Physics in Med school HA!

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HarvardBlackman

HarvardBlackman

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Now that I'm in med school, I realize how pointless physics in undergrad was and basically a waste of time. Basically mostly everything you learn in undergrad is directly for the MCAT. Sure, a lot of the knowledge you have accumulated would be applicable in Med School Classes, but most wont be, such as physics and most of the Orgo. Why the MCAT has these subjects never made sense to me. The MCAT is not a test that will determine how good of a doctor you will be, but merely a test of how to apply sciences that you've learned. Instead of physics, the MCAT should have more bio, I believe, as bio is more applicable to med school. What are your thoughts?
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I'm no med student, but I think x-rays (and all imaging modalities) have something to do with physics.

I also think you misunderstood the point of the MCAT.
 
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MSUCHM no longer requires a year of physics, which I found interesting.
 
How much of the physics behind rad onc and radiology do you guys have to learn in med school? Or do you just learn all of it during residency (if you go into one of these fields)?
 
I wonder if the OP is really in med school...

I didn't know there were any med schools in Cambridge. :confused:
"Location: Hometown: Brooklyn, NY; Med School: Cambridge, Mass."
 
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Is it still considered trolling if you're just lying to everyone?
 
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Yea sorry about the location thing I was thinking about undergrad, and yes Boston it is- Longwood Med Area to be exact. And yea, I know some physics is applicable to medicine, such as x rays, basic optics, certain physiologies, but certainly not most of the physics topics. It is the kind of physics that I could have just learned on my own and not waste my time with 2 semesters and lab where most of the material is irrelevent, aka pendulums, springs, projectile motion, etc. Easy stuff, but a waste of time for me. But w/e I just hope something changes for future pre meds and have them take only the aspects of certain classes that are applicable to medicine in a meaningful way, that's all. O yeah, and good luck to everyone taking the MCAT.
 
HarvardBlackman said:
Yea sorry about the location thing I was thinking about undergrad, and yes Boston it is- Longwood Med Area to be exact. And yea, I know some physics is applicable to medicine, such as x rays, basic optics, certain physiologies, but certainly not most of the physics topics. It is the kind of physics that I could have just learned on my own and not waste my time with 2 semesters and lab where most of the material is irrelevent, aka pendulums, springs, projectile motion, etc. Easy stuff, but a waste of time for me. But w/e I just hope something changes for future pre meds and have them take only the aspects of certain classes that are applicable to medicine in a meaningful way, that's all. O yeah, and good luck to everyone taking the MCAT.
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:laugh: Nice wikipedia skills.
 
Oh come on, dont try and get rid of one of the few enjoyable pre-reqs. Physics and Gen Chem were easily the most interesting and enjoyable pre-req courses I took.
 
gatorsbball said:
How much of the physics behind rad onc and radiology do you guys have to learn in med school? Or do you just learn all of it during residency (if you go into one of these fields)?
Click to expand...

Would you rather start from scratch in residency and learn physics that way? You'd be happy starting with "what's an isotope"? something that you should have learned before starting medical school?
 
HarvardBlackman said:
Now that I'm in med school, I realize how pointless physics in undergrad was and basically a waste of time. Basically mostly everything you learn in undergrad is directly for the MCAT. Sure, a lot of the knowledge you have accumulated would be applicable in Med School Classes, but most wont be, such as physics and most of the Orgo. Why the MCAT has these subjects never made sense to me. The MCAT is not a test that will determine how good of a doctor you will be, but merely a test of how to apply sciences that you've learned. Instead of physics, the MCAT should have more bio, I believe, as bio is more applicable to med school. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...

I know that some might argue with me on this, but I just wish that schools had the staff, resources, and interest to create classes ESPECIALLY for pre-medical/pre-health students. Like, "Medical Physics" or "Physics of the Human Body" or an organic chemistry course specifically tailored for medical purposes.
And I know. Some will argue with me that those classes won't challenge you to think as much about the applications of physics and chemistry if it's just handed to you. However, I think that I would enjoy those types of classes MUCH more and I would be more interested in them. I have become better at trying to keep my interest in such subjects, but it's hard in classes like Physics I when I think my professor mentioned the human body ONCE and the rest of the class...all we talked about was pushing/pulling boxes across the floor and rollercoasters and trains.
Of course I put up with it because it's what I have to do, but it's rather annoying. Oh, well.
 
Organic is more like discipline to me.
Also, "It's not a science without math"
Biology hardly has any math, it's all memorizing. Unless it's bioinformatics.

Anyways Im not a med student so you can disregret anything I say.
 
OChemist said:
Organic is more like discipline to me.
Also, "It's not a science without math"
Biology hardly has any math, it's all memorizing. Unless it's bioinformatics.

Anyways Im not a med student so you can disregret anything I say.
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I agree, Biology as a whole is just plain dumb. I'm convinced a monkey could learn biology (at least at the undergrad level) without much training.
 
HarvardBlackman said:
...where most of the material is irrelevent, aka pendulums, springs, projectile motion, etc. ...
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Just wait until you're on your peds rotation and your dodging snot and pee shooting out of the diaper region. Then you'll come to appreciate your understanding of projectile motion:).
 
