Abnormal Psychology or Lifespan Human Growth & Development?

[MDrewM]

I'm trying to decide whether Abnormal Psychology or Lifespan Human Growth & Development would be a better second psychology course to take. I've looked at my top programs and either they don't mention which is better or they mention both. Anyone willing to tell me which one would look better to admission panels? Which is most helpful when becoming a PA? Which one would be more interesting? I've included course descriptions below. The Abnormal Psychology course does have a higher course number, if that matters. 

Abnormal Psychology: An introduction to the psychological science of mental disorders including problems of emotion, mood, mind, schizophrenia and personality disorders. Diagnosis and treatment will also be considered.

Lifespan Human Growth and Development: A multidimensional approach to studying human growth and development across the lifespan involving theory, research, and practical applications.

[scrubmein]

The best answer is take both. In my experience, they were both reletively low-load courses.

If only one is an option, you can answer this by looking at where you personally want to go. I think lifespan psych would be more beneficial for a program that focuses in family medicine and primary care. Abnormal psych would be better applied in a program that allows for specialization. Most PA programs are looking to churn out primary care providers, and most PAs work in primary care, so I think lifespan would be more applicable on a broad scale. Ultimately it depends on the mission of the schools you'd be applying to.

It also depends on your interests. If you want to work in family medicine, lifespan is going to teach you information that you'll use daily (stages of development, etc.). I work in an emergency room, and I think the PAs I work with likely work more with abnormal psych patients than anything else. Usefulness is definitely field related.

As a psych major, I took both of these courses in undergad and abnormal psych was definitely more interesting to me. What I didn't like about lifespan is that most of the "theories" we studied are proven either outdated or not totally solid. Our professor constantly mentioned how work from psychologists, such as Freud, are completely discredited, yet we still spent a decent chunk of the semester learning his work. If it were a choice based on my preference, I'd say abnormal psych is more interesting. However , lifespan is more relevant to the average PA's role.

[MDrewM]

20 hours ago, scrubmein said:

The best answer is take both. In my experience, they were both reletively low-load courses.

If only one is an option, you can answer this by looking at where you personally want to go. I think lifespan psych would be more beneficial for a program that focuses in family medicine and primary care. Abnormal psych would be better applied in a program that allows for specialization. Most PA programs are looking to churn out primary care providers, and most PAs work in primary care, so I think lifespan would be more applicable on a broad scale. Ultimately it depends on the mission of the schools you'd be applying to.

It also depends on your interests. If you want to work in family medicine, lifespan is going to teach you information that you'll use daily (stages of development, etc.). I work in an emergency room, and I think the PAs I work with likely work more with abnormal psych patients than anything else. Usefulness is definitely field related.

As a psych major, I took both of these courses in undergad and abnormal psych was definitely more interesting to me. What I didn't like about lifespan is that most of the "theories" we studied are proven either outdated or not totally solid. Our professor constantly mentioned how work from psychologists, such as Freud, are completely discredited, yet we still spent a decent chunk of the semester learning his work. If it were a choice based on my preference, I'd say abnormal psych is more interesting. However , lifespan is more relevant to the average PA's role.

This is exactly the feedback I was hoping to get. Thank you. I think I will take both. I may start with lifespan for the reason more programs probably ask for it, then take abnormal psychology because I am quite interested in mental health. Thank you again. 

[rev ronin]

22 hours ago, scrubmein said:

The best answer is take both.

I took general, lifespan, and abnormal, as well as two pastoral counseling classes in seminary and a bunch of CISM and chaplaincy workshops.  I was arguably the most psych-prepared student in my PA class.

In family medicine practice, oh my goodness I could have used more.  I really had no idea how much mental health I would deal with in primary care.  It's scary to think of all the medications we're ALLOWED to prescribe, without even a DEA number, based solely on a single pre-PA psych course and what behavioral health content we DO get in school.  Take everything you can!

[dphy83]

You'll basically get abnormal psych in PA school when you do your psychiatry block during didactic year. I don't recall learning much about human growth and development as it applies to psychology, but maybe that is just material that I forgot. I honestly do not think either is going to make you more appealing to an admissions committee or a better PA. You have to remember that these are simply one semester or entry level undergrad psych courses - you will neither be proficient nor an expert with either after these classes.

 

If you have time take them both, I guess. Or search out easy science courses to boost science GPA.

[MDrewM]

On 5/2/2020 at 2:04 PM, rev ronin said:

I took general, lifespan, and abnormal, as well as two pastoral counseling classes in seminary and a bunch of CISM and chaplaincy workshops.  I was arguably the most psych-prepared student in my PA class.

In family medicine practice, oh my goodness I could have used more.  I really had no idea how much mental health I would deal with in primary care.  It's scary to think of all the medications we're ALLOWED to prescribe, without even a DEA number, based solely on a single pre-PA psych course and what behavioral health content we DO get in school.  Take everything you can!

This is awesome feedback. Thank you. I plan on taking both. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. I really appreciate it. 

[MDrewM]

On 5/2/2020 at 2:07 PM, dphy83 said:

You'll basically get abnormal psych in PA school when you do your psychiatry block during didactic year. I don't recall learning much about human growth and development as it applies to psychology, but maybe that is just material that I forgot. I honestly do not think either is going to make you more appealing to an admissions committee or a better PA. You have to remember that these are simply one semester or entry level undergrad psych courses - you will neither be proficient nor an expert with either after these classes.

 

If you have time take them both, I guess. Or search out easy science courses to boost science GPA.

Thanks for the response. It's been sort of a mixed back with my responses but I think I'm going to take both. They do seem pretty easy. I appreciate it!

[qasder]

I'm not sure you should have taken both courses. You may not be able to cope with the load and eventually not get enough knowledge in any subject. The choice should have been based on your idea of your future profession. If you want to help people with disorders, you should take the first course.  And if you want to work at school or be an ordinary psychologist, you can take a second course. On the website https://fherehab.com/anxiety/treatment/, you can learn more about how anxiety or depression is treated.  In general, I advise you always to evaluate the work of future specialists and then make a choice. Good luck!

Edited June 5, 2022 by qasder