Science vs. Medicine (overcoming pre reqs)

[milliya]

So the other day I uttered something that really made me think. I said "I hate science." Now, science has never really been my thing. Only biology ever sparked my interest, and even now I find myself resenting it (because I've been saddled with the most challenging professor in the world).

I've met many-a-student who gave me "I would have gone to med school but..." usually followed by a sob story about how hard the prereqs were.

I too find myself wishing that I could skip chem and calc and go straight to med school. Even being paid to sit in a lab for 10 weeks in the summer doesn't sound appealing to me. I would much rather sit in a hospital. Does that make sense?

Is it contradictory to hate science but love medicine?

I want to save babies. That is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I can understand how knowing about, say, cellular respiration, would tie into that. I totally can't see what electron configuration has to do with that. And how many doctors really remember that stuff 20 years later? Honestly.

I think the bottom line is, could me feeling this way possibly mean that medicine really isn't for me? Or is it that only time will tell? Because if I actually do edure 4 years of this and get into med school than that would really say something about my dedication to becoming a doctor, right? I'm confused. 😕

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[notdeadyet]

Is it contradictory to hate science but love medicine?

A little. There are lots of folks who just eat/live/breath the sciences and love it. I don't. I wasn't a science major and took prereqs later in life before applying to medical school.

But if you really hate science, medicine might not be the right career choice. The first two years of medical school is basically science boot camp where you learn the sciences at a frightening rate. The second two years of medical school are spent in hospitals, but much of what you do is built on the science you've already learned and applied science that helps you make the right decisions. After medical school, in most specialties, even though there are algorhythms for doing what you do, you will be drawing on science for the rest of your career.

Much of the minutia you learn will be forgotten quickly, but you won't get away from science in medicine. It's what the career is based on. You don't need to have a passion for science (I don't), but you have to appreciate it and enjoy it.

I want to save babies. That is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I can understand how knowing about, say, cellular respiration, would tie into that.

You can save babies as a nurse. It's an important job with a lot of hands on clinical responsibilities with a lot less science. But if you want to be the pediatrician, you have a lot of science in front of you and it doesn't end. You don't just learn a series of diseases and treatments, you need to have a good handle on the science behind them. And the learning doesn't really stop.

I totally can't see what electron configuration has to do with that. And how many doctors really remember that stuff 20 years later? Honestly.

Very few will remember lots of the minutia. There's a lot you'll learn and forget. But you'll keep drawing on your science knowledge throughout medicine.

I think the bottom line is, could me feeling this way possibly mean that medicine really isn't for me? Or is it that only time will tell?

You need to make sure you are passionate about medicine and not passionate about being a doctor. I think a lot of folks romaticize the idea of being a doctor (money! respect!) while the day-to-day isn't appealing. With any job, the day-to-day is what your life will be about, so make sure you like it. And though a physician may seem like she is drawing things out of the air by rote, there's a lot of science that allows her to do that.

Keep taking classes and see how things progress. You may develop a taste for science as time goes on and you have better classes. But if you truly hate the science and that doesn't change? There are lots of fields in healthcare that don't require learning/using science as much and you might look into them.

 

[Rotinaj]

Sounds like you might want to reconsider medical school and start considering becoming a nurse or a medical assistant on some level. Besides, if your "passion" is to save babies, you'll have more hands on experiences in one of those professions.

Those heavy science classes are strongly related to the kinds of thinking you'll be forced to do in medical school. Sure, being able to craft a VSPER model from a lewis structure or calculating a derivative might not be the most applicable skill in your daily life, but if you have a hard time understanding concepts such as these, many of the concepts in medical school will cause problems in the future.

They make you jump through hoops now so that they know you can handle the trapeze later.

 

[xrevision]

Wanting to save babies does not equate to becomming a doctor.

 

[suwaifo]

I don't believe that's what the OP is trying to say. I'm not particularly fond of science either but I have to learn things about it. Sure, stuff happens and we learn what causes the stuff. It's definitely not as interesting as history or philosophy. I did however love it as a kid when I had nothing to care about and watched The Magic School Bus every day. More pressing matters came about as I grew older though. Sometimes it can be interesting and sometimes it can just be common sense.

It's just important to know basics and understand the thing they call "the scientific method." You need to know the reasons things happen but you don't have to be interested in it. Scientific method pretty much is just the application and I guess thats what science really is. Just a bunch of experiments and correlations. Each experiment adds on to your knowledge of science. It's just a bonus if you really enjoy experimenting with stuff like that.

Many of us say we don't really like science but we probably use it without even knowing it in our every day lives. It's just what works and what doesn't work. I doubt anyone really hates science. Medicine may be a scientific career, but the word science is thrown around everywhere nowadays. The gym at my school is called the Fitness Science Center.

