Math and Acceptance

[smeagsquad]

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I'm currently a student in my first year of university and I really want to go to med school to become a surgeon in the future, however I'm terrible at math. Like 3rd grade level. I have a couple questions:

1. Can I get into med school without taking any math courses?
2. Are there any med schools that don't have any math prerequisites?
3. If I have to take math, can I take it after I graduate from university, so that it doesn't affect my GPA?

Thanks))

 

[ridethecliche]

You're not going to do well on the mcat if you can't do math past a 3rd grade level...

 

[drsaurus]

Instead of trying to completely eliminate math from your life, look to improve it and become great at it. If you can't recognize a weakness and improve it, you will never do well in many aspects of life, including medical school.

 

[Ismet]

There's math in physics. If you can't do basic algebra, you're going to have a bad time. You also need at least a statistics course, and you'll be doing stats in med school and beyond.

 

[Just Call Me Doc]

If you really want to go to med school but are terrible at math, I'd start by self studying math in your free time. Check out some of the free online courses (e.g. Khan's Academy). That way you can improve without affecting your GPA at this point.
There ARE schools that don't EXPLICITLY require math credits, but as everyone else has already noted, you need a solid foundation in math for some of the pre-req courses and the MCATs.

 

[caffeinemia]

If a person develops potentially fatal arrhythmias after infiltration of more than 7mg of lidocaine+epinephrine/kg of body weight. Then what volume of 1% lidocaine + epinephrine is the safe limit for injection?

That's a very real question that every surgeon will consider at least once in his or her life. MAFFS. LEARN IT AND PRACTICE IT.

 

[theriomorphos]

.

 

[hoihaie]

If a person develops potentially fatal arrhythmias after infiltration of more than 7mg of lidocaine+epinephrine/kg of body weight. Then what volume of 1% lidocaine + epinephrine is the safe limit for injection?

That's a very real question that every surgeon will consider at least once in his or her life. MAFFS. LEARN IT AND PRACTICE IT.

Crap. No surgery for me

 

[Goro]

Maybe. Albany, for one, doesn't require calculus;

1. Can I get into med school without taking any math courses?

Baylor doesn't require "college math"; it's "recommended" at BU.

2. Are there any med schools that don't have any math prerequisites?

Any course you take is figured into your cGPA.
3. If I have to take math, can I take it after I graduate from university, so that it doesn't affect my GPA?

 

[justadream]

I don't even think the math on the MCAT was that bad but if you can't do math above the 3rd grade level, you might have some trouble finishing the science sections on time.

 

[caffeinemia]

I don't even think the math on the MCAT was that bad but if you can't do math above the 3rd grade level, you might have some trouble finishing the science sections on time.

I'm surprised they didn't have trouble finishing high school. But that's american education for you.

 

[SitraAchra]

If a person develops potentially fatal arrhythmias after infiltration of more than 7mg of lidocaine+epinephrine/kg of body weight. Then what volume of 1% lidocaine + epinephrine is the safe limit for injection?

That's a very real question that every surgeon will consider at least once in his or her life. MAFFS. LEARN IT AND PRACTICE IT.

The surgeon will simply say to the anesthesiologist "Hey doc, how much of this can I give?" While they are emptying their second 20ml syringe into the patient.

 

[mimelim]

The surgeon will simply say to the anesthesiologist "Hey doc, how much of this can I give?" While they are emptying their second 20ml syringe into the patient.

More than 50% of the time that I give lidocaine, there isn't an anesthesiologist in the room.

 

[SitraAchra]

More than 90% of the time when I give lidocaine there isn't a surgeon in the room. So what?

 

[caffeinemia]

More than 90% of the time when I give lidocaine there isn't a surgeon in the room. So what?

His point is that a surgeon must know how much to administer, not simply refer to the anesthesiologist. It's a not battle of specialties, he's simply saying you need to self reliant with your mental math.

 

[gyngyn]

More than 90% of the time when I give lidocaine there isn't a surgeon in the room. So what?

You implied that we can't calculate a maximum dose.

 

[caffeinemia]

You implied that we can't calculate a maximum dose.

You calling us we, baby? =P bwahahaha

 

[SitraAchra]

You implied that we can't calculate a maximum dose.

Not that you can't, that many surgeons don't. I'm unaware of any surgeon that knows the max dose of marcaine and also the mechanism of exparel.

I'll edit my post to say most ortho docs know how exparel works since its their new favorite thing.

 

[gyngyn]

Not that you can't, that many surgeons don't. I'm unaware of any surgeon that knows the max dose of marcaine and also the mechanism of exparel.

That's unfortunate considering the potential for lethal side effects.

 

[SitraAchra]

That's unfortunate considering the potential for lethal side effects.

Agreed. Thankfully, unless the patient is 40kg, most times the effective dose is well below toxic levels.

 

[caffeinemia]

Fat redistribution for the non-fatties. HOW!?

 

[mimelim]

Not that you can't, that many surgeons don't. I'm unaware of any surgeon that knows the max dose of marcaine and also the mechanism of exparel.

I'll edit my post to say most ortho docs know how exparel works since its their new favorite thing.

The mechanism of action is the same for both Marcaine and Exparel given that they are the same drug delivered slightly differently not sure why you decided to flip names. Also, I know the max dose for both formulations given that we use both reasonably frequently as well as the MOA. Our faculty certainly know both given their proclivity to pimp on them. I also can't think of a resident that I would expect to get those wrong at this point in the year. I'm also not sure what either of those two have to do with knowing basic mathematics. Not knowing a max dose has nothing to do with being able to calculate things.

Every person in organized society should be able to do arithmetic. You are less functionally useful if you can't.

 

[caffeinemia]

The mechanism of action is the same for both Marcaine and Exparel given that they are the same drug delivered slightly differently not sure why you decided to flip names. Also, I know the max dose for both formulations given that we use both reasonably frequently as well as the MOA. Our faculty certainly know both given their proclivity to pimp on them. I also can't think of a resident that I would expect to get those wrong at this point in the year. I'm also not sure what either of those two have to do with knowing basic mathematics. Not knowing a max dose has nothing to do with being able to calculate things.

Every person in organized society should be able to do arithmetic. You are less functionally useful if you can't.

But dude! Percentages versus absolute values and and mass versus concentration! I can't even...

 

[lifetothefullest]

Returning to the original question, I think that stats is more important to medicine than other mathematical fields. For instance, one MD/PhD I know wished they taught Bayesian statistics at the beginning of medical school because it was so immensely helpful for coming to the right diagnosis. So like you could be looking at a lung x-ray from a thirteen year old that "shows" he/she has lung cancer, but statistically speaking, you probably shouldn't make the diagnosis because given that the patient is 13, lung cancer is far less likely than, say, an error in the x-ray. That kind of stuff.

 

[MrLogan13]

Get better at math. If you're bad at it then you need to tackle it head on and improve.