<p>Summer after first year is available. There are trade offs one can make in terms of concentrating on technology instead of research. There are not many doctors who seem to understand anything about technology they use.</p>
<p>^^With exception of my kids, of course. <wink></wink></p>
<p>With the prevalence of electronic patient records, some med schools have discussed making a course in computer literacy/intro to programming a pre-req.</p>
<p>D1 is a very able programmer. (She automated the data collection system in her particle beam lab by tying together several different computers with different operating systems and writing software to make them communicate with each other. She also wrote analysis software for the lab.) She tried to suggest to one interviewer that her ability to “speak computer” should be considered her second language. She got laughed at.</p>
<p>Well if what you guys are saying is true, and your son majored in Biology because his Pre-med prerequisites got him close to a major to start, why would I NOT major in it? </p>
<p>If I’m going to be taking the same amount of classes as a Bio major, I might as well be a Bio major, right?</p>
<p>wowmom - It is an exception and your D sure seems to fit that! </p>
<p>I am worried that while MCAT and AAMC is paying attention to bedside manner, no one is paying attention to how much tech will be used in future. It is important to require one or two programming classes and some more physics and Math to understand the new machines that are going to start popping up 5-10 years from now. </p>
<p>Nick - the main issue with being a bio major is that the plan B of using Biology to find a regular job seems to result in lower income than other majors.</p>
<p>The logic for most people is to major in what is closest related to Medicine: Biology, Biochem, etc. First because pre-med classes overlap with those, second because most students tend to enjoy these type of classes and they do offer a great opportunity to major with a high GPA. However, there are a lot more pre-med students than spots in Med school. Job opportunity and salary perspectives for a Biology major are not good. Knowing you can basically choose any major and add the pre- require classes why not choose a major that will add to your career AND will give you a plan B in case you do not get accepted in Med school the first time around?</p>
<p>'Summer after first year is available. " - most in D’s class either spend it in Research or some other Medical activities, D. went abroad to work in clinics in the very poor region of the world (along with few classmates), was a great experience both medical as well as polishing her Spanish aslong with satisfaction with helping others who truly do not have any means to take care of their health. Maybe few decided to have a summer off, but the most were busy. The concern is that you want to pursue as many experiences as possible and at the same time not to fall behind others who are in this constant pursuit.</p>
<p>
A few things:
[ol]
[<em>] Biology is my son’s second major. His primary major is CS.
[</em>] Pre-requisites didn’t bring him close to a Biology major. JHU suggests kids with AP credit to simply do Cell Bio with lab and Genetics/Dev Bio with lab. Obviously, a Biology major needs a lot more than that (32 credits of Biology for BA and 40 for a BS). He did advanced courses in Genetics, Microbiology, Enzymes etc., before figuring out he was close.
[li] Biology as primary major may not give you the best plan B.[/li][/ol]
Most of my son’s research was in Computer-aided Surgery and Medical Robotics (he did some gene sequencing work in the Biology dept. also). They did some really interesting stuff like calibration and real-time control of scull drilling robots etc… Hopkins CS department and JHU SoM work very closely in that area. He actually got a first author publication and also presented their work at a medical robotics conference in San Diego. His hope is that he can continue that at med school also…</p>
<p>However, their tech startup is a whole another story. The system they built relates to the field of public health. It is getting a lot of attention. At the moment their company is surviving on hand offs from JHU and freeloading and/or cheap cloud services. Some venture capitalists are recommending them to embark on road shows and take it to silicon valley. The two key players (my son and another guy who is matriculating into med school this year) are pre-meds. They are really conflicted as to what to do with it. One idea is to partner with kids form some west coast schools like Berkeley.</p>
<p>Kal - my answer was about med school. Many students do research while in med school to enhance their resume for residencies. I have a nephew who spent first year summer working for a surgeon and second summer in research and continues do so during the rotations. So there is time to do things outside of med school while in med school.</p>
<p>
I am saying the same thing, essentially. My son is hoping that his undergrad research would spill over into med school.</p>