Is physics REALLY important?

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

I am aiming for UAB SOM to be an ophthalmologist, but here is a question.

UAB states that they accept AP physcis credits. Period. I am not sure how important physics is when you learn to be a doctor. I have AP physics C credit for Physics 1 w/calculus, and if I am going to use it, I will have to take just one more Physics classes.

However I was told that I should retake physics class unless I am really gifted in physics, which I am not…but at the same time I feel like physics prerequisites aren’t so important as math/biology/chemistry requirement.

Could someone give me advice on this issue? Thank you

2

I believe 2 physics are not sequential. So you can definately use your AP credit. Some med schools don’t accept AP credits though. And some want you to take upper level courses instead so you might need to take upper level physics. So if you’re not a big fan of physics this might not be the best plan.

3

My ophthalmologist friend believes physics is substantially more important for her specialty than most in medicine.

4

Anything cardiovascular uses a fair amount as well. The science behind the machines radiology uses is of course mostly physics.

If you don’t have a 5 on the AP exam though I don’t care if your school is giving you credit (or if med schools will accept it), you should take a full year of intro physics in college.

5

Physics is important for a good MCAT score.

The future of medicine is mostly in technology which is tied to physics.

And I would add radiology and radiational oncology to the list above.

6
  1. It is pretty short sighted to fulfill requirements for one specific medical school.
    So find out how many other medical schools would also take your AP physics credit.
  2. I agree that physics is probably more important to ophthalmology compared to many general medical specialties (medicine, pediatrics, family practice, EM, etc.).
  3. Physics is on the MCAT, so consider if you will be adequately prepared by your single semester of college work.
  4. You want to keep your science GPA as high as possible. If you don't take Physics 1 (but are very well prepared for it) you are giving up a change for a potentially easy A. If you don't take Physics 1 and are not as prepared as you hoped, you may struggle to get a top grade in the second semester physics class. Are you taking physics in your first year of college or later? If later, you may have forgotten a lot of what you knew back in high school. You may welcome the refresher.

In summary, I would re-take the Physics 1 and hopefully have a nice light semester.

7

Since every school is different, and aiming at one SOM is NOT a good idea at all, I would check with adcoms of every SOM that you are planning to apply. D. did it for AP credits for English and math. Got the answers from each, no guessing games.
Physics is required for heart/lungs study as mentioned in previous post.
College physics is NOT going to be easy, no matter what you had in HS. Pre-med level of physics is probably the easiest, but it is NOT going to be easy. I would stay away from any other Physics (for engineers or calc based or whichever). There is no reason to take a harder class than required. Physics was on D’s MCAT, but she took the old MCAT. She mentioned that taking the MCAT after Physics finals was very helpful.