Physiology vs. BioChem

[everafter722]

Hi when I started college, community college, I was a nursing major and well lots of stuff happened in my life (including volunteering at a hospital) which led me to change my mind and want to become a doctor instead 🙂 any ways I didn’t know what I really wanted to major in after that, I figured I shouldn’t waste my time and money on nursing if I was going to medical school (and I wasn’t that passionate about it), so after researching it a bit I found physiology to be interesting.

Well now I’ve taking a few chem. classes (just intro stuff) and I really enjoy chem. (this is where biochem comes in because I definitely want to major in something that deals with the human body) I’m currently taking a intro bio class and well I don’t like it as much (I’m guessing because of the teacher). I know physiology and bio aren’t the same but their close and I won’t make any changes until I’ve had an intro physiology class. So my question is for those who have taken one or both physiology and biochem and which one did you like better? I still have a year before I transfer so I’m not it a huge rush yet but any advice would be great.
Thanks

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[RySerr21]

Hi when I started college, community college, I was a nursing major and well lots of stuff happened in my life (including volunteering at a hospital) which led me to change my mind and want to become a doctor instead 🙂 any ways I didn't know what I really wanted to major in after that, I figured I shouldn't waste my time and money on nursing if I was going to medical school (and I wasn't that passionate about it), so after researching it a bit I found physiology to be interesting.

Well now I've taking a few chem. classes (just intro stuff) and I really enjoy chem. (this is where biochem comes in because I definitely want to major in something that deals with the human body) I'm currently taking a intro bio class and well I don't like it as much (I'm guessing because of the teacher). I know physiology and bio aren't the same but their close and I won't make any changes until I've had an intro physiology class. So my question is for those who have taken one or both physiology and biochem and which one did you like better? I still have a year before I transfer so I'm not it a huge rush yet but any advice would be great.
Thanks

if you want to major in something that deals with the human body i reccommend kinesiology, not biochemistry. as a kines major you will be taking courses like anatomy, physiology, exercise phsysiology, courses on diet and disease, motor skills, biomechanics, all of which center around the human body......and you can even take a biochem course specific to humans, not just general biochemistry which does orgnaisms in general. the course at my school is called biochemistry of exercise.

i'm not a biochem major nor do i plan on taking the class. it wont really be that appliccable as a physicain either. i maen i'm not saying its useless and if you are have a passion for it then by all means learn about it.

the physician i shadowed was a biohcem major and he explained how nuts he was about it. he said he had a wall-sized poster of all the biochemical reactions he learned (NERD! HAHA). he followed that up by sayign "i could tell every enzyme and molecule in every reaction in your body.....who cares? no one but me" he just was genuinely interested in the material but stated that none of what he learned is applicable to what he does. he was a family practice doc in his sports medicine fellowship.

so i think if u have a passion for the human body you will be dissapointed in a biochemistry major. kinesiology will touch on the same stuff that some biochem courses but not go into near the detail of all the molecular structures and enzymes and bla bla bla who cares. i could tell you the important molecules and enzymes that are part of key steps for human metabolism and digestion and all that.

and if you think about it, any important biochem stuff you need to know as a physician will be given to you in medical school. bottom line, if your pasison is in the human body go w/ something like kines

 

[bodonid]

If you go to a fairly good/large school (stateUs and the like) I would recommend something like biochem over kinesiology, exercise science, physiology, or something like that. While these majors resemble medicine more closely, what you really end up doing in the classes is just rote memorization of "factual minutiae". What you learn you will most likely forget by the time you get into med school. I feel like biochemistry, physics, chemistry, and even biology, are all sufficiently relevant and, more importantly, emphasize and demand higher-order thinking that will be very helpful for the MCAT and in medicine.

To the above poster, anyone who has taken (and most who have simply heard of) biochemistry will tell you that it is certainly relevant to clinical medicine (e.g. pharmacology).

Just an opinion.

 

[RySerr21]

If you go to a fairly good/large school (stateUs and the like) I would recommend something like biochem over kinesiology, exercise science, physiology, or something like that. While these majors resemble medicine more closely, what you really end up doing in the classes is just rote memorization of "factual minutiae". What you learn you will most likely forget by the time you get into med school. I feel like biochemistry, physics, chemistry, and even biology, are all sufficiently relevant and, more importantly, emphasize and demand higher-order thinking that will be very helpful for the MCAT and in medicine.

