Take Anatomy & Physiology

[bluewind751]

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Now, in my high school, is the time to apply for classes for next year. I was filling out my form when I realized that Honors Anatomy & Physiology was a class. Of course, since I want to be a doctor years from now, I'm thinking about taking the class to get myself familiarized with the human body.

However, there is this other course that's called Honors Modern Issues, which talks about contemporary problems in the world today, such as child labor in Africa and overpopulation in China. Because I don't know anything about current news, I am quite interested to take that class.

The problem is that I can only take one of these classes next year due to other slots already being filled to APs and other Honors classes. Is it really necessary/helpful to take a high school version of Anatomy & Physiology for medical school, or can I just go ahead and take Honors Modern Issues over Honors Anatomy and Physiology?

 

[austinblnd]

I don't think it will really matter which one you take in the long run, but it might be helpful to have background knowledge for science classes in college. You could just take the modern issues class and buy and study your own anatomy and physiology book 👍

 

[dani042]

Take the Issues course, you'll get all the A&P you want and need in medical school

 

[orthomyxo]

There's really no point in taking A&P in high school, but I did and it was awesome. It was also a super easy A, if you need a GPA booster. I say go for it if you get to dissect some animals. Fetal pig and cat FTW!

 

[Silverman780]

Just in my biology class we hit enough basic A&P. It would be an advantage for later but really wouldn't serve that much use right now unless you are doing a CNA or EMT type class for EC's.

 

[nicolemsm]

I'd take the A&P course... Read some online articles and become familiar with news if you'd like to learn about current events... If you need the GPA booster I'd say stick with the current events class otherwise take the A&P course to familiarize yourself with the body.... I mean it's never too early to start learning and SEE if you actually enjoy this kind of stuff. Then, when it's time to take it as a pre-req for med school you'll breeze through it and have no trouble!

 

[Interest]

I'm currently in Anatomy and Physiology at my high school. It's actually a requirement for me to graduate at my high school, so I had to take it. Anyways, it's a really great course if you want to familiarize yourself with the human body. Right now we're watching a live autopsy which, while a little creepy, is still really interesting. Though not a GPA-booster, at least at my school, it'll keep you interested. (We're dissecting a cat next month!) 😎

The Modern Issues course sounds like an interesting course, and certainly a GPA-booster unless there's some hidden difficulty somewhere in there, but I don't see how it will really benefit you. I can't comment on how A&P might help you in the future, but I know I don't regret having taken it this year and I would definitely recommend it.

First post! 🙄

 

[Daedra22]

I'd take the A&P course... Read some online articles and become familiar with news if you'd like to learn about current events... If you need the GPA booster I'd say stick with the current events class otherwise take the A&P course to familiarize yourself with the body.... I mean it's never too early to start learning and SEE if you actually enjoy this kind of stuff. Then, when it's time to take it as a pre-req for med school you'll breeze through it and have no trouble!

It isn't a pre-req for med schools (I think a few recommend it... but it is not normally considered a pre-req). The next time you will realistically see A&P, unless you choose to take it in undergrad, is in med school. I think it would be a lot of wasted effort, and in general, taking a class on modern issues will help you more. Between now and med school you need to grow as a person and expand your perspective on the world--a modern issues class is a step in the right direction.

 

[BSMD Hopeful]

I'm actually taking A&P next year as a senior. What's really exciting though is that my high school, for the first time, is offering Sports Medicine as a class. While I want to be a doctor, I don't know what specialty interests me the most...so taking sports medicine seems like a no brainer. This along with A&P and IB physics makes it so that I am taking 3 science courses next year, which I'm pretty happy about.

 

[nicolemsm]

It isn't a pre-req for med schools (I think a few recommend it... but it is not normally considered a pre-req). The next time you will realistically see A&P, unless you choose to take it in undergrad, is in med school. I think it would be a lot of wasted effort, and in general, taking a class on modern issues will help you more. Between now and med school you need to grow as a person and expand your perspective on the world--a modern issues class is a step in the right direction.

Oh okay, I just assumed A&P was a requirement, I've never looked at med school admissions since I've been set on Pharmacy from the get go. Thanks for letting me know 😛 *blush*

You have a good point though on the modern issues class, however I think college will really draw out the type of person one is. And you get a lot of social issue interaction in basic humanities and social behaviorial classes (at least at my school I have). At the high school level I wouldn't worry too much about expanding world perspective, it's still time to be a kid (at least for me I wish I wouldn't have been so college headstrong and just been a kid like all my friends).

