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Pre-Med Focus


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I'm going for a biology major. Should I consider doing that major with a focus of pre-med or pre-physician assistant?

the requirements are almost the same in 2014. if there is a chance you might be interested in med school do the MD/DO requirements. usually the only difference now is a microbio and psych course which most pa programs require. the chem requirements used to be different but now are fairly similar.

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...the requirements are almost the same in 2014...

 

university/college physics I & II are the only other ones I can think of that med schools require and PA schools really don't.

 

 

Also to the OP, you gotta make your own life choices, not let others decide for you, that's why I jest.

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AGREE. in my perfect world we would drop the ochem requirement and add physics

 

+1 that. I have yet to encounter a PA or doc (outside of researchers) that utilizes ochem in practice. It's a hard course that "weeds" for the wrong reasons. These practitioners will need the physics to rewire their homes before they need the ochem to diagnose a pt.

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university/college physics I & II are the only other ones I can think of that med schools require and PA schools really don't.

 

 

Also to the OP, you gotta make your own life choices, not let others decide for you, that's why I jest.

LOL @PACdan. I agree completely! It makes we wonder when people ask, "What kind of car should I buy?" or "How do I eat healthy?" Not that these aren't important questions, but seriously? These questions usually start with, "I'm going to PA school...". If you have made it that far in life, I would assume you can google, like everyone else, "best cars" or "healthy diets". Lol. Maybe we all self-agrandize :) I made this snide post after all...

 

I also see a lot of the same questions over and over. The odds are, your situation is like Bob and Sue's, who asked that question 6 months ago.

 

Pre-med or pre-PA? Who cares! Spend 2 minutes to look it up and realize its virtually the same. If you plan to go PA, then go Pre-PA (I never realized there really was such a thing).

 

Here's some good advice- never buy cheap toliet paper. Or dollar store glue.

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I believe Calculus is a requirement for most Med schools and I didn't see it required in most PA schools (usually just statistics). Calc is another course I really don't see much practical use for in either profession other than as another weeding out mechanism or perhaps as a way to get students to think differently.

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If you have looked into both professions and are still unsure which path you will want to go I would consider taking pre-requisites that would fulfill requirements for both schools.  That may make your course load more difficult now, but could potentially save you time after you graduate. 

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I believe Calculus is a requirement for most Med schools and I didn't see it required in most PA schools (usually just statistics). Calc is another course I really don't see much practical use for in either profession other than as another weeding out mechanism or perhaps as a way to get students to think differently.

only 10% of medschools require calc.

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I don't know what it is with me and Gen Chem, but I & II was sooo hard. Orgo I &II and both physics were amazing. I honestly think it came down to the professor because I worked so hard in all three subjects but Gen chem wasn't the strongest for me. Calculus I & II I literally cried a combination of blood sweat and tears. I was not one of those traditional students that came out of high school with AP courses in those classes and the first two years of undergrad was a big up hill battle.

I might not be the right person to give any advice, so take it with a grain of salt, but if you have room in your schedule and those courses are not gonna effect your graduation date and you think you might want to become a doctor instead, I would do it. In my situation I had to take those courses anyways because of my bio major. The only thing extra I had to take was Physics I & II lab.

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