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Quick Question, for DO, can you put your engineering courses as BCMP? I have heard that you can but wasnt too sure.
Engineering + DO
- Thread starter Fp02c
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You're suppposed to read the supplementary guide to the application... I believe the answer is no but double check.
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i am an engineer and had to use the designation "other sciences" for all my engineering courses. So, your will count as part of the science grades 😀
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There's a guide on the website that elaborates a little more. I called the AACOMAS office a few times to ask questions.
I'm an engineer too. For the computer science, I believe it was considered math and some of my other classes counted as physics. Everything else went to the catch all "other science."
Making the transition from engineering school to medical school is pretty drastic in my opinion. If you have any questions about it, shoot me a pm.
I'm an engineer too. For the computer science, I believe it was considered math and some of my other classes counted as physics. Everything else went to the catch all "other science."
Making the transition from engineering school to medical school is pretty drastic in my opinion. If you have any questions about it, shoot me a pm.
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Ive gotten a few PMs about the transition from Engineering to Medical school. Hopefully other engineers out there will post their opinions as well. From what I can tell, engineers make up a very small fraction of medical school classes and I dont really believe that we are well understood by most faculty and administrators. Thus, they dont really know what to make of us.
In my opinion, there is a fundamental difference between engineering and science. Engineering focuses much more on the application than the theory and science is the other way around. Medical school follows the science mode of thinking. I've got friends here and there and they have pretty much all told me the same thing.
Let me illustrate with an example... There were guys in my class who had something like 3.7 GPA's (biologists, exercise physiology, etc.) and 30+'s on the MCAT. No small task. Brilliant guys who I knew will make fine physicians someday. These guys could memorize anything and get an A on the test because it was based almost solely on memorization, which seems to be a common thread in most medical schools. I had a horrible time with memorization because it wasn't really emphasized that much in engineering school. What amazed me the most is that whenever I asked these guys a "what would happen if we did this?" type question, their minds would stall, but they were the A students none the less. This drove me nuts. However, I did very well in OMM because I understood the concepts of force vectors and statics. In my opinion, as long as you get the force vectors right, OMM can be done in almost any position anywhere. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
I had to retrain my mind to learn in a completely different fashion. From logical, linear analysis focused on solving a problem to pure information acquisition. A core dump into my brain would be a better way to put it and would be a neat trick if I could pull it off as well as some of the other guys could. We had PBL sessions as well. The analytical mode of thinking really helped out there. On the other hand, our analytical, problem solving background seems to be quite helpful in clinical matters.
Let me give you another example First year physiology was kind of a rough class. I understood the concepts of electrical circuits (nerve conduction), capacitors (cell membrane potential), pumps (cardiac cycle) and fluid mechanics (hemodynamics) from an industrial (engineering) point of view, but the way that these concepts were taught was so vastly different than the way I already understood them, it caused a lot of confusion. Eventually, I had to divorce myself from my original mode of thinking in order to survive. I couldnt figure out how the quantitative units could just disappear.
Sorry, got kind of rambling there The bottom line is that going from engineering school to medical school represents a fundamental shift in schools of thought. Remember, you are being taught by Ph.D. scientists, not engineers. You need to learn things the way that He who writes the test wants you to learn them and will test you on them. What worked in college may or may not work in medical school. Keep an open mind and be willing to try different things. Once you figure out what works, take the ball and run with it. From time to time you may be able to use your engineering skills for example, the brachial plexus didnt make much sense to me until I drew it out like an electrical diagram.
Hope this answered the questions. If not, let me know.
In my opinion, there is a fundamental difference between engineering and science. Engineering focuses much more on the application than the theory and science is the other way around. Medical school follows the science mode of thinking. I've got friends here and there and they have pretty much all told me the same thing.
