OpiefromMayberry

"While I don't mean to incite a panic, do know that this timing for secondaries is getting a little bit on the late side and that working promptly on them would probably provide a noticeable benefit"

No, he's on them, from the system set up he appears to be on track for next fall. He heard from 6 schools and is working to get them done and returned. Panic is OK as long as it's helpful no need to apologize at all.

Bigredmed

Opie,

No overlap on the schools I applied to. I wish him the best of luck though.

BrittanyCaldwell

I'm currently attending a community college in Pennsylvania for my associates. I want to attend medical school, but I feel so discouraged because of my lack of math, and study skills. I'm in a very basic math as it is, and I have no idea how much math plays into medical school, but I do know it's a big part. I've been pretty down on the whole thing lately, so if anyone could maybe inform me of the depth in which math and science courses go that would be awesome. I’m pretty lost on what to do or even if I could do it :/

Bigredmed

Generally (though not always) you'll need to take at least one semester of calculus and one semester of statistics to meet the entrance requirements for most med schools. However there are a few schools that are may require more or less.

In terms of actual clinical practice, basic algebra is a necessity - I use it every day to calculate how much IV fluids to give, what components to give in total parenteral nutrition and in how many calories per kilo a premature infant in the NICU is getting - if you're going to take care of pediatric patients or go into anesthesia then you need to be able to perform these calculations quickly and accurately. For kids, every medicine is dosed based on weight, so as a pediatrician I'm constantly running calculations, even if it's something simple as telling a mother how much tylenol to give her child.

If you wish to go into radiology then high level physics and calculus are needed to understand the implications of radiation and the effects on the body and the quality of images obtained. In other fields, there are certainly valuable insights to be gained by understanding the theory behind calculus but it's a rare instance that would ask for you to do things like find the derivative of the curve or perform integrations.

Bigredmed

I don't miss the first two years of medical school and I never will, but I certainly miss 4th year with a passion. Talk about a great year...and I loved 3rd year too. So I do miss those years.

mmmcdowe

Just to throw in my comments for this thread since its revived, I go to a Pass Fail school. Meaning a 70=100 here. It's a really nice thing not to have to worry about curves and rankings (we are unranked, not just pass fail), and it doesn't seem to significantly lower the averages despite the lack of grade incentives. I believe we tend to average in the mid 80's to low 90's. What P/F systems DO relieve is a lot of the exam and post exam test. Figuring out that you missed an easy problem doesn't put you into cold sweats here.