Do med school classes use advanced math?

[str8flexed]

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Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again.

 

[str8flexed]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again. Being an engineer, I had to take 4 years of math, and the last 2 years were torture.

 

[RxnMan]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again.

Let me read that again:

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again.

ahhhh....that was good.

No, you don't use any advanced mathematics. Unless you get into some advanced ortho or PM&R research (like biomechanics), or maybe some bioinformatics and kinetics, the most you'll do is stats.

 

[lord_jeebus]

no

 

[spicedmanna]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again. Being an engineer, I had to take 4 years of math, and the last 2 years were torture.

No. I believe that biostatistics is the extent of the math you'll be subjected to in medical school. That is, unless of course you are in a MD/PhD program and your PhD component requires something more than that.

 

[szhao]

no but some of the stuff are so beautiful, and pretty useful in solving biological problems if your doing research

 

[peppy]

All I've seen so far were a few very BASIC equations in physiology and biochemistry (and I say "basic" as someone who was notoriously bad at math in undergrad). Don't worry. If you could handle the math on the MCAT you're surely good enough to handle whatever you have to contend with in med school.

 

[kidthor]

I still don't understand the whole point of eigenvectors and eigenvalues!!!

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again. Being an engineer, I had to take 4 years of math, and the last 2 years were torture.

 

[jash0624]

I wish! Ohhhh Fourier transforms.

 

[hp540]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again. Being an engineer, I had to take 4 years of math, and the last 2 years were torture.

...and this is why I majored in biochemistry

 

[szhao]

I still don't understand the whole point of eigenvectors and eigenvalues!!!

where should i begin,

orthagonization
steady states
quantum states
and of course all the energy **** associated with it
coefficient of matricies
rank and transformations
etc.

like the heat equation, eigenvalues and eigenvectors didn't just come out of no where, they give easy ways of viewing different concepts. though if all you care about is clinical science, they mean very little to you, well i guess maybe PCA statistical analysis, but haha other than that very little.

 

[ICCONFETTI]

Definitely NOT.
And i'm so happy!
NO MORE FOURIER TRANSFORMS FOR TEH WIN!!!!!!

 

[thesauce]

I still don't understand the whole point of eigenvectors and eigenvalues!!!

You copier of avatars!!

 

[thesauce]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again. Being an engineer, I had to take 4 years of math, and the last 2 years were torture.

You'll use it quite a bit in pharmacology, but that's about it.

 

[SLPI]

med school is all about understanding the basic framework and using it to memorize a crap load of detail. little to no math involved 😀

 

[etf]

if a medical school even asked me to do basic arithmetic, i'd promptly ask for a refund of my tuition.

 

[Chuckwalla]

Engineering is a very good major. If med school doesn't work out, you got a job. With a bio or biochem degree, eh not so much.

 

[PhotoMD]

In my experience, you don't really have to know any math to be successful.

 

[seadizzle]

I love math.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again. Being an engineer, I had to take 4 years of math, and the last 2 years were torture.

you're already accepted into med school, yet you ask this question? did you even look into what you learn in med school a bit?????? I really hope you have some idea of what med school is like.

 

[Law2Doc]

if a medical school even asked me to do basic arithmetic, i'd promptly ask for a refund of my tuition.

That's a little extreme.
For some of biochem and pharm you will need to be able to add, substract, multiply, divide, and with a calculator take a log or antilog. If you can do that you should be golden.

 

[LifetimeDoc]

 

[Law2Doc]

Except in med school you would need to choose the "best" answer, and the choices would be from A though F with none of the choices being "True".

 

[Rugby MD]

I had to break out my cell phone calculator to divide by 4 the other day. even algebra is complecated these days for my minutia encrusted brain.

 

[StevenRF]

We used some 1st order DEq's for some pulmonary diffusion stuff. Some pharm stuff used them too. I heard that the Harvard MIT program is full on math, but I didn't get in so I couldn't be more specific.

To be honest, your more likely to get tested on your ability to name an equation than actually use it...

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

i had to ask a resident what 18x4 was yesterday when i was calculating a heart rate. deal lord, i hate math.















it's 72 btw. and he giggled when he told me.

 

[Hayden2102]

In my experience, you don't really have to know any math to be successful.

Agreed. I haven't encountered any mathematics beyond high school levels that couldn't be solved with online programs if needed.

 

[psipsina]

if a medical school even asked me to do basic arithmetic, i'd promptly ask for a refund of my tuition.

there was math on my last genetics exam (really simple stuff like H-W equilibrium) and my mind was just not capable of it. I knew the equations and everything, and had done them successfully two days prior, but when asked to perform math my mind came to a grinding halt . . . maybe if it hadn't been head and neck block I would have been more capable, who knows. At least it was only like 3pts worth.

 

[hyperbaric]

where should i begin,

orthagonization
steady states
quantum states
and of course all the energy **** associated with it
coefficient of matricies
rank and transformations
etc.

like the heat equation, eigenvalues and eigenvectors didn't just come out of no where, they give easy ways of viewing different concepts. though if all you care about is clinical science, they mean very little to you, well i guess maybe PCA statistical analysis, but haha other than that very little.