To the above poster, anyone who has taken (and most who have simply heard of) biochemistry will tell you that it is certainly relevant to clinical medicine (e.g. pharmacology).

Just an opinion.

agreed. but anything about biochemistry relevant to clinical medicine they will teach you in medical school. thats why i said if you really odnt have a passion in it then why would you major in it? OP mentioned his/her passion in the human body....i think its agreed upon that a major should be chosen based on what you enjoy learning about, not what you think might better prepare for you medical school. in this persons case, biochemistry would not be wise.

your assumption that all courses in kinesiology are rote memorization is just wrong.

 

[Vihsadas]

What is true at my school anyway (and I think most others) is that physiology is the most relevant degree for medicine. It's a great introduction into the first year of medicine, and into the basic function and malfunctions of the body. If you are only considering majors based on which one will be most relevant to your life as a doctor, I'd go with physiology.

 

[bodonid]

your assumption that all courses in kinesiology are rote memorization is just wrong.

Agree to disagree, stupidhead.

 

[everafter722]

Thanks for the insight everyone. I’m going to research it some more and as I said it might be because of the bad teacher (which it’s unfortunately the only time I can take the class🙁). Good news it sounds like either way or even kinesiology will lead me to find a good major (might as well pay for something I love right?) 😍

 

[bodonid]

good luck!!

and I was just joking a few posts up, I have a really dry (read: idiotic) sense of humor.

 

[xrevision]

Biochemistry is infinitely important to the application of medicine. Ever hear of a little thing called an enzyme?

Also, at the same time physiology is important because you actually see a bigger overall picture of the human body.

Both have their merits.

 

[RySerr21]

Biochemistry is infinitely important to the application of medicine. Ever hear of a little thing called an enzyme?

a what? is that the opposite of an outzyme?


no one here said biochemistry wasn't important to the application of medicine.

 

[njbmd]

Hi when I started college, community college, I was a nursing major and well lots of stuff happened in my life (including volunteering at a hospital) which led me to change my mind and want to become a doctor instead 🙂 any ways I didn’t know what I really wanted to major in after that, I figured I shouldn’t waste my time and money on nursing if I was going to medical school (and I wasn’t that passionate about it), so after researching it a bit I found physiology to be interesting.

Well now I’ve taking a few chem. classes (just intro stuff) and I really enjoy chem. (this is where biochem comes in because I definitely want to major in something that deals with the human body) I’m currently taking a intro bio class and well I don’t like it as much (I’m guessing because of the teacher). I know physiology and bio aren’t the same but their close and I won’t make any changes until I’ve had an intro physiology class. So my question is for those who have taken one or both physiology and biochem and which one did you like better? I still have a year before I transfer so I’m not it a huge rush yet but any advice would be great.
Thanks

There is no one particular undergraduate major which is best for medical school and therefore, you can major in anything that you love (because you have to do well in it) and attend medical school. The course that deals the most with how the human body works is Physiology but there are few undergraduate Physiology majors out there. Biochemistry is offered as a major at the undergraduate level but it is the chemistry of large biomolecules. Sure, it is utilized in the practice of medicine (as is physiology) but biochemistry as a major is not the study of the human body.

Many folks elect to major in Biological science as many of the courses that are necessary for completion of this major are good courses for learning about the human body such as Cell Biology, Human Physiology and Histology. This major can also require coursework like Comparative Anatomy and Botany which are only scantly peripheral to medical school.

In my case, I double majored in Biology and Analytical Chemistry with double minors in Math and Physics. I was passionate about all of those subjects and did extremely well. I also received a graduate degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and taught as a medical school professor and researcher. My undergraduate work was perfect for my previous career. If I had it to do over again and I knew that I was going to end up in medical school and as surgeon, I would have majored in American Studies, minored in Spanish and took my pre-med courses. American Studies and Spanish are infinitely more useful (and interesting study) for what I do today.

Bottom line: find something that you love and major in it (and do very, very well). You can take courses like Physiology and biochemistry outside of your major as electives if you like.

There is no major by itself that "looks good" for pre-med. The things that make you stand out as a prospective medical school applicant are good academics no matter what the major.