Guest FastEddy Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Hey you lot! :b I am considering transferring from UNBC into the physiology program at UBC after next year. I would be my third year of university, meaning I'd have all the low level sciences and the MCAT out of the way. I was wondering if anyone who has majored in (honors?) physiology could tell me how and what they liked about it.. Its a field of study that I find much more interesting than the Biology (maybe Biochem) major im working at now... Im also interested in UBC's Immunology and maybe (honors)pharmacology. For those who are in or have completed one of these programs, what are your thoughts? I was wondering what people who have experienced these fields of study had to say about them before I go into making sure my course transfer and calling the departments. Any comments or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks -ED Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mymomthinksimacatch Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Hey I believe the Physiology program is coming to an end (as in they're not taking new students)... I'd suggest checking that one. I did Pharmacology, thought it was great. Honours would be good, but takes up quite a bit of time (also depends where you want to go after... the regular pharmacology would probably allow you a little more time to do the extra curricular stuff for med). g'luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastEddy Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Thanks ACatch , I emailed the pharmacology department to see what I would need to take next year to get in. I remember someone saying that if they could go back from medschool to undergrad, they would take pharmacology because apparently it's pharmacology that is the most difficult subject matter. 8o Im interested in pharm for sure. It's funny, the closer it is to medicine the more interesting it gets. Would anyone who's done UBC's pharmacology care to give me the down-low?? (ie. level of difficulty compared to first year bio/chem and what sorts of careers are available as a plan Ta -ED (exploring his options) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest i could do nothing else Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 hey, i am in the physiology program now, and i haven't heard anything about the program coming to an end. i've heard that we may merge with anatomy though. i've heard from pharmacology majors that the program is very flexible, you can do a minor without being overworked. physiology is more fun though :lol what a lot of people don't like about physiology is that there isn't a co-op program. most people entering physiology are interested in med, but they want a so-called back up job and they think that co-op would help them out in that way. personally, i don't think i would like to do research as a career, and so that never REALLY affected my decision, though it did cross my mind. both programs will help you out in med, so i've heard, and both departments are really small, so you get a lot of attention. i guess you should really think about what you're intersted in. i think pharmacology focuses a lot on the biochemistry of drugs, while physiology has more of a biological perspective. i personally like the physiology profs more, but that's just me your call, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Hello, I'm currently in Pharmacology right now (third year). It's a great program. The class will be small next year (18 students) and the faculty actually care about you. And the classes are SO interesting, as are the labs. You get a lot of surgical experience with animals (tracheal intubations, cannulations of arteries, and veins, and work anaesthetizing animals!) We've also had the time to give individual oral presentations, have debates on safe injection sites, and hormone replacement therapy. Anyway, if you have any classes, ask. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastEddy Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 haha "physiology".. I would'nt have guess you to be a third year pharmacology major! So what did you take in your first 2 years?? hopefully its the sort of thing that I can take up here at UNBC (organic chem, biochem, genetics...) Is the program exceedingly difficult to get in (is there only 18 because thats all that were interested or b/c its quite selective)? My grades are great, but that isn't uncommon with us pre-meds! :b Wow, your description of pharm makes it sound pretty hands-on and engaging.. not just "advanced biochem lectures" :x Great! My compass is beginning to point in a certain direction! Another year and I'll be southbound! :hat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted March 21, 2004 Report Share Posted March 21, 2004 Hey Fasteddy, I think pharmacology is like Harvard, it's hella hard to get in, but once you're in, they take care of you I mean you still have to work hard, no doubt about it, but if you want a REAL challenge take Honours Pharmacology, which is essentially a combined honours degree in Pharmacology and Physiology. The only problem is that you do the honours pharmacology lab, honours physiology lab, and the biochem lab. They're a lot of work. But my friends who are in it, really love it. Pharmacology is also really flexible - it's got a major, honours, and a COOP option. Physiology isn't coming to an end - it's probably going to be revamped into a major, rather than strictly honours. Apparently Martha Piper feels that honours programs breed elitism at UBC. I took general studies in my first and second years - that were ostensibly leading to a degree in chemistry/biochemistry. Then I changed my mind. You need to take second year physical chemistry and analytical or coordination chemistry in second year as a pre-req. I do have some bad news though regarding the grades issue, so why don't you email me privately on this board. I can give you other information as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest threeputt Posted March 23, 2004 Report Share Posted March 23, 2004 hey fasteddy, i finished micro/immunology and i loved it. there is a lot of fascinating things to learn about infectious diseases (virology, bacteriology), immunology, and molecular biology. the labs are demanding but interesting, and the class size was pretty manageable (70 ppl when i attended). also, the coop program is pretty cool, if you don't mind splitting your years up a bit, thereby potentially screwing your chances at some med schools (ie-some don't take grades from those "half" years into GPA consideration). you have to try and figure out what interests you the most (which is, of course, why you're writing here :b ) and go with it, which will make it a lot funner in the end, and you'll do better. just keep in mind that no one major will probably satisfy all your interests (being, of course, the prototype well-rounded pre-med ), but you may still be able to take some courses from other programs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ssup Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 just to add my 2 cents.... no major gives you an edge for med school admssion, HOWEVER, after completing my first year of medical school (at U of A), I THINK (note this is a personal opinion) that Physiology students are best equipped for medical school information; this means simply that they have been exposed to a vast majority of what we learn (especially if you are in a systems based program). For example, each one of our units includes a series of physiology lectures to begin each unit (ex. during endocrinology, the prof who came to teach us our physiology lectures was ALSO the physiology prof that taught many of the physiology classes and as such used the same notes/exams). Since physiology is a large component of first and second year medical school, to begin with that basis puts you at a large learning advantage. NOW THAT BEING SAID: I didn't take a physiology degree myself...I had 3 yrs of a Bio degree b4 I entered med. I am more than able to handle the depth of info with the education that I have had so really, your major makes absolutely no dif. But if you are a physio major, you can expect you will enjoy a lot of time off in first yr since a lot of it will be review for you. Pharmacology: useful and hard, but not a huge component of first/second yr medical school....I wouldn't go into it solely to prepare yourself for med...there are better prep majors out there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 Hey Ssup, Actually, in pharmacology, you need physiology to understand it. So in pharmacology, you learn physiology (exactly the same as physiology students) side-by-side with pharmacology. It makes studying fun (I never thought I would say that). You learn about the reproductive system in physiology and then you do birth control pills. So in a sense, it becomes very system based. In fact, honours pharmacology students do all the same courses as third year honours physiology students (plus the PCTH). The only difference is that in 4th year, your honours thesis is PCTH and not PHYL based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Biochem3010 Posted April 26, 2004 Report Share Posted April 26, 2004 It seems like I'm missing out on all the fun... Sounds like something I would enjoy learning. Wish i could say the same for this crazy year of biochem. You just have to love all the labs & writeups you do + the new & boring profs that can't even teach making it worse. Just funny how they had a microbi prof teaching biochem & how he loves to draw a carbon with 5/6 bonds on them all the time & how another prof spends 10 min at each class organizing his notes & another 20 min trying to figure out what the heck he's talking about... & it just goes on & on... :rollin :lol Well hope you enjoy your coop next year Physiology... guess won't see you in class or labs anymore... Actually i hope you don't even have to do coop at all that is you will get into med... :hat :lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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