there's no way to get around the math, and the MCAT will require a lot of fast math concepts. Even verbal may have a math question, though this may have just been something TBR erroneously stressed.

Just keep working hard, you will succeed. Good luck!

 

[IMSingular]

Math: Read, or rather study, "How to Solve It" by Geroge Polya.
There are other books by George Polya at higher level.

Physics: Read "Character of Physical Law", by Richard Feynman to really understand the spirit of phyisics. This is book version of a lecture. Actually there are video versions of this.

You also may benefit from geometric approach rather than algebraic approach. For example in, y=mx + b, it is st line where m is slope and b is where the line crosses y axis. Slope tells you how much y changes if x changes by 1 unit.

Well just google Polya or Feynman to learn about these two great characters who contrubuted tremendously to pedogogy in math and physics.

 

[dmf2682]

IMO the op is sol. There is some math in being a physician but it is generally overlooked because to most people it is not difficult. Trivial in fact. But if you can't make heads or tails of blood pressure, white count, or dosing I don't think you should be a doctor.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

OMG don't give me this. I used to be horrible at math! I still am pretty bad but all you got to do is PRACTICE. Every problem is a puzzle to be solved, approach it that way. I still fail horribly at doing derivative and trig problems (my worst class ever) but in time, you will get it.

 

[alexandertg6]

As I understand it, the brain is incredibly plastic. This means that if you are incapable of thinking about math as the rest of us do, you need to think through it in a different way. Come up with some alternative way of thinking and your brain will adapt. It would take tremendous effort on your part, but I think it is necessary in order to become a physician. Medicine is moving towards evidence based medicine (a.k.a. STATISTICALLY SOUND), and you cannot possibly get through chemistry and physics let alone dose Warfarin (coumadin) without a basic knowledge of mathematics (and calculus for that matter).

tl;dr
You need to train your brain to use alternative pathways to process mathematical problems by finding analogies or ways of thinking of these things which work for you or you wont make it as a doctor (or nurse).

Best of luck!

Alex

 

[BenzylAcetate]

As I understand it, the brain is incredibly plastic. This means that if you are incapable of thinking about math as the rest of us do, you need to think through it in a different way. Come up with some alternative way of thinking and your brain will adapt. It would take tremendous effort on your part, but I think it is necessary in order to become a physician. Medicine is moving towards evidence based medicine (a.k.a. STATISTICALLY SOUND), and you cannot possibly get through chemistry and physics let alone dose Warfarin (coumadin) without a basic knowledge of mathematics (and calculus for that matter).

tl;dr
You need to train your brain to use alternative pathways to process mathematical problems by finding analogies or ways of thinking of these things which work for you or you wont make it as a doctor (or nurse).

Best of luck!

Alex

^Absolutely This^

Try to find a tutor who specializes in learning disorders to help you view the subject in a way which you can understand. Not to say that you wouldn't be capable of self-learning, but a complete re-tooling of the concept of mathematics might require a few generations of practice.

 

[Miss Alyssa]

Why would AAMC offer accommodated MCAT for people with learning disabilities if said people would not become doctors? And as OP stated, his only disability is with math, it's not an overarching learning disability.

I know of an MD/PhD student who is quadriplegic and is now completing her last 2 years of medical school. She has to have an assistant with her, but her brain is the doctor, not her arms or legs. OP's issue with math is not going to prevent him from caring for patients.

Probably off topic, but how does she do a full physical exam? I see how she can do anything relying on sight, sounds, smell, but what about when you actually have to touch a patient? Percuss... palpate... or do anything procedure like a pap smear, or holding a retractor. Speaking of that, how can she do anything in the OR? There are definite advancements in robotic surgery that she can benefit from, but is that adequate training? What does she plan to do after medschool?

 

[bpigz]

I had issues with math in high school and it has always been the most difficult subject for me to grasp, but it wasn't as severe as your situation. I second the advice on getting a tutor who has experience dealing with people with your issue. What helped me is learning the WHY rather than just memorizing the algorithm for the problem set. Watching Khanacademy everyday, even from the basics, also helped.

Hope you overcome this soon!

 

[Bartemius]

I sympathize with OP for sure. But in all honesty, SDN should absolutely NOT be the place to go to for advice about something like this. Go see a medical professional and get a referral to whatever specialist you may need. IMO this sounds like something you can overcome. Best of luck!

 

[TheWhiteFlame]

when you get to advanced math classes (Calculus, Calc II) the arithmetic goes out of the window and its all about functions, behavior of functions, and how to cancel functions out of other functions

the arithmetic is almost always the very last step, or sometimes isnt even involved (indefinite integrals)