Medicine
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Professional Overview
Physicians treat and prevent human illness, disease, and injury. There are two types of physicians: the M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) and the D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine). The practice of medicine includes disease prevention and health education, and the use of accepted methods of medical treatment, including pharmaceutical agents and surgical procedures
Physicians and surgeons have demanding education and training requirements. Almost all physicians complete at least 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school, and, depending on their specialty, 3 to 8 years in internship and residency programs.
General Pre-Medicine Prerequisite Coursework; Wright State Specific Courses
Most medical schools require the following prerequisites:
- General Biology (with lab): 8 Semester Hours (BIO 1120, BIO 1150)
- General Chemistry (with lab): 8 Semester Hours (CHM 1210, CHM 1220)
- Organic Chemistry (with lab): 8 Semester Hours (CHM 2110, CHM 2120)
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: 3 Semester Hours (BMB 4210 or BMB 4001)
- Physics (with lab): 8 Semester Hours (PHY 1110, PHY 1120)
- English: 6 semester hours (ENG 1100, ENG 2100 or 2130)
- Mathematics: Strongly recommend one course in statistics (STT 1600 or STT 2640), and one course in calculus, (MTH 2240 or MTH 2300)
Some schools may recommend (but not require):
- Anatomy and Physiology (with lab): 8 semester hours (ANT 3100, ANT 3120)
- Diversity/Ethics coursework (e.g., PHL 3780, SOC 3610)
- Genetics (BIO 2110)
- Immunology (M&I 4260)
- Histology (BIO 4430)
- Medical Terminology (BIO 1010)
- Microbiology (BIO 2200 or BIO 3100/3110)
- Social and Behavioral Science (e.g., psychology [PSY 1010], sociology [SOC 2000], anthropology [ANT 2500]).
Academic Major
Any major is acceptable if you complete the required prerequisite coursework, recommended extracurricular activities, and present a strong application to medical school. Medical school seeks students who have demonstrated they can do well, particularly in the prerequisite courses, and who followed their academic interest.
Pre-medical students often major in one of the following since many of the prerequisite courses are part of the academic major requirements:
- Biological Science,
- Chemistry
- Neuroscience
- Physics
- Psychology
- Public Health
Presenting a Competitive Application
Students should check with the schools they plan to apply to directly for application requirements, information, and timelines. Admissions to health profession schools tend to be very competitive. While there is “no magical formula” for gaining admissions, general expectations include:
- Strong academic performance (3.5 or higher) in all your courses, particularly in the science prerequisite courses;
- Scoring highly (508 or higher) on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).
- Medical schools require extensive familiarity with the field of medicine to gain an appreciation for and understanding of the medical field. Students should:
- shadow physicians in several different specialties to gain a realistic perspective of the profession.
- gain clinical exposure/experience in several different unique and diverse settings and variety of patients.
- get involved in community services, volunteer experiences, and co- and extra-curricular activities on campus.
- seek leadership responsibility, such as employment, church, community, and school organizations including coaching, tutoring, and mentoring.
- conduct research, which will help you understand scientific literature, how research is conducted, and be able to distinguish credible research.
- demonstrate the ability to balance school and responsibilities outside the classroom.
- exhibit strong interpersonal skills and work experiences with diverse groups of people; be able to communicate effectively and possess skills to express your thoughts and ideas.
