Calculus, Problem Based Learning and Other Random Questions

Loads of people seem to suggest that you need calculus of some kind. I took calculus AB and statistics APs now almost 10 years ago. To be frank I don’t remember any of it and at the time I got Bs in the class but only 3s on both APs. What do people think. Do I need to take calculus as it is not uniformly a requirement for medical school. Is it worth it to try to do it before a post bac? It seems like you can start them in May so I thought I might be able to squeeze in a calculus course starting in September. (However, I am worried I don’t remember any of the maths I need to do calculus!) Do I need it for any of the courses?


Also, does anyone know which medical schools use problem based learning in the US? What do people think of it? I have heard about it in the UK (see below for background).


What kinds of things can you do to build up your interest in medicine? Since I’ve been focused on law and government all my internships/leadership roles all focus around them.


Lastly, do you think that admissions people will think my background is too scatty? Is it best to go for a formal post bac to consolidate it?


By way of background as this is my first time on the site, I’m 26 (almost 27) and living in the UK. I always wanted to be a doctor (my dad is one) and did a medical explorers program all through high school. I then went to uni (in the US (Smith)) where I took a semester of inorganic chemistry in my freshman year and freaked out (got a B-) and convinced myself I couldn’t do it. So I majored in politics and decided to do other things (ended with a overally GPA of 3.57). When I was at Smith I studied abroad in the UK and loved it (and on plus side I have dual citizenship). I ended up doing a masters at Oxford (non-science - Russian and Eastern European Studies at Oxford).


Then I decided I wanted to stay in the UK and failing anything else as I always found social science type things easy went into law. (In the UK you can convert to being a lawyer and then do a 2 year training contract). I did my training contract (2 yrs) and came to end of it and didn’t get offered a placement (mainly due to the downturn in the economy). However, the whole thing has been making think about how much I hate law and how much I always wanted to do medicine and why didn’t I do it originally. Anyway I am now living in the UK and considering trying to get on a post bac program for a summer start or take the necessary classes in a do it yourself post bac.


There is also an option of doing a 4 year MBBS at St. George’s in london which allows you to start medical school with no science background. There are no required courses but you have to do well on the GAMSAT (kind of like the MCAT I think but you are supposed to be able to do well on it with A level (like an AP) chemistry/biology/physics )) plus a proven interest in medicine. This medical school uses problem based learning (see question above). I think I might like to stay in London and try to attend. However, as the exam is only given once a year, the next time I could take it is Sept. 2010, interviews in Jan. 2011, for starting in Sept. 2011.


Sorry for such a long post. It would be great if people can answer any of my questions. Obviously, most of the background is probably not relevant to the questions but thought might give some background to my questions.


Mez

Hi Mez,


I wanted to welcome you to OPM. Unfortunately, I think the reason you have received a lot of views but no responses is because it is such a different system over in the UK from the US that there is no way that anyone can really advise you one way or the other.


If I were in the UK (unfortunately I was born 3000 miles to the west in Brooklyn, NY, even though I’m an anglophile to the extremee), I would look more into that option for the MBBS as it is a step in the right direction.


Best of luck to you!

Modern Technology… I had typed a long reply but it disappeared into the internet ether… try, try again…

  1. “I think I might like to stay in London and try to attend. However, as the exam is only given once a year, the next time I could take it is Sept. 2010, interviews in Jan. 2011, for starting in Sept. 2011.”


    Is your goal to get into medical school or to get into medical school QUICKLY? One of the major pitfalls is not be ready and you suffer from premature application. And at 27 years of age, you are a relative “baby” here on OPM

  2. “Loads of people seem to suggest that you need calculus of some kind.”


    It appears that Calculus is slowly fading as a medical school requirement, though many still do require it. Most require Math, which may be calculus or statistics. You have to check each medical school individually (more on that in a minute). More importantly is having a solid background in Algebra and Trigonometry (pre-calculus) in order to do well in Chemistry and Physics.

  3. “However, the whole thing has been making think about how much I hate law and how much I always wanted to do medicine and why didn’t I do it originally. Anyway I am now living in the UK and considering trying to get on a post bac program for a summer start or take the necessary classes in a do it yourself post bac.”


    with your math and sciences either old and/or weak, it would do you well to start prepping on your own, particularly in you want to enter the formal St. George Post-Bacc (more later). You may find a few courses on your own before going into a formal post-bac useful.

  4. “There is also an option of doing a 4 year MBBS at St. George’s in london which allows you to start medical school with no science background. There are no required courses but you have to do well on the GAMSAT (kind of like the MCAT I think but you are supposed to be able to do well on it with A level (like an AP) chemistry/biology/physics )) plus a proven interest in medicine.”


    Sounds like you need to be top-notch to get into this. I would suggest preparing a brief CV and summary and contacting Admissions St. George as well as other schools and see what their opinion is.

  5. “Also, does anyone know which medical schools use problem based learning in the US? What do people think of it? I have heard about it in the UK (see below for background).”


    You need to get a copy of AAMC MSAR which is for allopathic/MD schools. You can probably get it via amazon.uk


    Also you need to look at ACCOM Admissions Guide which is for osteopathic/DO schools and which is a free download

  6. “What kinds of things can you do to build up your interest in medicine? Since I’ve been focused on law and government all my internships/leadership roles all focus around them.”


    you certainly can volunteer in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. as well as shadows doctors. If you were in the US, I think your law background would make you a great volunteer as a patient advocate particularly when dealing with the beast of health insurance in the states. As an example of how to combine to your background with medicine, when I was an undergrad I did a “research” intern under the university hospital VP for Policy.

  7. “Lastly, do you think that admissions people will think my background is too scatty? Is it best to go for a formal post bac to consolidate it?”


    It is your job to make your story coherent, concise and compelling. And before you try to do that for admissions, you need to be able to do it for yourself.

  8. BTW, about 50 of the commonwealth (former british colonies) follow the same medical licensing standards. Therefore, usually graduation from medical school and residency in one country makes you eligible for licensing in all the countries, though Canada may be the big exception to this. I mention this as there are some programs in Australia for example that two years in country, two years in clinical in USA (they have a hospital group in new orleans) and you get a degree from Queensland Univ ( Link to Aussie MedPath )


    A program like that maybe a very good option for you