If the OP however is finding a reason to leave the pursuit of a career in medicine, this is a different story. If this is the case, just hang in there for a while and things will clear up. Everyone goes through this and if you make it out, you'll be stronger than ever.

 

[xrevision]

I'm going to tell you why all of those science classes are important. They really develop the scientific mind, and I can tell you now that I've taken a lot of science classes even the hard stuff comes naturally.

 

[Jolie South]

OP-

as notdeadyet said earlier, I think you need to spend some time in a clinical setting figuring out whether medicine is right for you. Shadow some pediatricians and spend some time in a volunteer position at a hospital.

seriously, examine the options closely. nursing might be a better alternative that will take less time and money to achieve in the long run. you could take care of babies and not be in a massive amount of debt.

 

[45408]

there are algorhythms for doing what you do

Are those like equations with a beat? 😀

 

[Bacchus]

OP you didn't disclose your major. However lets assume its something in the science field. I too mutter "I hate science" but its never in reality. When you get to your upper levels you'll get a much deeper appreciation. I was getting burnt out on the whole science thing. However, when I hit biochem, genetics, and microbio I got reinterested. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the scenery on this road until you get to the destinations of worth.

 

[Jolie South]

OP you didn't disclose your major. However lets assume its something in the science field. I too mutter "I hate science" but its never in reality. When you get to your upper levels you'll get a much deep appreciation. I was getting burnt out on the whole science thing. However, when I hit biochem, genetics, and microbio I got reinterested. Sometimes you just have to enjoy the scenery on this road until you get to the destinations of worth.

Yea, dislike of pre-reqs != dislike of science. I hated taking the pre-reqs but loved upperdivision microbiology courses.

 

[skyetropics]

Yea, dislike of pre-reqs != dislike of science. I hated taking the pre-reqs but loved upperdivision microbiology courses.

I totally agree here. I hated taking prereqs but past the boredom and monotony of the first few classes (baby biologies for instance) it got better.

On another note, I am a former nursing student. I dont know how it is in the state that you are in OP but nursing here requires you to take a massive amount of sciences (I completed my premed prereqs and then some without even trying) to even get into the nursing school. So you might want to keep that in mind. You will find the sciences whereever you go. If you are going this route then you just have to get past this point. Its not as atypical of a situation as you think.

 

[RelativeRisk]

In the end, I would rather have a doctor treating me who didn't love their science classes, but loved people and wanted to spend their life treating people, than someone who loved their science classes but is incapable of communicating with, and being compassionate and understanding of, all walks of life. You'll have to push through the science, but if it's more about saving young lives for you than the science, I think that's an asset.

As far as nursing goes... I agree with some of the posts that you'll get more hands-on interaction with patients, but I disagree that there isn't a science-barrier in the training. skyetropics is right. Nursing school is intense, and if you have concerns about getting through the science courses in medical school, you should have the same level of concern about getting through nursing school.

 

[Jolie South]

As far as nursing goes... I agree with some of the posts that you'll get more hands-on interaction with patients, but I disagree that there isn't a science-barrier in the training. Nursing school is intense, and if you have concerns about getting through the science courses in medical school, you should have the same level of concern about getting through nursing school.

I neglected to mention this point.

 

[supafield]

So the other day I uttered something that really made me think. I said "I hate science." Now, science has never really been my thing. Only biology ever sparked my interest, and even now I find myself resenting it (because I've been saddled with the most challenging professor in the world).

I've met many-a-student who gave me "I would have gone to med school but..." usually followed by a sob story about how hard the prereqs were.

I too find myself wishing that I could skip chem and calc and go straight to med school. Even being paid to sit in a lab for 10 weeks in the summer doesn't sound appealing to me. I would much rather sit in a hospital. Does that make sense?

Is it contradictory to hate science but love medicine?

I want to save babies. That is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I can understand how knowing about, say, cellular respiration, would tie into that. I totally can't see what electron configuration has to do with that. And how many doctors really remember that stuff 20 years later? Honestly.

I think the bottom line is, could me feeling this way possibly mean that medicine really isn't for me? Or is it that only time will tell? Because if I actually do edure 4 years of this and get into med school than that would really say something about my dedication to becoming a doctor, right? I'm confused. 😕

Most schools in ontario are doing away with science pre-reqs
However they'll still require the MCAT...
This hopefully indicates scientific competency

If you ask me you need to be good with science to be a doctor from a technical standpoint.
But you don't need to love amoebas to save babies or for that matter I think what separates an excellent doctor from a normal one has very little to do with science.

 

[BigMDT]

hint: Medicine is both an art and a science. Therefore you should have some aptitude for learning and applying science.

 

[SageFrancis]

Are those like equations with a beat? 😀

I call that name for my science nerd hip-hop crew.

