When to begin pre-reqs?

[Sndalt]

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Hey guys,

I am currently getting my MPH and I want to begin my chemistry series in the winter term, but I am unsure if I will be able to pull off a good grade. I have never taken chem before and I will be taking two grad courses as well as working (20 hours a week). I also find my math skills somewhat weak. I have a few options and would like some advice on which path to take.

My question is: should I wait to start my chemistry series and study chem on my own for a few months through kahn academy? Or should I take the 100 level chemistry course before I start the level 200 series?

I know how important it is for me to get A's in these classes if I want to get into medical school, just afraid I might be rushing into the classes.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[1727]

I think the common consensus is to ensure that your math abilities are solid before venturing into chemistry.

 

[Mad Jack]

If your math skills are weak, physics will be downright painful.

Chemistry can be done without being a savant in math, just master dimensional analysis and it is fine. Look over the Khan Academy course. If you find it to be too difficult, take a one semester intro to chemistry course (most schools offer such a course for non-science majors) to build your foundational knowledge before taking the year-long Chem sequence. If the Khan course seems fine, you could probably jump right into Chem I.

Learn DA. Unit conversions are the most difficult part of Chem, not because they are hard, but because they're tedious and one little mistake can ruin your entire result. DA helps you reduce calculation errors substantially.

Good luck!

 

[Cawolf]

I was not in grad school when I began my pre-med adventures. I did however feel weak in math and had no chemistry exposure except a high school course.

I personally made the decision to take an introductory chemistry course (with lab) and college algebra/pre-calc. I felt that my exposure to the material before taking the pre-reqs in my structured post-bac gave me a huge advantage. I don't think I would have done as well (though I may have) if I jumped in without the intro courses.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

I didn't take chemistry in HS and jumped right into Gen Chem. If you are strong at your basic arithmetic, and by that I mean you don't need to grab a calculator to do division or percentages, then Chem 1 should be absolutely fine. Dimensional analysis is the main math you will use, which is literally just: unit that you want/unit that you don't want = unit that you want. Or with real numbers, 1L = (1000mL/1L) = 1000mL. The same thing is used for moles to grams etc. If you just understand what part to put on what side of the fraction, you're golden. The other basic things were like PV=nRT where you plug and chug the values in and solve for x. Very, very elementary algebra.

Chem 2 involved more algebra at my school at least when dealing with ICE tables and the like. I think taking college algebra beforehand helped me with this class so I'd recommend either taking a course or brushing up on your algebra while doing Chem 1. But IMO, I believe you will be a huge disadvantage if your algebra skills aren't very strong when you take physics.

 

[Sndalt]

I took College Algebra my freshman year of college, 4 years ago. Perhaps I will re-take that this winter term before starting my chemistry series in the spring. Thanks for all the advice guys, greatly appreciate it.

 

[wholeheartedly]

Yeah, I took all my prereqs over a decade ago and even though I did pretty well in math stuff, I'm still hitting Khan academy pretty hard while reviewing physics for the MCAT.

I do quite a but of number crunching at work and school (epidemiology), but mostly stats and some quantitative analysis type chem. and it's different enough where I'm rusty on the other stuff.

 

[Sndalt]

Yeah, I took all my prereqs over a decade ago and even though I did pretty well in math stuff, I'm still hitting Khan academy pretty hard while reviewing physics for the MCAT.

I do quite a but of number crunching at work and school (epidemiology), but mostly stats and some quantitative analysis type chem. and it's different enough where I'm rusty on the other stuff.

Do you have an MPH? What made you want to make the switch to medicine?

 

[wholeheartedly]

Do you have an MPH? What made you want to make the switch to medicine?

Long story. Short version: I'm finishing my MPH in epidemiology. I always wanted to do medicine, but tried to talk myself out of it for various reasons. I have a strong interest in research, but realized clinical and Epi were a better fit than basic science. Had some medical issues, so I decided to work for a bit while getting that squared away before applying to med school.

My employer offers some tuition reimbursement so I decided to take advantage of that while I was here and close to a great school of public health. It's where the med students from my home state med school, my employers med school, and current state school students go for the MPH portion of their combined MD/MPHs. It's taking me longer than I anticipated while working and won't turn out to be cost effective in the long run, but I don't regret it either. Found it valuable, learned a ton, and had a blast 🙂. Hoping to wind up doing academic medicine.

 

[jl lin]

Long story. Short version: I'm finishing my MPH in epidemiology. I always wanted to do medicine, but tried to talk myself out of it for various reasons. I have a strong interest in research, but realized clinical and Epi were a better fit than basic science. Had some medical issues, so I decided to work for a bit while getting that squared away before applying to med school.

My employer offers some tuition reimbursement so I decided to take advantage of that while I was here and close to a great school of public health. It's where the med students from my home state med school, my employers med school, and current state school students go for the MPH portion of their combined MD/MPHs. It's taking me longer than I anticipated while working and won't turn out to be cost effective in the long run, but I don't regret it either. Found it valuable, learned a ton, and had a blast 🙂. Hoping to wind up doing academic medicine.

Just wanted to say, good luck to your WH. Also, "it's taking me longer than I anticipated while working and won't turn out to be cost effective. . ." WH, I so hear you. It's hard to find any higher education that is cost effective anymore. Have a friend that just finished masters in OT and obtained licensure, b/c grad level is the requirement now. She had a scholarship for four years undergrad. Now, she's got over $100,000 in student loans, but she took out of that COL along with the program. Personally, I would have commuted from home--about an 45-to an hour. I've driven 75 minutes or so to a job-- working mostly 12 hour night shifst for years as an RN in a OHS unit. Plus she had people with whom she shared rent. Beats the heck out of me how she accrued school expenses for 2 years of grad to that point. I think it's a bit insane, but whatever. It's not even like it was a top tiered school--it's a state school. But apparently, even state schools are getting ridiculous anymore. Mind you, I don't know if she was talking that amount after interest or not.