Health Sciences vs. Medical Sciences @ UWO

[confusedindividual]

I am currently a High School student who accepted the Health Sciences program at Western. Just some concerns, I would like some feedback .

 

I understand that Health Sciences is more a social science regarding health care system and the history of medicine etc. which is why I preferred it over Med Sci. I also planned on taking the Health Sci. with Biology module to keep the science aspect with bio, chem, physics etc. that the students in Med Sci. would be taking.

 

Another reasoning I had to pick Health Sci. over Med Sci. is that I have way more flexibility in courses, with Bio and Health Sciences as my only required courses. I still plan on taking chem, physics etc. to be eligible for the Bio module. I still want more courses social oriented though, as I am interested in Law School as well. I thought this program would allow me to do this vs. Med Sci since med sci. basically has your first year outlined for you. I also feel like I could work my courses around to have a lighter course work if need be.

 

That being said, I started talking to many people older than me, and they all have this puzzling look that I picked Health Sciences at UWO. They say that people who want to be chiropractors, nurses, physiotherapists etc. pick health sciences, and that it is not a direct line to medicine. Not to take away from those careers obviously, but Med school to become a doctor is a more desirable goal. Did I make a mistake by not taking Med Sci?

 

My understanding was that the degree doesn't matter, at the end of the day your EC's, MCAT, GPA, and interview is what affects the process the most. To me, Health Sci just made more sense to be able to keep all aspects balanced. Is there something I overlooked? I also noticed many of the posters who go to Western on this site, are in Medical Sciences. Is it harder for me to go to Med School with a degree in Health Sciences?

 

For discussion purposes, lets say I had the exact same GPA as somebody who went did the Medical Sciences degree instead. Will he have a better chance of getting into Med school?

[peachaso]

I am currently a High School student who accepted the Health Sciences program at Western. Just some concerns, I would like some feedback .

 

I understand that Health Sciences is more a social science regarding health care system and the history of medicine etc. which is why I preferred it over Med Sci. I also planned on taking the Health Sci. with Biology module to keep the science aspect with bio, chem, physics etc. that the students in Med Sci. would be taking.

 

Another reasoning I had to pick Health Sci. over Med Sci. is that I have way more flexibility in courses, with Bio and Health Sciences as my only required courses. I still plan on taking chem, physics etc. to be eligible for the Bio module. I still want more courses social oriented though, as I am interested in Law School as well. I thought this program would allow me to do this vs. Med Sci since med sci. basically has your first year outlined for you. I also feel like I could work my courses around to have a lighter course work if need be.

 

That being said, I started talking to many people older than me, and they all have this puzzling look that I picked Health Sciences at UWO. They say that people who want to be chiropractors, nurses, physiotherapists etc. pick health sciences, and that it is not a direct line to medicine. Not to take away from those careers obviously, but Med school to become a doctor is a more desirable goal. Did I make a mistake by not taking Med Sci?

 

My understanding was that the degree doesn't matter, at the end of the day your EC's, MCAT, GPA, and interview is what affects the process the most. To me, Health Sci just made more sense to be able to keep all aspects balanced. Is there something I overlooked? I also noticed many of the posters who go to Western on this site, are in Medical Sciences. Is it harder for me to go to Med School with a degree in Health Sciences?

 

For discussion purposes, lets say I had the exact same GPA as somebody who went did the Medical Sciences degree instead. Will he have a better chance of getting into Med school?

 

No. Both degrees will be considered equally, as long as you complete the prerequisites for whatever med schools you apply to.

 

I don't go to western, but from what it looks like, most "premeds" prefer natural science courses to social science courses. This is probably why there are more in the med sci program. Your plan seems well thought out. Social science courses including those relating to health may also help in the MCAT verbal and Med interview.

[10wattbulb]

That being said, I started talking to many people older than me, and they all have this puzzling look that I picked Health Sciences at UWO. They say that people who want to be chiropractors, nurses, physiotherapists etc. pick health sciences, and that it is not a direct line to medicine. Not to take away from those careers obviously, but Med school to become a doctor is a more desirable goal. Did I make a mistake by not taking Med Sci?