 

[notdeadyet]

In the end, I would rather have a doctor treating me who didn't love their science classes, but loved people and wanted to spend their life treating people, than someone who loved their science classes but is incapable of communicating with, and being compassionate and understanding of, all walks of life.

Luckily, the two are very not mutually exclusive. Med schools are dominated by science-capable people who have great people skills. Pre-med classes seem to have a lot of science geeks that can't relate to people, but you don't find as many of them at med school as you'd think. Not at the med schools I've seen. For the most part they must either not make it past the interview stage or self-select for PhD programs.

Love of science != poor people skills and hatred of science != good people skills.

 

[notdeadyet]

I dont know how it is in the state that you are in OP but nursing here requires you to take a massive amount of sciences (I completed my premed prereqs and then some without even trying) to even get into the nursing school. So you might want to keep that in mind. You will find the sciences whereever you go.

Nursing won't get you out of your sciences, but it's a heck of lot less science than you'll deal with in becoming a doctor.

Say the OP sticks with his science degree and the science classes he may hate. From the day you start nursing training to the day you start working as a full-time, professional nurse is 1-2 years. From the day you start medical school to the day you finish residency and start working as a full-time, professional doctor is 7-10 years.

Also, the role of nursing tends to be more procedure based and more patient-centric than being a doctor. Between the training and the job duties, if you truly hate science but really want to interact with people and "save babies", nursing is probably a better option.

 

[notdeadyet]

Are those like equations with a beat? 😀

We're eight years into the new millenium. Where's my Internet spell-check and paper-and-pencil handwriting recognition?

 

[milliya]

Thanks for all the advice and opinions.

I'm a Bio major Spanish minor.

It's not that I CAN'T do/learn/apply science. I just don't like to. Also one of the main reasons why I chose doctoring over nursing is because I'm on a full ride right now, my school doesn't offer nursing, and I really don't want to uproot myself. Also, one of my long term goals is to open up a hospital.

I totally agree with those of you who expressed interest in the upper level science courses. I can't wait to get to anatomy and micobio and those. But these chem classes really suck right now.

 

[VoiceofReason]

Luckily, the two are very not mutually exclusive. Med schools are dominated by science-capable people who have great people skills. Pre-med classes seem to have a lot of science geeks that can't relate to people, but you don't find as many of them at med school as you'd think. Not at the med schools I've seen. For the most part they must either not make it past the interview stage or self-select for PhD programs.

Love of science != poor people skills and hatred of science != good people skills.

Exactly. Thankfully we hardly ever have to choose between someone without empathy and someone without science aptitude. But you know, if I hypothetically had to choose, I'd rather someone that knows and loves his/her medical science than someone with compassion but is ignorant of medical science.

Edit: and really the crux of the issue here is as follows: unless you like science pretty well, you're probably not going to master at the level you need to in order to offer optimal care. In my opinion.

 

[Quadratic]

I want to save babies. That is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I can understand how knowing about, say, cellular respiration, would tie into that. I totally can't see what electron configuration has to do with that. And how many doctors really remember that stuff 20 years later? Honestly.

Has a lot to do with it actually. Every chemical reaction is governed by electron configuration (and trust me your body has millions of them everyday). Just think about respiration, in general. The heme molecule that is so central to hemoglobin is basically a ring of carbon-hydrogen molecules with nitrogen, with a centered iron atom at a oxidation state of 2+. That's significant in respiration if you're dealing with a case of CO poisoning. CO^- has a negative charge. O2 is neutral. Guess which one the iron in hemoglobin has an affinity for (if it has an equal amount of both). In cellular respiration, oxygen is often the oxidizing agent, meaning it reduces or gives electrons away.

So electrons are important. Learn to love them 😎

 

[Bananas Foster]

Wanting to save babies does not equate to becomming a doctor.

sure it does, havn't you read pandabear's personal statement?

 

[45408]

We're eight years into the new millenium. Where's my Internet spell-check and paper-and-pencil handwriting recognition?

Get FireFox. If I type in algorhythm.....hmmm, it actually didn't get underlined. I guess SDN has some different setting, because at other sites, it'll underline my spelling errors. Okay, you get a free pass this time.

 

[coldweatherblue]

I didn't enjoy G. Bio or G. chem. After my first year as a pre-med I changed to a music major. I noticed as soon as I started class though that I really missed taking science classes, and ended up completing the pre-med requirements as well as a few other UD courses. After it was gone I realized that science is awesome. Sometimes you have to painfully cram info into your head, and you may not always realize how you're going to use it, but once you find a practical application for what you've studied science becomes fascinating. Seriously like every time I look at food now I think about it from a biochemical/metabolic perspective and it just makes life in general more interesting. Knowing WHY the sky is blue, WHY people get tired after eating, WHY blood coagulates, etc, this is seriously cool stuff. Plus explaining physics/chem/bio to my friends makes me feel like a nerdy rockstar. 👍

 

[skyeblue0610]

I totally agree with those of you who expressed interest in the upper level science courses. I can't wait to get to anatomy and micobio and those. But these chem classes really suck right now.

