Just curious - don’t want too much overlap between that and med school…
Biochemistry?

clarity - 02 August 2009 07:37 AM

Just curious - don’t want too much overlap between that and med school…
Biochemistry?

Major in what interests you the most. Don’t waste your college years studying in something you don’t like.
If you are not sure whether you want to go to med school, then major in something you like and can make a decent living in.

Major in what interests you the most. Don’t waste your college years studying in something you don’t like.
If you are not sure whether you want to go to med school, then major in something you like and can make a decent living in.

Agreed.  I think most people agree that being a science major in no way benefits your med school application over a non-science major.  In fact, it’s often said that non-science majors are better because they are more unique (only what I’ve heard on many occasions).  Most importantly, college is a unique time, where you have the time and freedom to study almost anything you want.  Don’t spend 4 years doing biochemistry if it isn’t your first love.  You’ll get all the science you need from med school, so don’t worry about being behind when you start.  Furthermore, if you study something you are truly interested in, you will make better grades, not have to try as hard, and genuinely enjoy your 4 years more. 

Lastly, keep an open mind.  If you are just entering college, then it’s likely you have very little experience with clinical medicine or any other career for that matter.  How do you know you really want to be a doctor?  I would suggest, getting involved at the university hospital or do clinical research just to see what it’s like.  For that matter, I’d seek out other careers you think you might be interested in and do the same.  I was an English/Philosophy major that ended up in a top med school, and I have many friends who were pre-med that later switched to something else.  Keep an open mind and explore, and everything will fall into place for you.

If you are truly intent on a lifetime in medicine, college is pretty much your last easy chance to study something that isn’t science.  If you are interested enough in something else to study it - then do so.

If I could go back, I would choose something that I was really curious about.  I was curious about mathematical biology and physics.  Knowing what I know now about neurosurgery and academics, I really wish I had studied those subjects rather than neurobiology.  Neurobiology was good in that I learned electrophysiology, but the guys with the math / physics backgrounds are really useful in neurosurgery research.  I think I was preoccupied with getting into medical school and was a bit too worried about the grades, and since biology came easier to me, I chose neurobiology.

What specific math/physics type backgrounds are you referring to? BME engineering? I’m fascinated by learning and I’m not interested in majoring in anything but something math or science related. What do these guys do? I’m sure I want to become a neurosurgeon but I also want that technical background and I just would like to pinpoint it on math/science over biochemistry depending on the feedback I can get from you on what is most useful in the field. Thanks I appreciate your input.

If you intend to stay in academia and become a top researcher in neuroscience you need to have a strong background in maths, physics, chemistry and computer science. Biology, neurobiology and biochem are just fluff, you surely will learn the essentials in med school.

If not, study whatever you are best at so to make sure you achieve the highest possible grade to get into a descent school.

The “best” major?  That is any subject that directly leads to progressing your career.  College is fun but it is also an enormous investment in time and money.  If you need “life experience,” get a job or join the peace corp (or the war corp).

And all this talk about non-science majors being better or more interesting comes from the admissions committees of med schools that are primarily composed of GP’s, Pediatricians, and OB/GYNS (i.e. non-surgical types).  These are the type of people that like to read poetry about how beautiful and fragile the human condition is then jerk each off.  God that pisses me off......

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse but what kind of math/physics/chemistry should I study? There are tons of classes related to tons of different things. Biomedical engineering seems to be good at Boston University… I just want to be in the position where I can stay in academia and be a top researcher as well as operate.

The advantage in not doing a hard science major is that you will most likely have a higher GPA which will be a huge advantage in applying to med school. When I applied with my engineering degree for a top 10 school they could have cared less why I didn’t have a 3.8. However, being in med school and being able to use a computer for something beyond facebook means that I get the better research jobs working for neurosurgeons. We had several people apply to work in the lab that I am in now and every time my PI would ask if they had any computer skills, if they said no he would just end the interview.

Being any kind of engineer will give you the basic skills that you need, although fields like applied math, electrical engineering and computer science are more rigorous but more applicable. Learning to run gels is easy, learning to write good code is not.

The unfortunate situation in modern science is everything is becoming so specialized that it is impossible for anyone to be competent in all aspects. Therefore you have make a decision as to where you want to get yourself involved.

Biological research is divided into Life sciences and Health sciences. In Life science, investigators are, simply put, playing around with their toys. There is often no particular focused hypothesis testing, for example knocking out a gene in a Drosophila and then observe the possible phenotypical changes, thus maybe illustrating the function of that gene. Then the Health science people hear about this gene and then try to look for it in humans both in health and disease. You will most likely be involved in Health science.

Albeit with a biased perspective, the most exciting fields in my opinion are Pharmacology and Biophysics.

I am involved in pharmacology so these are what you preferably should have mastered

Chemistry – Organic chemistry, structure-function relationships, enzymatic catalysis, bioenergetics etc.
Physics – we don’t use as much physics in our lab except electrophysiology, which is mainly electricity (and magnetism). If you were interested in nuclear medicine then the study of isotopes may come in hand, but I am not an expert in that area.
Math – advanced calculus and algebra will make your life a lot easier.

