Do you hate organic chemistry and/or physics?

[MedGirl]

I absolutely hate organic chemistry and physics (those wonderful prerequisites). Just wondering if there is anyone else out there that feels the same. Should a person who hates organic chemistry and physics but loves biology still pursue a career in medicine? I am taking physics now and I am doing well in the course as far as grades but find most of the topics boring, the teacher inadequate and the students too competitive. So, how did everyone else get through these courses and fight the boredom?


[This message has been edited by MedGirl (edited June 09, 1999).]

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[ReneeWB]

I hated Organic Chemistry and loved Physics. At many schools these are weed out classes to try and help pare down the pre-med pool. This was the case with both of these courses at my undergrad institution. Unfortunately I was taking them together which made things pretty tough. To make matters worse, my Organic teacher was a male from the old school who felt that women had no place in medicine. I struggled through that class and learned next to nothing about Organic Chemistry. I made C's both semesters and was glad to have them. This teacher did not teach the course in a conventional way, rather he chose the most abstract concepts and tested on those. When it came time to take the MCAT I found myself ill prepared. I started looking at the stuff in my review books and realizing that I had never seen over 50% of it. So, I basically taught myself enough Organic Chem to get through that test. I enjoyed Physics although it was a tough course at my school. Usually only 1-2 people in each class got A's. I came out with two B's and again was happy with that. The difference here was that the woman who taught the class loved the subject, cared about her students and made learning physics fun. I wouldn't say it was my favorite subject, however I certainly learned more about Physics than I did about Organic.

After reading all of my ramblings, you may be wondering what my point is.

Well, I guess what I am trying to say is that any course can be boring depending on the teacher and their presentation. It also depends on your attitude toward the subject matter. I am certain that there will be some classes that I will find boring in med school. The, key, I think, is to go in with as positive an attitude as possible. I don't think hating these courses in undergrad really says that much about whether you should or shouldn't pursue medical school. There are a lot of other factors that are more important when making that decision (i.e your ability to do the work, your reasons for wanting to work in medicine, how much you really know about working in medicine, etc.).

I wish you luck in your future decisions.

Renee

 

[Matthew]

As usual I agree with my future classmate Renee. Not a day went by in organic chemistry when I didn't want to through myself on my sword and end it right there. Just get through it and be glad you survived. I have had several physicians tell me that they never used the majority of their organic chemistry education ever again! Work hard in physics and get through it! Good luck in the future!

Matt

Renee....are you a bit nervous yet? I am looking forward to stating at UNECOM. Orientation activities seem cool. My girlfriend got a job and I found a great place to live. Talk you soon!

 

[Synergy]

I hated both Organic Chem and Physics even though I did get A's in Physics and Org (one B in Org). A good background is all you need in my opinion to help you in medical school from what other med students and new physicians have told me. These courses at my undergrad were used to "weed out" students in pre-med. You just have to have a Machiavellian (ends justifies the means) attitude towards these courses if you don't like them. Work hard and do well in them because the admissions committees I have encountered do care about those grades in addition to the MCAT. I even had one admissions interviewer ask me why I got a B in Org on quarter, but he may have just been messing with my head as they like to do sometimes. I think you can still be a good physician even if you don't care much for these courses if you see the benefit of knowing the information in application to medicine.

 

[DO DUDE]

I guess I'm in the minority here. I liked both physics and organic. Organic was extremely interesting to me. Strange, huh?

 

[ReneeWB]

It all depends on the teacher, I think. I have talked to others who enjoyed the class, just not at my school!

Renee

 

[UHS2002]

I actually didn't have to fight boredoom, it was more like fighting the stark terror that it would weed ME out, LOL.

I hated Orgo I and didn't learn a thing, just passed the class. The prof. was nice enough and tried hard to make it somewhat interesting, but the school did see as a weed-out class and so did the students. Orgo II was an even worst nightmare. So, I ended up retaking it at a later date elsewhere and what a difference!!! The class was small (about 20), the professor was fantastic and I throughly enjoyed the class and got a lot out of it (not to mention an A).