I totally feel you on the chem classes. Just this one is making me seriously hate it😱 But I really like bio but it's been pushed by the way side because of chem. I just don't have a chemistry mind. Or calculus for that matter🙄 there's something I'm really not feeling at all. One of my ex-roommates is a math/education major and she's in calc I now and I've never seen her so depressed and she absolutely loves math

 

[brianmartin]

A lot more people "want to save babies" than can be feasibly admitted to med school. Therefore there are "weeder" classes that separate the people willing to do the hard work.

Pediatric intensivists save babies all day long, but to get to that level of expertise, you have to invest MANY years of intense work and study that will make undergraduate chemistry look like nothing.

 

[redlight]

I didn't enjoy G. Bio or G. chem. After my first year as a pre-med I changed to a music major. I noticed as soon as I started class though that I really missed taking science classes, and ended up completing the pre-med requirements as well as a few other UD courses. After it was gone I realized that science is awesome. Sometimes you have to painfully cram info into your head, and you may not always realize how you're going to use it, but once you find a practical application for what you've studied science becomes fascinating. Seriously like every time I look at food now I think about it from a biochemical/metabolic perspective and it just makes life in general more interesting. Knowing WHY the sky is blue, WHY people get tired after eating, WHY blood coagulates, etc, this is seriously cool stuff. Plus explaining physics/chem/bio to my friends makes me feel like a nerdy rockstar. 👍

(the rest was well said btw 👍)

 

[135892]

A lot more people "want to save babies" than can be feasibly admitted to med school. Therefore there are "weeder" classes that separate the people willing to do the hard work.

Pediatric intensivists save babies all day long, but to get to that level of expertise, you have to invest MANY years of intense work and study that will make undergraduate chemistry look like nothing.

Yeah, its one thing to "want" to save babies, but its a completely different thing to to actually go through all that schooling and work to be able to actually save babies.

 

[al112987]

Go be a nurse, or a social worker if you want to save babies.

 

[135892]

I want to save babies. That is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I can understand how knowing about, say, cellular respiration, would tie into that. I totally can't see what electron configuration has to do with that. And how many doctors really remember that stuff 20 years later? Honestly.

ummm..... electrons have a lot to do with many different processes ....maybe you need to pay a little more attention in chemistry class. But one way that you could start actually enjoying your science classes is to apply the material you learn to situations that actually interest you.

I don't think that you have to absolutley LOVE science in order to be successful in medicine, but I do think that you have to at least enjoy learning science a little bit, since you will be doing it for a very long time.

 

[Maxprime]

The basics end up being . . . well, the basics of everything you learn after college. They're not pre-reqs for fun or to even the playing field of competition, they're pre-reqs because they form the topics you will build upon in medical school.

 

[wvupremed2]

i understand where you're coming from. i don't think i can honestly say i flat-out "love" science, but I've strayed from it and I always WANT to come back. I find myself missing the challenge and feeling as if I'm settling or wasting my time with any other field (this is a personal feeling. i'm NOT implying that other fields are inferior 🙄 ).

i didn't love general physics. i don't love organic. i thought the majority of my general bio labs were worthless. but when i get in an upper-level elective course or am working in the research lab and can see it fitting into real biological scenarios, I love that. So, I don't love learning the 'classroom science', but I love having the conceptual knowledge and seeing it in action, which is where medicine is taking us all.

i always tell my friends that i am content with where i am today because i know i'll love where i'm going: practicing medicine

 

[F12]

OP, if you said that to a career counselor, they would say, "Have you considered nursing?"

The majority of medical school classes are soft-science, e.g. biology, but you can't understand everything (or competently practice medicine) without understanding the chemical reactions/physics behind the biology.

Except for some fine points in organic chemistry, you would utilize ALL of your pre-reqs in medical school.

Medical physiology requires basic understanding of general chemistry and physics. You'll need basic calculus and statistics to understand the results of most scientific papers. They're pre-reqs for a reason.

 

[brianmartin]

You'll need basic calculus and statistics to understand the results of most scientific papers.

mmmm, I don't think this is true. You can look up basic stat concepts on any website, and you definitely don't need calc. But I do agree with you, about utilizing ALL pre-reqs. It's really like a pyramid of knowledge.

Here is an interesting tidbit: there is a Canadian med school (McMaster) that has no science pre-reqs, and their director of admissions informed me that after 1st year, nobody can tell who took science classes in undergrad or not.