Pre Med Prerequisites for medical Students
Pre med or pre-medical is a unique term usually used in describing the right kind of courses or activities an individual needs to do before becoming a proper medical student in the United States or elsewhere. It refers to various kinds of medical activities that get an undergraduate student ready for medical institution. There’s always various pre med prerequisites that are compulsory for anyone who intends to pursue his or medical career in life.
The general prerequisites include detailed coursework, clinical experience, volunteer activities, application processes, and medical research and so on. The intending medical student is expected to engage in all these activities or processes in order to quality to pursue his or her course in a medical institution.
Oftentimes, the pre med prerequisites vary according to various medical schools and authorities. Some medical institutions don’t even have an option for a pre med major. It all depends on how the institution runs its affairs according to the rules and regulation governing the pursuit of medical studies in the state where the school is located.
In the US, the Association of American Medical Colleges has come up with standard pre med prerequisites regarding the right courses to be taken by every pre med students. The body outlined the pre med coursework that should be followed in most American medical colleges. Most of the courses are hinged on the natural sciences such as chemistry, biology and physics. The typical courses that are required in the pre med prerequisites are as follows:
- General Chemistry
- General Biology
- Organic Chemistry
- General Physics
- English and Writing Courses
Each of these courses usually runs for 2 semesters and in 3 quarters within the medical academic year. Each of the courses also demands practical experiments in medical laboratories in order to enhance the understanding of the students involved.
Again, pre med students may also be required to take upper level courses in chemistry and biology electives. These may include sensitive areas such as genetics, cellular biology, biochemistry, physical chemistry and a lot more.
Meanwhile, pre med prerequisites also involve compulsory pre medical classes for all undergraduates involved. In most cases, they are required to engage in the one year courses in all the major medical areas like Chemistry, Biology and Physics. English, Mathematics and some other related courses are also required.
The above pre med prerequisites are required for every individual who really wants to succeed as a medical student. If you’re interested in the medical career, you need to make proper inquiries from various medical schools in order to find out their requirements. You can always search online to get useful pieces of information about various pre med schools and their courses.