 

[nohika]

I'd take the A&P course... Read some online articles and become familiar with news if you'd like to learn about current events... If you need the GPA booster I'd say stick with the current events class otherwise take the A&P course to familiarize yourself with the body.... I mean it's never too early to start learning and SEE if you actually enjoy this kind of stuff. Then, when it's time to take it as a pre-req for med school you'll breeze through it and have no trouble!

I would comment here that please don't assume that high school A&P is on the same level as college A&P. Some high schools /maybe/, but I'm in A&P right now and it's a hecka lot of information in a very short time. High schools have the time - we don't. While it may require a little less studying, you will have forgotten 98% of it by the time you make it into med school.

 

[Vicviper]

Yeah, I took Honors Anatomy senior year, and now that I took full blown Gross Anatomy in dental school (more or less same as the med version, with more of a focus on head and neck), I can say that although it gave me somewhat of a foundation for some of the basic sciences in undergrad, it was nothing compared to what you'll take in Med/Dental/Etc school.

 

[Ischemic]

Take whichever one you want, I don't think it will matter one bit. If you're a big science guy and really want to know about the human body by all means take A&P. However, don't do it if you think it will help you in college/med school cause it won't ... hell even college A&P has nothing on what they teach us in med school, not even close.

I personally say enjoy your senior year. Take cool classes you'll never get to take again. Same advice when you're a senior in college, just have fun with it.

 

[BSMD Hopeful]

The only reason I'm taking A&P (along with 3 additional science classes) is because I love science (I mean REALLY love it), and also because I want the BS/MD program adcoms to see that I didn't slack off in my senior year in high school.

 

[iqe2010]

I'm a senior and I'm currently taking A&P. My teacher is a coach who's barely even there, so it's a joke, I jus sit in class everyday and talk to my friends all period long. We dissect animals every now and then, the last thing we did was a sheep's brain. My favorite has to be the fetal pig though! It's an easy A.

 

[VneZonyDostupa]

If you want to take the A&P course to "prepare for medical school", don't do it. Comparing any high school anatomy course to medical gross anatomy is like comparing a firecracker to an atomic bomb. Completely different intensities.

However, if you're truly interested in anatomy and physiology, why not? It's interesting material. Just don't go into it thinking you're getting ahead of the game at all.

 

[bigwill11205]

I'd take A&P over Modern Issues anyday. Learning about the human body is more interesting, IMO, than Modern Issues. Plus, in your Modern Issues class, you will most likely be required to write TONS of papers like I have to in my International Affairs class; writing papers is only helpful if you do not know how to write---I know how to write.

I do, however, suggest that you watch the news to know what's going on in the world; you might want to know if North Korea is planning on dropping a nuclear bomb on the U.S.

I'm pretty sure you are aware of the fact that high school A&P will not prepare you for med school A&P. So, take A&P for fun. 🙂 And if you really want to learn about modern issues, then take that class for fun. 🙂

 

[Electrophile]

I'm actually taking A&P next year as a senior. What's really exciting though is that my high school, for the first time, is offering Sports Medicine as a class. While I want to be a doctor, I don't know what specialty interests me the most...so taking sports medicine seems like a no brainer. This along with A&P and IB physics makes it so that I am taking 3 science courses next year, which I'm pretty happy about.

Dude! Take sports medicine! I'm still surprised at how often I use those skills of wrapping, treating, and taping wounds and injuries in vet school that I used back in high school 10 years ago as a student athletic trainer. Knowing how to handle tape correctly is a sorely under appreciated skill!

 

[Argentium]

Oh okay, I just assumed A&P was a requirement, I've never looked at med school admissions since I've been set on Pharmacy from the get go. Thanks for letting me know 😛 *blush*

You have a good point though on the modern issues class, however I think college will really draw out the type of person one is. And you get a lot of social issue interaction in basic humanities and social behaviorial classes (at least at my school I have). At the high school level I wouldn't worry too much about expanding world perspective, it's still time to be a kid (at least for me I wish I wouldn't have been so college headstrong and just been a kid like all my friends).

As a student taking systems physiology right now, I'll tell you that 1) its absolute hell and 2) I wish I had taken anatomy in high school. At the rate that this guy talks, any bit of background knowledge would help.