Let me illustrate with an example... There were guys in my class who had something like 3.7 GPA's (biologists, exercise physiology, etc.) and 30+'s on the MCAT. No small task. Brilliant guys who I knew will make fine physicians someday. These guys could memorize anything and get an A on the test because it was based almost solely on memorization, which seems to be a common thread in most medical schools. I had a horrible time with memorization because it wasn't really emphasized that much in engineering school. What amazed me the most is that whenever I asked these guys a "what would happen if we did this?" type question, their minds would stall, but they were the A students none the less. This drove me nuts. However, I did very well in OMM because I understood the concepts of force vectors and statics. In my opinion, as long as you get the force vectors right, OMM can be done in almost any position anywhere. Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
I had to retrain my mind to learn in a completely different fashion. From logical, linear analysis focused on solving a problem to pure information acquisition. A core dump into my brain would be a better way to put it and would be a neat trick if I could pull it off as well as some of the other guys could. We had PBL sessions as well. The analytical mode of thinking really helped out there. On the other hand, our analytical, problem solving background seems to be quite helpful in clinical matters.
Let me give you another example First year physiology was kind of a rough class. I understood the concepts of electrical circuits (nerve conduction), capacitors (cell membrane potential), pumps (cardiac cycle) and fluid mechanics (hemodynamics) from an industrial (engineering) point of view, but the way that these concepts were taught was so vastly different than the way I already understood them, it caused a lot of confusion. Eventually, I had to divorce myself from my original mode of thinking in order to survive. I couldnt figure out how the quantitative units could just disappear.
Sorry, got kind of rambling there The bottom line is that going from engineering school to medical school represents a fundamental shift in schools of thought. Remember, you are being taught by Ph.D. scientists, not engineers. You need to learn things the way that He who writes the test wants you to learn them and will test you on them. What worked in college may or may not work in medical school. Keep an open mind and be willing to try different things. Once you figure out what works, take the ball and run with it. From time to time you may be able to use your engineering skills for example, the brachial plexus didnt make much sense to me until I drew it out like an electrical diagram.
Hope this answered the questions. If not, let me know.
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i totally agree. I also have an engineering degree. Its a totally different ball game.
But, I think engineers make good doctors because they are good problem solvers and can apply their knowledge in practical sense. That's why I think I will make a good doctor because of my analytical skills and integrating tons of different material.
I am not saying bio people cant do it but enginerds have much easier time do it. Its been beaten into our head from four torturous years and various internships.
I remember we would have open book exams on many of my classes but even then we used it mainly for appendix charts and tables. You have to integrate what you learned in chapters over the week to solve a specific problem. JUST LIKE MEDICINE. You are not magically going to find a patient's answer on page 344.
But, I think engineers make good doctors because they are good problem solvers and can apply their knowledge in practical sense. That's why I think I will make a good doctor because of my analytical skills and integrating tons of different material.
I am not saying bio people cant do it but enginerds have much easier time do it. Its been beaten into our head from four torturous years and various internships.
I remember we would have open book exams on many of my classes but even then we used it mainly for appendix charts and tables. You have to integrate what you learned in chapters over the week to solve a specific problem. JUST LIKE MEDICINE. You are not magically going to find a patient's answer on page 344.
Cancer Man,
Thanks for your explanation of the transition. I worry about the memorization, as I'm much more of the 'figure out how it works' person. It's encouraging to see that you've been able to change your way of learning. I had assumed my engr background would be useful in the clinical setting. It's just all the memorization to get there
Thanks for your explanation of the transition. I worry about the memorization, as I'm much more of the 'figure out how it works' person. It's encouraging to see that you've been able to change your way of learning. I had assumed my engr background would be useful in the clinical setting. It's just all the memorization to get there
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You're Welcome.
The whole "change in learning style" process wasn't pleasant, but it paid off in the end. You have to get through the first two basic science years before you can get to the clinical ones.
An Engineering background is useful in a clinical setting and I enjoy the thrill of the hunt in a killing a problem.
We had open book tests as well but, like it was mentioned before, it didn't really help you. Yes it gave me some conversions factors and constants, but that's about it. It was more than getting an answer, we had to justify why the answer was correct. Some attendings to the same thing.
The whole "change in learning style" process wasn't pleasant, but it paid off in the end. You have to get through the first two basic science years before you can get to the clinical ones.
An Engineering background is useful in a clinical setting and I enjoy the thrill of the hunt in a killing a problem.
We had open book tests as well but, like it was mentioned before, it didn't really help you. Yes it gave me some conversions factors and constants, but that's about it. It was more than getting an answer, we had to justify why the answer was correct. Some attendings to the same thing.