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD3LUDw6Syg[/YOUTUBE]
 
Well, who wants intelligent well rounded people anyway?
 
ESzczesniak said:
Just wait until you're on your peds rotation and your dodging snot and pee shooting out of the diaper region. Then you'll come to appreciate your understanding of projectile motion:).
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HAHA that one was funny :)
 
robynrich said:
I know that some might argue with me on this, but I just wish that schools had the staff, resources, and interest to create classes ESPECIALLY for pre-medical/pre-health students. Like, "Medical Physics" or "Physics of the Human Body" or an organic chemistry course specifically tailored for medical purposes.
And I know. Some will argue with me that those classes won't challenge you to think as much about the applications of physics and chemistry if it's just handed to you. However, I think that I would enjoy those types of classes MUCH more and I would be more interested in them. I have become better at trying to keep my interest in such subjects, but it's hard in classes like Physics I when I think my professor mentioned the human body ONCE and the rest of the class...all we talked about was pushing/pulling boxes across the floor and rollercoasters and trains.
Of course I put up with it because it's what I have to do, but it's rather annoying. Oh, well.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm talking about and I agree :thumbup:
 
robynrich said:
I know that some might argue with me on this, but I just wish that schools had the staff, resources, and interest to create classes ESPECIALLY for pre-medical/pre-health students. Like, "Medical Physics" or "Physics of the Human Body" or an organic chemistry course specifically tailored for medical purposes.
And I know. Some will argue with me that those classes won't challenge you to think as much about the applications of physics and chemistry if it's just handed to you. However, I think that I would enjoy those types of classes MUCH more and I would be more interested in them. I have become better at trying to keep my interest in such subjects, but it's hard in classes like Physics I when I think my professor mentioned the human body ONCE and the rest of the class...all we talked about was pushing/pulling boxes across the floor and rollercoasters and trains.
Of course I put up with it because it's what I have to do, but it's rather annoying. Oh, well.
Click to expand...

Hey, why don't we teach you history, but only history of the medical profession? Maybe no literature, except books about being a doctor.

You're there to get an education, and the world, and science, has a lot more to offer than Biology. Learn about it, or don't, but it would be a horrible development if the school caved into short-sighted views like that. In many places you go to medical school right after graduating high school. I prefer it this way - I'd rather spend the two years on getting more well rounded people.
 
I know that some might argue with me on this, but I just wish that schools had the staff, resources, and interest to create classes ESPECIALLY for pre-medical/pre-health students. Like, "Medical Physics" or "Physics of the Human Body" or an organic chemistry course specifically tailored for medical purposes.
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My school has this, it's basically the easy version of Ochem. Making pre-meds take the same Ochem that chemistry majors have to take in preparation for grad school means a harder class, and one more way to weed people out. Any opinion on whether or not this is a good idea is probably based on how well that person did in Ochem.
 
I know that some might argue with me on this, but I just wish that schools had the staff, resources, and interest to create classes ESPECIALLY for pre-medical/pre-health students. Like, "Medical Physics" or "Physics of the Human Body" or an organic chemistry course specifically tailored for medical purposes.
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I'll argue against that.

You want to be an actual doctor right and not just half ass it as they do at online DNP schools?

You think medicine would be where it is today if Osler had your attitude?

 
OChemist said:
Organic is more like discipline to me.
Also, "It's not a science without math"
Biology hardly has any math, it's all memorizing. Unless it's bioinformatics.

Anyways Im not a med student so you can disregret anything I say.
Click to expand...

Wrong. Biology/Chemistry/Physics (all solid sciences) are 100% math. You may be at too basic a level to see it, but it is all math every time. PubMed any topic of your choice in one of those 3 and be amazed at how your stastistical analysis falters in front of the math of science. Yes, bioinformatics is a great example. Your name... OCHEMIST is misleading. A chemist would understand the value of math, and note the application is EVERYWHERE in chemistry.

Just the VERY basics of biology are not rooted in math. Sure, you may not see it as an undergraduate unless you did research, but that does NOT mean it is not there.

And for the OP, you are missing the point. The MCAT is not designed to test topics important to medicine, but to test the minds ability to strech different areas using learned basics. Yes, they could choose basics of social science or even spanish as that basic skill set. But that would be even less pertinent. Not to mention, the MCAT is not a perfect document, hense them re-doing it every so many years and reevaluating.

Perhaps it would be best if SDN as a whole did less complaining, and more productive criticism. Any good ideas on revamping the admissions? Anything realistic? Anyone? Buehler?
 
i think people tend to forget that administrations need to create hoops for us to jump through to narrow down the applicants. also, a lot of people change their minds on the way and its good for them that they have a more general point of view in different areas of sciences. this way, if they decide to change their mind, they'll be able to do other things easier since they had a good foundation in the subject.

MCAT is just a hoop that they've made to weed people out and allow them to compare you to other people...they need some way to decide who they should pick...

its not like its a faulty system. we arent creating bad doctors just because we have to take the mcat etc. that might not be applicable later on.
 
though physics may not be directly learned in med school it provides foundations for many fundamental concepts. It is really important.

