Still in high school... and i have tons of questions

[Guest zetto]

I hope to go into medicine one day but it all seems so complex. What exactly is pre-med and what is required of me to get in.

Thanx

[Guest sazzafrazz]

Hi zetto,

 

Premed is basically the course of study that you take prior to getting in to med school. Each of the medical schools have different requirements for getting in. Most schools require a minimum 3 year degree although there are some exceptions to this as well. Most schools require Biochemistry (which has 2 prerequisite chemistry courses), and English. Other schools may also or alternately require Physics and/or Statistics (U.S.).

As far as what to take, that depends on you. Most schools that I know of do not favour one degree over another as long as the requirements are met. Remember that you'll most likely have to do well on the MCAT and so knowledge in Chemistry (General, Analytical (some), Physical(some), Organic, and Biochemistry), Physics, Biology (basic physiology and especially bacteria, fungi, etc) and verbal reasoning will all help you to perform. You need to contact the universities you are interested in to see what each specifically requires. There is another posting on this web page that asked about requirements at the different schools. Scan some of the older postings to see if you can find it. Ian may be able to direct you to the site too.

You must also keep in mind that your GPA will play a role in your admittance. Make sure you balance your course selection so that you can do well (A's and B's(min)). For example, its probably not a good idea to sign up for 5 courses that have labs. The labs are not like high school, they require quite a bit of time (in class and studying) and many also have their own independent exams in addition to the lectures.

 

Hope this helps,

 

saz

[Guest Ian Wong]

Here's the link to the websites:

 

pub44.ezboard.com/fpremed101frm28.showMessage?topicID=12.topic

 

As far as premed goes, once you finish high school, you go to university for your Bachelor's degree, otherwise known as an undergraduate degree.

 

The vast majority of the English-speaking Canadian med schools won't accept you until you have completed at least three years of an undergraduate/Bachelor's degree. Your focus of study in that degree is known as your major. So, you could do a major in Biology, in which case your degree after the four years of university would be an undergraduate Bachelor's degree in Biology. There's an infinite number of different degrees out there, but most med students have done degrees in Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, or Microbiology. Of course, in UBC, I know of other students who have done degrees in Music, English, History, Linguistics, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy, etc.

 

So, your job as a high school student is to pick a university, and figure out what you enjoy studying. If you want to go to medical school, then you'll need to make sure that you take the courses that med schools require you to have taken before you can apply. You also need to write the MCAT for most English-speaking Canadian med schools. So, usually, you should have taken first year Chemistry, Physics, English, and second year Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. Don't worry if you've never heard of Organic Chem or Biochem; you'll have plenty of time for that in university.

 

Premed usually just refers to someone in university who wants to go to medical school. A small number of universities out there have premed courses that you can take, but really, premed is just a fancy term for someone who wants to be a doctor.

 

Ian

UBC, Med 3