<p>If you could design a major that would be the best preparation for a future med student to take, what would it consist of?</p>
<p>Include lower and upper division courses and appropriate Gen Ed/Core Curriculum classes that you think would prepare the student both science-wise and "worldly-wise".</p>
<p>I was going to write: “Truthfully there’s almost nothing that’s directly relevant. Even ostensibly relevant classes – like …”</p>
<p>And then I changed my mind.</p>
<p>Obviously you’d start with the premedical requirements (English, General Chemistry, Intro Physics, Calculus, Biochemistry, Intro Biology).</p>
<p>I’d add: (1) Theater. Your very important third-year grades are determined almost entirely based on your public speaking skills. (2) Statistics. Keeping up with medical literature is daunting, and trying to do this if you don’t understand the language of research is nearly impossible. (3) Extra biology: microbiology, animal physiology. (4) Multivariable Calculus. Useful in general. (5) Economic principles, just because I can’t imagine anybody going through life without understanding concepts like “opportunity cost” and “decisions at the margins.” (6) Something in medical anthropology, if at all possible.</p>
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Why animal physiology and not human physiology?</p>
<p>I’d think a pathology course would be useful. The Theater class is interesting…</p>
<p>That’s what medical school is for.</p>
<p>Gen chem o chem biochem
Gen Bio
Gen Physics
History of medicine/bioethics
One psych/sociology class
A nutrition class
Agree with theater, would also add a performance requirement
2 years of language class minimum
Intro Latin
English, one advanced composition class, one class requiring speaking/presenting.
Statistics, epidemiology
A public health/global health class
Two classes involving foreign cultures or underrepresented cultures in the US.
A required physically demanding class every semester</p>
<p>My school didn’t offer human physiology. I suppose it might have been a good idea if they had, although perhaps the broader overview given by animal phys. might have been better. Not sure.</p>
<p><a href=“5”>quote</a> Economic principles, just because I can’t imagine anybody going through life without understanding concepts like “opportunity cost” and “decisions at the margins.”
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<p>I agree with the courses BDM mentioned above, but I’d also add in a lot of business classes that deal with medicine. From what I have heard, it is very important for doctors to have a strong business sense in today’s healthcare field. </p>
<p>Many schools do allow you to make your own major. I know my school has an interdisciplinary major, where you can pick and choose what classes you want to take. (It has some basic requirements, but not many).</p>
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Well, I think being business savy was required for doctors in regards to starting their own practices. But, if I’m not mistaken, private practices are suffering in today’s market so I think advanced business knowledge isn’t as necessary now. And I know in my case, I don’t really have any interest in owning my own practice. I want to be a doctor, not a businessman.</p>
<p>My sense is that the sorts of business things you’d have to learn aren’t and can’t be taught at the undergraduate level – e.g. the way you manage billing codes, or deal with uninsured patients, etc. Otherwise I’d recommend them.</p>
<p>anthropology</p>
<p>If I were to take 4 years of a language in high school, would more years of it in college be beneficial? possibly a minor? (spanish)</p>
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<p>^^^ haha, I guess pre-meds should take a general online medical billing course to become familiar with medical billing. When I shadowed a couple of doctors, they made me sit down with the person who did the medical billing for their office and learn about how the process works. They told me it when I became a doctor (or if I became a doctor) that it would be critical for me to have a good grasp of medical billing. How to deal with uninsured patients can be taught by shadowing doctors who work in a lot of low-income areas (watching how they deal with trying to provide decent care to patients with no health insurance can help pre-meds learn about insurance companies and the healthcare field) Maybe do shadowing for credit?</p>
<p>Pack, unless you become entirely fluent in high school, taking more language classes would certainly be of use, especially if it is a common language in your community like Spanish or an asian language.</p>
<p>I agree that becoming somewhat fluent in a second language that many of your patients might speak would be helpful…Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, etc…</p>
<p>I think some kind of accounting, economics, business law classes might be helpful, as well as psychology, speech, philosophy (such as “critical thinking” or “ethics”).</p>
<p>Definitely Stats and some kind of computer/technology class.</p>
<p>I like the idea of Theatre…LOL…I guess especially for those who are doing Med/Law… 
…actually anything that improves communication skills.</p>
<p>I realize that I didn’t write the OP correctly…instead of being the best prep for med school…I should have wrote…best prep for med school AND for one’s practice as a physician (in private practice, research, or whatever).</p>
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I would second this also.</p>
<p>On another recent CC thread, eadad posted many “science nerd type” students could do well only during the first two (or 1.5) years in medical school. Starting from the more important 3rd year, they could not get a good grade no matter how hard they try. The performance criteria appear to be changed significantly. The skills of mastering an organic chemistry topic seem to be of little use from this point on. This points to the importance of being a well-rounded college student who excels on many aspects of a college life, not only the academics.</p>
<p>*This points to the importance of being a well-rounded college student who excels on many aspects of a college life, not only the academics.
*</p>
<p>This may be why med schools don’t simply rely on MCAT. </p>
<p>I would think that med schools would want a well-rounded student…well-rounded in curriculum and well as outside of school…but everyone keeps saying that med schools don’t care about your choices of classes.</p>
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<p>However, some understanding of business, economics, and finance can help a doctor understand how various participants in the medical system (patients, doctors, insurance companies, hospitals, employers who buy insurance, government who buys insurance, lawyers, politicians, etc.) interact with each other.</p>
<p>But then introductory economics courses seem to be very popular courses anyway, so it would not be surprising if a large percentage of pre-med (and other) students took that course anyway.</p>
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<p>Intro econ classes do not cover how patients/doctors/insurance companies interact in the healthcare field.</p>
<p>Maybe all students should be required to have some “extracurricular” credits. All successful premeds need to do a lot of these any way. Why not formalize it so that the college can help control the quality/quantity of the extracurriculum, or at least help double-check whether the students really do it.</p>
<p>Although medicine is not consulting/i-banking, the following description about how the top business/law/consulting/i-banking companies recruit their new hires is “interesting” – At least the academic record counts a little bit more for premed students:</p>
<p>“while recruiters don’t particularly care about the quality of applicants’ academic records, they do care about extracurricular activities – but only as long as the applicant graduated from one of the select five schools. And from there, headhunters attempt to filter out “tool[s]” and “bookworm[s]” by targeting those with stellar recreational resumes (crew looks good, ping pong does not).”</p>
<p>I want to be a doctor, not a businessman.</p>
<p>actually, many/most doctors are business people…they own their practices which are a business.</p>
<p>Unless you’re employed by a hospital or something …like an anesthesiologistor radiologist… you’re going to be a self-employed and a business person.</p>
<p>Ask the kids at Notre Dame; they are one of the few upper tier universities that has a defined “Pre-Med” major.</p>