Most important pre-med class?

[MortellarPreMed]

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What pre-med class do you think is most important as far as medical school admissions go and being a physician in general? Obviously they are all important, especially for the MCAT. I always thought Biology > Organic Chemistry > Inorganic Chemistry > Physics, but what does everyone else think?

 

[TheShaker]

I don't think any of them are terribly important for actually doing the job of a physician, you learn that in med school and residency.

In terms of admissions, I guess ochem as always.

 

[Spinach Dip]

OChem is #1 among the required courses.

But the two courses I found more important to understanding body systems from a medical point of view were: Mammal Physiology and Clinical Genetics (aka, Human Genetics), with Biochem a close third.



Disclaimer: I haven't been accepted to med school yet, so these opinions may change at a later date.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Speech 101.

 

[Geebeejay]

What pre-med class do you think is most important as far as medical school admissions go and being a physician in general? Obviously they are all important, especially for the MCAT. I always thought Biology > Organic Chemistry > Inorganic Chemistry > Physics, but what does everyone else think?

I dunno man, probably none of those. I would guess Biochem/molecular cell is most relevant since these topics are also covered in medical school. I took a grad course in Parasitology as well, so depending on how much of this topic you learn throughout med school, I would imagine this one will have been the most useful to me, but again - I imagine medical school will cover it just as well if not better.

 

[ur2l8]

Pre reqs, go all out

 

[Dadcore]

Physiology/Anatomy if your major requires it or if you decide to take it on your own

We have an anatomy class at our undergraduate institution where you can actually work with real cadavers

 

[Aerus]

All of your classes are equally important. Just do well in all of them.

Organic Chem used to be the most important awhile ago, since that's how they used to predict "success" in med school, seeing how it's a new concept to many and it takes a lot of time and dedication. If you can do well in Organic Chemistry, it would be pretty impressive.

Otherwise, don't worry about this stuff. Do your best since that's all you can do.

 

[CuttingCorneas]

Obviously, the MCAT is a chance to test your basic science knowledge. You should have a thorough understanding of Bio, Chem, Organic, and Physics in order to do well.

With regard to long-term value, Genetics, Cell Biology, Microbiology, Physiology, Embryology, and Biochem are probably the most useful when it comes to actual medical school. Although these don't matter too much in admissions (except as upper-level prereqs dependent on school), it's always good to gain first exposure to them in undergrad to make the transition to med school easier.

These subjects are generally taught in your first year, and will be tested on Step I. Having some knowledge going into each of these classes will make life a lot less stressful in the long run, trust me.

 

[NickNaylor]

OChem is #1 among the required courses.

But the two courses I found more important to understanding body systems from a medical point of view were: Mammal Physiology and Clinical Genetics (aka, Human Genetics), with Biochem a close third.



Disclaimer: I haven't been accepted to med school yet, so these opinions may change at a later date.

Ochem is absolutely useless.

The only course that I took that has been somewhat helpful is biochem. The general principles that you learn from the basic pre-reqs are obviously useful, but you're not going to be solving an "electron traveling through a magnetic field..." or "what is the molar solubility of Mg+2 if Ksp for MgCl2 is 1.0 x 10^-8" problems in medical school.

Having some exposure to immunology and microbio in undergrad would also be useful.

 

[Bluto385]

Given the obesity epidemic, a background in nutrition is immediately useful. That should be required for all majors.