Do you seriously need calculus for Med/PA school?

cadriethiel
Tue, 22 Apr 2014 00:31:11 +0000

Whoa… calculus is pointless? You need to rethink that statement carefully. Even though you will not use it everyday as a doctor, pharmacology and enzymology both heavily rely on the use of differential equations to understand when/if drugs leave patient’s bodies or how an enzyme-drug/ligand reaction proceeds over time. As we move forward in systems biology and using computers to solve complex problems in medicine, we are going to rely heavily on the use of calculus and statistical methods. As doctors, we will be better able to collaborate with researchers if we have a good grasp on statistical methods and I would argue, basic calculus.

PS Quite a few statistical methods require calculus too.