Is Despising General Chemistry A Good Reason To Quit Pre-Med?

[apooji]

Howdy!!

To sum up my situation, I want to briefly mention that for a long time I have had a lot of motivation towards being a doctor and pursuing medical school. During high school, I was a huge math nerd and was never huge into the physical sciences, but for a while since my senior year, I haven't truly envisioned myself enjoying many other careers aside from a medical career. This first semester of college, I am taking both General Chemistry and Calculus I, and while I have a 4.0 and neither class is truly challenging, every night I find myself far more excited to work on math homework than I want to work on Chemistry homework. Clearly, there is a lot more to medicine than simply General Chemistry, in fact, in my hour long Biochemistry seminar, I find a lot of the presentations from various professors at our university very interesting, but if GenChem is any indicator of what Chemistry is going to look like for the next 4-8 years of my education, I will be in for a rough ride.

I would like to reiterate that I don't find the class particularly difficult, just particularly unsatisfying to study and work on. I've always enjoyed the time I've spent shadowing doctors and reading about medicine; however, this semester of Chemistry has sincerely made me call into question whether being a doctor is for me. I would love to hear about what anybody else has to say, whether y'all have experienced the same thing and made it through, or if switching majors into something more Mathematics focused is something that I should consider.

Thanks in advance for all responses, I feel that this is a dumb question but I would hate to give up without asking!!

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[Cheeezcake]

We all have classes we despise. For most its probably orgo or biochem. For me its physics 1.

 

[glitterysuccs]

We all have classes we despise. For most its probably orgo or biochem. For me its physics 1.

I agree with this! You will always come across classes you don't necessarily enjoy, but I think of it like an opportunity cost -- a little something you have to put up with to achieve/get to do the things you really enjoy. I didn't particularly enjoy physics, but I put up with it because I knew it is a prerequisite to something I really want to do. If that trade-off is something you're okay with, I don't think you should throw in the towel just yet.

 

[Dr. Basketball]

What @glitterysuccs said. Even in med school there may be some classes that you don't enjoy. For me it's embryo, can't stand it. Just push through and keep your eye on the prize

 

[Blueprint Med School]

We all have classes we despise. For most its probably orgo or biochem. For me its physics 1.

This. I was a chemist in undergrad so I could not keep my eyes open when it came to plant biology. Everyone has these classes and chem is very common the one. Take a deep breath and try and find applicable things in the things you hate. For example, acid/base is loathed but it is super important to understand respiratory physiology.

Hope this helps,

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[DO_or_Die]

Howdy!!

To sum up my situation, I want to briefly mention that for a long time I have had a lot of motivation towards being a doctor and pursuing medical school. During high school, I was a huge math nerd and was never huge into the physical sciences, but for a while since my senior year, I haven't truly envisioned myself enjoying many other careers aside from a medical career. This first semester of college, I am taking both General Chemistry and Calculus I, and while I have a 4.0 and neither class is truly challenging, every night I find myself far more excited to work on math homework than I want to work on Chemistry homework. Clearly, there is a lot more to medicine than simply General Chemistry, in fact, in my hour long Biochemistry seminar, I find a lot of the presentations from various professors at our university very interesting, but if GenChem is any indicator of what Chemistry is going to look like for the next 4-8 years of my education, I will be in for a rough ride.

I would like to reiterate that I don't find the class particularly difficult, just particularly unsatisfying to study and work on. I've always enjoyed the time I've spent shadowing doctors and reading about medicine; however, this semester of Chemistry has sincerely made me call into question whether being a doctor is for me. I would love to hear about what anybody else has to say, whether y'all have experienced the same thing and made it through, or if switching majors into something more Mathematics focused is something that I should consider.

Thanks in advance for all responses, I feel that this is a dumb question but I would hate to give up without asking!!

I wouldn't say so. I think it's important to understand the significance of chemistry, but you don't have to love general chem. I dislike chem as well as physics, but have a respect for them and their role in medicine. I would say if you dislike all of your classes, dislike human physiology, anatomy, etc, etc then maybe that would be a reason to turn away from medicine.

 

[apooji]

I wouldn't say so. I think it's important to understand the significance of chemistry, but you don't have to love general chem. I dislike chem as well as physics, but have a respect for them and their role in medicine. I would say if you dislike all of your classes, dislike human physiology, anatomy, etc, etc then maybe that would be a reason to turn away from medicine.

Thanks for your response! I think I'll stick with it for one more semester, take biology and read some books. Don't wanna give up just yet.

 

[apooji]

This. I was a chemist in undergrad so I could not keep my eyes open when it came to plant biology. Everyone has these classes and chem is very common the one. Take a deep breath and try and find applicable things in the things you hate. For example, acid/base is loathed but it is super important to understand respiratory physiology.

Hope this helps,

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

Thanks so much! I mentioned above, I think I'm gonna stick it out for another semester and see if the passion for medicine remains despite the semester of frustration.

 

[IsleyOfTheNorth]

I don't want to deter you as you seem to be on the right path, but I feel obliged to let you know that there are going to be a lot of things you're going to have to push through on your journey towards becoming a physician. After pre-reqs is the MCAT, after that is the application process, interviews, medical school, STEP 1, STEP 2, shelf-exams etc. It's a long, hard road ahead, so plan for a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Moko]

Pursuing medicine is not right for everyone, though I would not make that call based off of your experiences during an undergrad chemistry course. The only thing I still use occasionally from chemistry is dimensional analysis.

Keep in mind that the undergrad experience is very different from the pre-clinical years during medical school. The pre-clinical years in turn are very different from clinical rotations, and so on through residency, fellowship, and eventually 'attendingship'. There are different responsibilities and expectations during each transition. This is a 10+ year journey, and only you can answer whether this process is worth it to become a physician.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

Thanks so much! I mentioned above, I think I'm gonna stick it out for another semester and see if the passion for medicine remains despite the semester of frustration.

You can do it man! I am an ER Resident now and trust me, the light at the end of the tunnel looks sooooo small when you are sweating through general ed classes. But you will get there. Trust the process.

Glad I could help

David D, MD - USMLE and MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[Angus Avagadro]

We all have classes we despise. For most its probably orgo or biochem. For me its physics 1.

My wife HATED physics. Got 2 A's, and was accepted to every med school she applied to. Gen chem is not used much in med unless you go into anesthesia or radiology. My friend got an MD ,PhD in math from Case Wsetern, so there is a thought for you. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[DNAJB6]

We all have classes we despise. For most its probably orgo or biochem. For me its physics 1.

+1

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

If I could hate Intro biology and make it you can hate gen Chem and make it.

 

[Select All That Apply]

@apooji Have you ever considered engineering, actuarial science, finance, accounting, or computer programming? I think that several themes within Calculus that deal with abstraction of a concrete answer from an abstract question have overlapping qualities in these fields. They aren't topics that concern physical science, but I do find it interesting that you like mathematics and you're not thinking about pursuing other subjects of interest to see what you really might be interested in at this point.

 

[chemphysicsinstructor]

Have you considered a research based career? Yes, mathematics is used in medical research. For example, in image processing and analysis of MRI images. Also CT too.