Need for Biochemistry

[MD-To Be]

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Hello,

I was recently accepted into medical school at Wright State U. I wasn't planning on taking a biochem class before graduating but some people have told me that biochem is a necessity if you want to do well during MS1. If I don't take biochem my last year will be much easier, and more enjoyable, and I will be able to finish a psychology minor but if it is really needed I wouldn't mind taking it. My question is, how necessary is it to have taken biochem to do well in Med School and would you recommend taking it?

Thanks for the help!

 

[DoctorFunk]

I took biochem in undergrad and thought it helped a little bit. I certainly knew people who didn't take biochem and ended up doing just fine in the course though. I think at this point you should worry more about enjoying your last few months before med school. Once you get there you'll have all the resources you need to do well in your coursework, otherwise they would have made biochem a prereq.

 

[71263]

Hello,

I was recently accepted into medical school at Wright State U. I wasn't planning on taking a biochem class before graduating but some people have told me that biochem is a necessity if you want to do well during MS1. If I don't take biochem my last year will be much easier, and more enjoyable, and I will be able to finish a psychology minor but if it is really needed I wouldn't mind taking it. My question is, how necessary is it to have taken biochem to do well in Med School and would you recommend taking it?

Thanks for the help!

Id say biochem helps alot, but at the same time, you would have to have a fairly strong background in it for that to make a difference. For alot of first year classes, it tends to be the foundation.

I took biochem in undergrad (it was required for my major), but still, the biochemistry at this level is MUCH more advanced and detailed than what I had. My roommate was a biochemistry/chemistry double major, and had a few years of research and TA experience under him. He didnt even NEED to study for the class, and it gave him a significant edge in classes like cell biology, embryology, genetics, parts of neuroscience, and a few others.

Id say take the class if you have room in your schedule. It does help somewhat to have that background, but dont expect one class to have a significant impact.

 

[MadameLULU]

Ask people at the school you're going to attend. At my school, biochemistry isn't taught in it's pure form (we hardly get any at all, and that which we do learn is very clinically relevant, unlike most med school biochem courses), so taking extra biochem courses in undergrad was probably a waste of my time.

 

[bigdan]

I'd say take it.

I suffered thru biochem without having taken it in undergrad. More importantly, many of the Step I takers from last year were shocked by how much biochem there was on the exam. So any extra background will be of benefit.

Maybe tag cell bio to your list too.

dc

 

[Law2Doc]

Hello,

I was recently accepted into medical school at Wright State U. I wasn't planning on taking a biochem class before graduating but some people have told me that biochem is a necessity if you want to do well during MS1. If I don't take biochem my last year will be much easier, and more enjoyable, and I will be able to finish a psychology minor but if it is really needed I wouldn't mind taking it. My question is, how necessary is it to have taken biochem to do well in Med School and would you recommend taking it?

Thanks for the help!

It couldn't hurt, but lots of folks get by without it at the schools that don't explicitly require it. The benefits exist but are probably a bit exaggerated on SDN. But it certainly could depend on the school.

 

[vtucci]

Biochem is nice to have but not essential. Ditto on micro and cell and molecular. However, if you really want to do well, take anatomy instead. Even the worst undergrad anatomy class will make the terminology familar when you come across it in medical school and this is a huge advantage.

 

[DoctorFunk]

Biochem is nice to have but not essential. Ditto on micro and cell and molecular. However, if you really want to do well, take anatomy instead. Even the worst undergrad anatomy class will make the terminology familar when you come across it in medical school and this is a huge advantage.

Eh, I disagree. I took an undergrad anatomy class with a lab component spring semester before starting school, did fine, and found that my anatomic fund of knowledge only put me ahead of my classmates for the first week or so. The minutiae required to do well in anatomy (that magically disappears from your brain within the first couple months), along with the differing points of emphasis found at each med school, makes any preparatory anatomy class a crapshoot.

 

[zimmie256]

Ask people at the school you're going to attend. At my school, biochemistry isn't taught in it's pure form (we hardly get any at all, and that which we do learn is very clinically relevant, unlike most med school biochem courses), so taking extra biochem courses in undergrad was probably a waste of my time.

Where do you go to school Madame? I'm guessing RWJ or NJMS based on your location listing....