 

My understanding was that the degree doesn't matter, at the end of the day your EC's, MCAT, GPA, and interview is what affects the process the most. To me, Health Sci just made more sense to be able to keep all aspects balanced. Is there something I overlooked? I also noticed many of the posters who go to Western on this site, are in Medical Sciences. Is it harder for me to go to Med School with a degree in Health Sciences?

 

For discussion purposes, lets say I had the exact same GPA as somebody who went did the Medical Sciences degree instead. Will he have a better chance of getting into Med school?

 

Your reasoning for choosing Health Sci over Medical Sci is quite sound considering your interests & Plan B. You're also taking into consideration the current reality of the med admissions game by making this choice.

 

There's a lot of older people (esp. parents) who are 'conventional' thinkers and who haven't adapted to the new reality that med schools don't care about what undergrad degree you do. To them, it's inconceivable that someone with a degree in anthropology or psychology would get into med school ahead of someone with a BSc in something nerdy like biochem engineering (and I know people who had psy/anthro degrees who got in their 1st choice med school no problem!). Note: many of these older people have themselves never applied to med school or have applied ages ago.

 

Conclusion: rest reassured - your chances are as good as anybody else's.

[markov79]

just a small point, but i'd actually say almost all of your first two years are decided for you if you go with med sci. i don't know about HS. i think it works out to about 1.5 electives in second year if you do it like most others. with respect to the other stuff: sounds like you've made a smart decision, and your logic can explain to people why you chose your program.

 

you can also explain to them that "basic medical sciences" is an accurate name. that is, you study "medical sciences" in the program, like cell bio or pharmacology, rather than whatev is in the HS courses. in any case, you're also going to be taking bio courses so i don't even see the beef with the perceived soc sci courses in HS - you've also covered bio/natural sciences in your educational planning LOL.

[Orcamute]

No, man you did the right choice! Now, I am not too familiar with the Health Sciences program at UWO but I am very familiar with Health Sciences in general.

 

Health Sciences is almost the perfect premed program, why? Because it gives you a TON of freedom to choose electives (you should put all the prereqs in them; organ chem, physics etc..). Also, it teaches you about the infrastructure of health care and how to communicate and read social expressions. You can go on about why you want to be a doctor in detail while more than likely being a better communicator during interviews (this includes posture) than (let's say a bio major). It also gives you an easier course load for a higher GPA and you get all the social sciences courses that they are looking for (humane more open minded doctors > Biology nerds).

 

Plus..social sciences = what they are looking for + helps on english part of MCAT (biggest part). Also..you take general prereqs = perfect for MCAT (a lot of science degrees go into far more detail than what is needed on the MCAT). Plus it gives you an up on many people in Medical school (going in) with your knowledge of the human anatomy. I should also add that the new MCAT (2015) is geared more towards the social sciences.

 

You did a good choice, health sciences is also a better fit for you as it is a very big field and you can incorporate that into so many different fields including a law degree (and obviously medicine too). So many people underlook health sciences as a premed program strictly because it lacks all the hard sciences..but you don't need the hard sciences..only the general prereqs.

 

Hope that helps.

[ralk]

It really, really, really doesn't matter. You can get into med school with literally any degree, and the difference between Health Sci and Med Sci is, in the grand scheme of things, nothing. There are differences between the programs, sure, but they're fairly minimal compared to all the other factors that matter to getting into med school.

 

As for preparing you for other health-care related fields, that's nothing but a positive. Every pre-med should have backups that they might enjoy (even if they're exceptionally good candidates). Exploring those other options allows you to still have a good career if you don't make it into med school, and to confirm that medicine is actually what you want to do (don't take that question lightly, it's an important one).

[Orcamute]

Ralk is right, it doesn't really matter..but in the scheme of things. (in my personal experience) -> Health Sciences is a better pre-med program as it develops the social sciences more (which..in my opinion, is a lot more important than the regular sciences). Having a Medical Doctor who can speak and understand what his/her position is in the hospital, what the family he/she is speaking to is going through and how to conduct him/herself during work and outside of work is extremely important.

 

This is why Medical Schools look for social science pre-reqs and they are changing the MCAT up in 2015 to be more geared towards social sciences.

 

Knowing a doctors place in the hospital and the infrastructure of the hospital they work in and how to converse and display him/herself is huge.

 

If I could do it over again, I would definitely consider going into Health Sciences (Either at Mac or Ottawa U) but I still really enjoyed my experience at Carleton.