And OCHEM? are you kidding? this class is extremely important. It teaches you how carbon molecules actually are and how they work. It provides an understanding of drugs, enzymes, etc. It's really important too. again you may not be learning mechanisms of reactions in med school but the concepts are what is important.

anyone who thinks otherwise needs to focus more on the big picture.
 
boggvir said:
Hey, why don't we teach you history, but only history of the medical profession? Maybe no literature, except books about being a doctor.

You're there to get an education, and the world, and science, has a lot more to offer than Biology. Learn about it, or don't, but it would be a horrible development if the school caved into short-sighted views like that. In many places you go to medical school right after graduating high school. I prefer it this way - I'd rather spend the two years on getting more well rounded people.
Click to expand...

There is really no need to think I don't realize the value of learning about things outside of my future career. I'm a psychology major and I've taken MANY courses outside the natural and physical sciences, including mathematics, social sciences, literature and creative writing, history, and even floral design. And you know what? I appreciated them all and nowhere did I say I wish I didn't have to take them.
And I realize that I have to take the required pre-requisities for medical school. My main points in my argument were simply that I wished that some classes could have a more specific medical focus (considering that engineers get to take specific physics classes based on THEIR focus) and that since this is not the case, I wish that my professors, in general, would focus a little more on the applications of physics and chemistry to health, veterinary, etc. sciences since the majority of my classes are made up of pre-medical students.
You're right. It WOULD be a sad world if colleges held such short-sighted views, and that's why I don't wish that was the case. I never stated such a thing.
 
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strv04 said:
I'll argue against that.

You want to be an actual doctor right and not just half ass it as they do at online DNP schools?

You think medicine would be where it is today if Osler had your attitude?
Click to expand...

Yes, I do want to be an actual doctor and I have no doubt that I can. But my post was simply a suggestion about how I feel that I could better learn and apply physics and organic chemistry to the medical field. My physics class is made up of pre-medical students, pre-veterinary students, and architecture students, and the entire class seems mainly focused toward the 15% that make up the architecture majors, hence the repeated talk about buildings in the class. It's not fair to us that the human body or other medical topics are never mentioned when I have plenty of friends who have taken physics classes at other institutions and tell me that their topics are more equally balanced.
 
In cell physiology you:
1. Discuss potential difference through resting and action potentials. Apply the Nerst potential equation.
2. Discuss cable properties of axons, treating the axon as a RC circuit with a capacitor, resistor, etc.
The underlying concepts of cell physiology REQUIRE you to have knowledge of certain physics concepts. Where are you going to get that from? Air?

Organic chemistry? You are kidding right? In pharmacology knowledge of organic chemistry is crucial. For example, if a drug structure is charged, it won't pass through the cell membrane. Depending on whether a drug is acidic or basic will determine where the drug will pass when taken orally. A tertiary amine can pass the BBB but a quaternary cant. I can go on forever. Biochemistry is an important topic in medicine, and last time I checked there is "chemistry" in that.
 
Forthegood said:
Wrong. Biology/Chemistry/Physics (all solid sciences) are 100% math. You may be at too basic a level to see it, but it is all math every time. PubMed any topic of your choice in one of those 3 and be amazed at how your stastistical analysis falters in front of the math of science. Yes, bioinformatics is a great example. Your name... OCHEMIST is misleading. A chemist would understand the value of math, and note the application is EVERYWHERE in chemistry.

Just the VERY basics of biology are not rooted in math. Sure, you may not see it as an undergraduate unless you did research, but that does NOT mean it is not there.

I agree with you, chemistry and physics have math in it. It's more like critical thinking. I have yet to see math in biology yet because I only taken up to AP2. And even so that only math it has is chemistry. But then again there is biochemistry. If you have a Master in chemistry you can basically teach biology =/. I do see math in organic, I practice problems all the time. I just picked this name because I didnt not know what username to pick at the time =/.
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The prereqs are meant to be foundation and hoops to jump through -- you are not learning anything of career value as a premed. (Which is why med schools don't really care what you major in). Med school teaches you what they feel you need to know, and then some. But this too is somewhat foundational --you do your real learning during your residency training. So sure, there's a lot of physics that you won't ever use. Same can be said for gen chem, bio, etc. But that's not really the point of those classes. So no, there's no value in revamping those classes to be more medically oriented. They aren't supposed to be. They serve their purpose, by giving basic science course background and by serving as weed-outs. Don't kid yourself in thinking that anything you learn in undergrad will have significant bearing on med school or your career. You are just getting a taste of things at best. In med school you will get the whole firehose experience until you choke on it.

Pretty much the only thing you could take in undergrad that would be of direct career value would be a foreign language.
 
There is also the whole thing about the role of an education not being so you can get a job - it's so you'd grow personally and intellectually, learning more about yourself, and the world you live in (scientifically, historically, culturally, etc). Being able to land a job is a secondary characteristic. Or at least, that should be the ideal. Vocational schools like plumbing, IT certifications, medical schools, law schools, etc serve the explicit purpose of career preparation.
 
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