Medical Education US

aondrako@hotmail.com

Hello. I am an undergrad student at the University of Florida. And I will be graduating this December with my B.S. in Psychology. I've recently discovered my passion for psychiatry. But now I must get into medical school. What required courses should I take to get in and to prepare for the MCAT? I am taking anatomy to help get some basics down, but I really haven't had the other neuroscience, chemistry classes because of my major. Should I do some post-baccalaureate studies until Im ready for the MCAT?

When I started medical school in 1992, most med schools required certain classes which were pretty much the classes you'd want to take to prepare for the MCAT. From what I recall, they were:

1 year biology
1 year chemistry
1 year organic chemistry
1 year physics

I would think with those, you'd be well enough prepared for the MCAT.

For more information, you can view a list of frequently asked questions about medical school requirements here

As it appears this thread is getting quite a few pages views for the few days it has been around, I figure there must be a lot of people out there looking into medical school admission requirements. So, for those looking for more information, I'm recommending the following books which you can find new and used at Amazon by following the links, and findng more reviews and recommendations there as well.

First, The Complete Medical School Preparation and Admissions Guide is very popular. The third edition was published in March 2000. From Amazon's book description:

Book Description
Quoted in Compton's Online Encyclopedia and used by thousands of students, counselors, and premedical advisors, the 3rd edition of Dr. Goliszek's popular book includes everything one needs to know about medical school preparation and successful admissions. Areas covered include medical and premedical curriculums, the MCAT, study and test-taking skills, medical school interview, minority admissions, extracurricular activities, financial aid, alternate health careers, high school preparation, medical school selectivity and national rankings, and much more.

The other popular book is:

Medical School Admission Requirements: United States and Canada, 2004-2005 which is published with the Association of American Medical Colleges. Amazon's description:

Fully-authorized annual guide to the entrance requirements of American and Canadian medical schools. Contains comprehensive admission information on every accredited medical school, along with information on the career options and financial planning options available for those who choose a medical school education. Features a companion web site. Softcover.

I'm more than happy to hear anyone elses suggestions!

I am in the same situation as you. I have no idea waht i need to do either.

Hello, I'm new here, and I have another question to add to this thread:

Is it possible to become a physician without taking calculus? Or does the year of physics requirement make it necessary?

From what I remember, most med schools require 1 year of math, but they don't specify calculus. There are some physics classes that you can take that don't require calculus. Some meds schools will say calculus is recommended, others may require 1 quarter or semester of calculus and a few even require 1 year of calculus.

The book mentioned above:

Medical School Admission Requirements: United States and Canada, 2004-2005

has the requirements for each school listed. Most colleges have a copy in their library that you can look through - which is what I did.

It is sometimes out of stock at Amazon, so I'd recommend seeing if they have copies of the 2002-2003 version available:

Medical School Admission Requirements, United States & Canada, 2002-2003

[ Edited by Admin on 2003/7/3 20:04 ]

Thanks for the reply. I'm definitely going to check the library for the book you mentioned.

Yes, you have to take calculus. There are specific psychics classes you have to take for premed. You also have to use a lot of the calculus, physics, organic chemistry, biology, cell biology, genetics, and gen chem concepts in medical school. If you are shying away from any of these classes or do not enjoy studying this material, you should be aware that these are the basics of practiceing medicine. Biochemistry and molecular biology (part of the study of medicine) is filled with calculus. Also, getting into medical school is very competitive. I think one in every 10 applicants is accepted. If you take the easier classes, you are reducing your changes of acceptance.

I'm not sure where the last poster went to medical school, but I think he/she is exagerating a few things. Personally, I don't recall using ANY calculus in medical school. I also don't recall much of organic chemistry or general chemistry for that matter.

As for current acceptance rates, this person was WAY off. Based on information from the Association of American Medical Colleges, about half of people who apply are accepted. A related page of their site (the last line is where I got my info):

http://www.aamc.org/students/considering/gettingin.htm

Overall, I wouldn't put much weight in anything the last poster claims.

hi im new .....im in high school and im wondering which courses i am required to take to get into university and medical school???

How far are you in high school? From what I recall, high school classes didn't play that big of a part. Here's the page at the AAMC for exploring careers in medical school:

http://www.aamc.org/students/considering/start.htm

I also found this site which has some interesting information about getting into colleges and med-school.

Any major is acceptable for medical school
You must take the following however

1 full year general inorganic chemistry with lab
1 full year of Organic chemistry with lab
1 full year of physics (trig or calculus based)
Biology 1 semester and zoology 1 sem
2 semesters of college English
1 semester of general psychology

Recommended courses:
Microbiology and biochemistry are highly recommended
1 quarter or 1 semester of calculus is required for some schools.

Remember 99% of those accepted have at least a bachelors degree They take VERY FEW people without.

When you say a "year" for example "a year of inorganic chem" does that mean u have to major in it for a year?

A "major" is what you concentrate your studies on during the course of college, not a single year or class. For example, I graduated with a major in chemistry, which means that I took all of the required classes by my college for that major. One of my friends graduated with a major in English - he took mostly english classes and few science classes. We both had to take some of the same core liberal arts classes.

For an updated list of Amazon's most popular books on this topic:

Medical School Requirements Books

[ Edited by Admin on 2005/1/30 8:41 ]