As for usefulness...you really don't need the excruciating detail you are taught and tested over on the MCAT to do well in med school. You need to have the basics down, just to understand how other things work instead of always thinking "...and then a miracle happens...".

Biochem is a much higher yeld subject than Orgo, by several degrees of magnitude, and if you can take it now, by all means, do. To begin with, it is in the first year's curriculum, but you also need it for path, physio, pharm and whatever else you can think of. So hating Orgo is fine, but try to enjoy Biochem as you will see LOTS of it.

Don't worry about physics, you will not need 99% of what you are learning unless you go into a very specific field (such as nuclear medicine...).

Hating physics and orgo not just doesn't disqualify you from being a good physician but, actually, puts you in the good company of most of your future classmates

 

[NickCVM]

I liked O.C. - Physics, I don't know. I had a teacher who was putting the whole class to sleep in less than a minute. We had a joke between us premeds that if we could convince him to work in the OR, there would be no need for anesthetics.

I did good in both classes but liked O.C. much better - I'm a biochemist.. can you blame me?
later
--Nicolas--
WesternU'03

 

[Satellite]

I think it really depends on the teacher.

I had some serious doubts about Physics because I had only recieved B's in Calculus so I put it off until my Junior year. When I finally did take it I really enjoyed it. The teacher was excellent and I recieved A's.

I took Calculus based physics because it was required for my degree (Comp Sci). You may want to look into Algebra based. I am not sure how Medical admissions compares the two. I would call a few Medical schools.

 

[edgar]

I liked physics even though I hate math. I think I'm a conceptual thinker, so physics suited me. Of course, I got worked on the PhySci section of the MCAT....

I hated Organic. The professor was senile and I swear he'd have mini-strokes in the middle of lecture. I lost all interest in the class when he told us how the Nazis made bombs out of muffins after the allies destroyed their oil supplies in WWII. Needless to say, a lot of people complained about him. Worst of all, he used to be on the IUPAC committee so most of the exams were nomenclature (hard weird questions). And all his exams were open-book which means they were triple hard. This guy killed my interest in o-chem during college. I got an A the first semester because the prof was actually good and tested on lecture/book material.

But for some strange reason, I enjoyed the o-chem on the MCAT. So in my case, it was weird. I did well on the o-chem on the MCAT even though I had trouble in the class. I did bad on the physics when I aced it in college. Well, by some miracle I got accepted to medical school. Just give a sincere effort in trying to learn the material, if just a lever to get into med school. I agree with all you guys, lots of these classes are weed-out methods. I mean half of the pre-meds in my classes dropped out after the first semester of o-chem. I think an interest in human biology is actually more important, you will be studying the human body for a lifetime if you are chosen to be a doctor......

EDGAR

 

[Ponyboy]

I hated both orgo and physics as well as biochem (on top of that, I'm a chem major!). I really couldn't find any enjoyment in the courses. I did fine in those classes, but I just didn't like it. From following a primary care physician and talking to my mentor, I've learned that you really don't need to be really into org chem or physics to be a doctor. You should have a general idea of what's going on (esp. with stuff like pH and etc) but you don't have to love it. Knowledge of biochem may help you but you're going to learn it when you're in med school anyways, so I wouldn't bother taking it if you didn't enjoy it. I found it just as boring as orgo and much more difficult--there's much more rote memorization involved and its very abstract.

 

[pancho]

Edgar, did you go to CAL..? It seems you are talking about Profesor Volhart...

 

[DOGBOY2]

This is a very informative topic. if you can't get through physics and orgo don't go to med school.

 

[DOGBOY2]

This is a very informative topic. if you can't get through physics and orgo don't go to med school.

 

[DOGBOY2]

This is a very informative topic. if you can't get through physics and orgo don't go to med school.