 

[MrBrightside]

Hello,

I was recently accepted into medical school at Wright State U. I wasn't planning on taking a biochem class before graduating but some people have told me that biochem is a necessity if you want to do well during MS1. If I don't take biochem my last year will be much easier, and more enjoyable, and I will be able to finish a psychology minor but if it is really needed I wouldn't mind taking it. My question is, how necessary is it to have taken biochem to do well in Med School and would you recommend taking it?

Thanks for the help!

I agree with everyone that says that you should take it. You certainly can get by without taking it but if you care about acing the class, consider taking it. There are people with biochem majors that will make acing the class pretty difficult for someone without any biochem. I did not take biochem and I've had to spend a lot more time studying for biochem than my classmates that have had it. This takes away from my study time for other classes. This is just my experience. While I'm a fan of psychology, a psychology minor does nothing for you. You'll learn a lot of psychology in med school. If you take it, just take next summer to have fun, party, travel etc.

 

[Church]

For the love of Gawd take Biochem. The whole year of it 🙂

 

[DoctorFunk]

For the love of Gawd take Biochem. The whole year of it 🙂

He's right, you know. It would probably be even better if you could ask your med school for a one-year deferral so you can get some graduate biochemistry coursework in. That way you can be like these mythical superstudents that never had to think about biochem in med school (other than showing up for exams).

 

[PostalWookie]

I was a biochem major in undergrad. I barely passed med school biochem - most of the things I learned in undergrad, like protein structure and enzyme kinetics were neatly summed up in the first lecture of the med school class to never be mentioned again. Take it if you're interested and want to learn the material - any edge it may or may not give you in medical school is just a nice benefit

 

[medicomel]

i say ditto on the anatomy. you will be so glad when you have the foundation of knowing where things are and what they're called. that aspect, unfortunately, is a mere FRACTION of what you're expected to know come test time.

i took undergrad biochem and actually found that it didn't really help that much. it's mainly clinically based, and was probably the "easiest" of my classes thus far.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

At my school, I don't think prior biochem would help that much. I've actually encountered a lot of the stuff we're studying in my general bio prereqs.

 

[MrBrightside]

It's like a rectal, it can't hurt.

From what I've gathered, the amount of help it will be probably varies by school. Speak to upperclassmen from your school

 

[MadameLULU]

Where do you go to school Madame? I'm guessing RWJ or NJMS based on your location listing....

No, actually I attend Baylor. Houston= hot + muggy +stinky (oil refineries and all).
Never been to jersey, but why is it known as the armpit of US?

 

[Cold Penguin]

Taking biochem will at least give you some familiarity, and when it comes around the second time, even with much more information at a more difficult level, it will give you some handle for you to grab and start. You still have the summer to rest, so why not take it, keep yourself from having to wonder about it, and still enjoy your summer prior to starting med school while knowing at least what to expect from biochem?

 

[Wizard of Oz]

He's right, you know. It would probably be even better if you could ask your med school for a one-year deferral so you can get some graduate biochemistry coursework in. That way you can be like these mythical superstudents that never had to think about biochem in med school (other than showing up for exams).

No myth here, but I actually did take the full didactic biochemistry sequence for a Ph.D. in biochemistry before I started med school.

It all depends on how you look at it. Where I go to med school, there isn't very much data analysis or developed concept testing. You just can't do it with multiple choice, and in fairness, you shouldn't since the USMLE isn't going to have you writing subjective paragraph answers.

Med school is easier in that here I don't have to memorize structures, but there is plenty of other stuff to memorize that wasn't as important when I was a grad student. Unlike the average pre-med who only takes 3-4 classes in biochem/cell/molec, I've had all of the stuff multiple times over so in my case, I actually don't have to study it much. On the other hand, I'd gladly switch places with some of my more youthful classmates who haven't shelled out the dollars that I have on higher education before arriving here.

Anatomy--I found a lot greater benefit having taken applied anatomy from a kinesiology/exercise science department than the biology-based anatomy classes I had. I was able to already have all of the bone landmarks, muscles, origins/insertions, nerve innervation, vessels, etc. before coming here so that this time around I could focus on the visceral stuff.

Most of the stuff in biochem/anatomy/micro is going to be rote memory anyway, so it's really not that helpful to take it from a hard-core scientist at a typical undergraduate institution. You don't really have to understand most of the stuff in medical school, and quantity is emphasized over quality.

 

[vtucci]

The first year of medical school (unless you have PBL curriculum) is entirely memorization so ask yourself if this class will help you get the language of whatever subject down (at least in part).

Biochem & anatomy will give you a leg up on your classmates. Even more so, if memorization is not your strong suit.