So choose whatever major that provide with these subjects. I think Biophysics major + math minor may work.

The reason why I don’t emphasize on techniques often taught in Biochem is because methods are lab specific and narrow spectrum. In biochem, you will be taught superficially the mechanisms of different body functionalities and then a whole bunch of techniques, which in my opinion is a breed of “advanced” technicians, i.e. you are restricted to the methods that you know.

Top research is defined not by how advanced the methods employed but your interpretation of the observations. Having a strong background in basic sciences makes your boundary limitless, enables you to interpret your data in a much broader perspective that biologists often do not see.

By the time you become a big shot, apart from interpreting your data, you do not have to be able to perform most if not all experiments / methods, since you have your Phd/Postdocs and Core facilities for that, underscores the importance of having a strong basic science background.

Just my 2 cents.

Hey Clarity,

I am just starting med school in the fall, so you might not want to take my advice too seriously...but I did go through college...and, from my experience, what a person can learn from research and from interacting with scientists who are good at what they do is worth far more in terms of learning specific skills than undergraduate classroom learning. Undergraduate classroom learning is really aimed at teaching students how to think, not teaching students to be specialized (and that is even true of classes that may at first seem super specific in topic). I found that the difficult science/math classes are the best at teaching students to be analytical, so as long as you are planning to pursue some sort of math/science major, I’m not sure it really matters what specific major you have. Also, in terms of biology, I would look for classes that incorporate reading primary literature into the coursework because I found having that experience helped me in more practical settings (like in lab). Besides that, I think in terms of gaining a specific skill set, you should surround yourselves with good mentors and valuable research experience.

I hope the point-of-view of someone who just finished college helped a little!

Jackofknives - 02 August 2009 09:57 PM

If you intend to stay in academia and become a top researcher in neuroscience you need to have a strong background in maths, physics, chemistry and computer science. Biology, neurobiology and biochem are just fluff, you surely will learn the essentials in med school.

If not, study whatever you are best at so to make sure you achieve the highest possible grade to get into a descent school.

I agree with jackofknives post..Follow what you’re heart really desires for in the end you will love your work for you like doig it in the first place..

Regards,
kellyswift
Pret voiture

Great replies guys - this has given me good perspective on the issue. Thanks.

Here are some very brief thoughts, others will likely disagree:

1) Take the required courses obviously.  On the other hand, I don’t think undergraduate anatomy or physiology make that much difference when it comes to the med school versions.

2) Chose an undergraduate major that you enjoy.  This will boost your GPA which is a major block to check off in the admission process.  It is good also to have a major that you can fall back on if things don’t work out.  Every year, extremely qualified candidates fall through the cracks.  It is possible that you later find out that you hate medicine.  That is why I am not a big fan of the “pre-med” degree programs.

3) Learn a foreign language.  Very important when you become a super-star and have patients coming to you from all over the world.

4) Be educated. It is more than ever important to understand how the government really works, and to have at least some grasp of finance.  More importantly, when you are finished you are going to be at the top of the socio-economic heap in the town where you live.  This means you will be expected to attend charity events, concerts, etc.  You need to at least act like you have some knowledge of fine arts.  If you blurt out that you don’t know who Salvador Dali is, then future patients will assume you don’t know how to do an ACDF.  Strange but true.

Bottom line: Do what you have to do for the admissions committee, but also have some fun.  You are going to be focusing in on an extremely narrow aspect of knowledge for at least the next decade.  This is the only real chance you will have to acquire knowledge in other areas - take advantage of it.

ndneuro - 21 November 2009 06:09 PM

Here are some very brief thoughts, others will likely disagree:

1) Take the required courses obviously.  On the other hand, I don’t think undergraduate anatomy or physiology make that much difference when it comes to the med school versions.

2) Chose an undergraduate major that you enjoy.  This will boost your GPA which is a major block to check off in the admission process.  It is good also to have a major that you can fall back on if things don’t work out.  Every year, extremely qualified candidates fall through the cracks.  It is possible that you later find out that you hate medicine.  That is why I am not a big fan of the “pre-med” degree programs.

3) Learn a foreign language.  Very important when you become a super-star and have patients coming to you from all over the world.

4) Be educated. It is more than ever important to understand how the government really works, and to have at least some grasp of finance.  More importantly, when you are finished you are going to be at the top of the socio-economic heap in the town where you live.  This means you will be expected to attend charity events, concerts, etc.  You need to at least act like you have some knowledge of fine arts.  If you blurt out that you don’t know who Salvador Dali is, then future patients will assume you don’t know how to do an ACDF.  Strange but true.

Bottom line: Do what you have to do for the admissions committee, but also have some fun.  You are going to be focusing in on an extremely narrow aspect of knowledge for at least the next decade.  This is the only real chance you will have to acquire knowledge in other areas - take advantage of it.

This is great advice!

I actually majored in Spanish.  It was a great talking point when applying to medical school.  When they asked me about it, I could really steer an interview in the direction I wanted to take it (this is a very important skill, too).