Can we get a psyc consult over here? This (wo)man is speaking gibberish.

 

[FutureMDiA]

LOL! I hate math too.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

Evidence against the "There are no stupid questions" hypothesis.

 

[PL198]

always lol how they give us calculators to do like 900/60. I don't get how the MCAT requires you to estimate numbers(which I think is a good thing to have), yet in med school they give you calculators.

 

[redpanda]

No advanced math in any of the standard curriculum. I still shudder at the (lack) of math skills of certain classmates when we were doing some cardiac physiology problem set and some people couldn't figure out where to start. There were a grand total of three simple equations to pick from. Probably the most painful small group I have ever been through in my life.

 

[Awared]

I'm pretty sure half my class couldn't pass a calculus test right now

 

[MedWonk]

Like Fourier transforms, differential equations, line integrals, eigenvalues, etc?

I am hoping I'll never see that stuff again.

LOL, nope. The most advanced math we use is maybe exponents and logarithms. So, just keep your pre-calc knowledge in mind. I will say, though, that having taken a couple semesters of calculus did help me solidify my algebra skillz.

 

[Mad Jack]

During orientation, we all had to solve for the total area of an unusually shaped window. Those that were incapable were dismissed.

Really though, the hardest thing you'll ever have to deal with is algebraic physics equations, and even then, you're mostly just needing to understand the concept, not perform the math itself.

 

[Jabbed]

People in my biostats class freaked out when we were asked to do two digit multiplication without a calculator. I wouldn't worry about eigenvectors.

 

[Psai]

I doubt that the vast majority of medical students have even heard of half of those things. If you're doing more than elementary school math in med school, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Espadaleader]

I literally have not heard anything the OP referred to. Wow.

 

[Kahreek]

i did have to integrate some stuff for fluid mechanics in biophysics in med school.
I was surprised and horrified.
Fourier transform is widely used in signal analasys (usefull in MRI), so if you want to be a badass radiologist/researcher, you better know your stuff.

 

[PL198]

I'm pretty sure half my class couldn't pass a calculus test right now

I'm pretty sure half my class couldn't pass an algebra test right now. If you struggle with dividing 3 digit numbers by 2 digit numbers, your officially on a lower level of math than a 3rd grader.

the math skills of medical students are a complete joke

 

[Psai]

Man I wish I still had my problem sets from quantum mechanics to post here. You guys would soil your trousers. I spent hours solving four questions

 

[Jabbed]

I literally have not heard anything the OP referred to. Wow.

Unless you were in a math/physics/engineering track, there's zero reason to take anything beyond calc II or III. So don't feel bad.

Even if you're just super interested in math, it almost stops resembling what the vast majority of people consider mathematics to be once you get to linear algebra and beyond.

 

[Jabbed]

Man I wish I still had my problem sets from quantum mechanics to post here. You guys would soil your trousers. I spent hours solving four questions

From my first problem set, which in hindsight I realize to be comparatively easier. This was the day that I realized that I just didn't belong in this class:

 

[NextStepAnthony]

Most premeds never get beyond calc 1 or 2 (if that), and rightly so as it isn't needed in med school. I was an engineering undergrad so during 1st and 2nd year, every time our small group had to do any math they immediately looked to me and the other engineer. Even for basic math like probability, statistics, exponentials. It was pretty amusing. Then again as an engineer I was always looking to them to confirm when dealing with biochem details and genetics minutae.

Long story short, you won't need it. Nor does the MCAT require anything beyond high school math.

 

[Apoplexy__]

From my first problem set, which in hindsight I realize to be comparatively easier. This was the day that I realized that I just didn't belong in this class:

View attachment 188683

Man, I remember that time I naively replaced x with

. It was awful.

 

[Psai]

Man, I remember that time I naively replaced x with

. It was awful.

Lol noob

 

[Bryan O’Blivion]

No. You can use calculus to derive the kinetic expressions in pharmacology, if it helps you get a sense of them, but nobody will expect you to do this. There are plenty of opportunities to apply mathematical modeling skills in medicine, but you probably won't use anything beyond arithmetic in the basic curriculum of medical school, and trying to apply them to the basic science courses will probably be over thinking the situation. For instance, you could use differential equations to describe the Windkessel effect, but you'll likely never find anything other than a written description on an exam in your cardiology course.

On the other hand, medicine is a dynamic field, and since I mentioned it above, developing hemodynamic monitoring systems that rely on peripheral waveform analysis could be a good direction for research. Depending on what you decide to do with yourself, you could utilize your mathematical knowledge, or completely forget it. The vast majority of career tracks will likely let you forget it.


Edit: Didn't realize this was a "lol -I hate math" thread. Wow, did I ever come to the wrong party.

 

[WhippleWhileWeWork]

Mathcad. Wolfram alpha. Matlab.
In that order.

 

[plumazul]

The OP asked the question in 2006. 🙄