Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As most of the posters here probably know, in the U.S. you need to attain a B.S. (or B.A.) before attending medical school. I think this is a massive waste of resources. Many doctors carry debt not only from medical school, but also from the unnecessary undergraduate years. Yet the value of a liberal arts education, especially for a doctor, cannot be understated. So what's my solution?
Simple - create a special "medical track" for students wanting to become doctors. Start this track at age 15, in the sophomore year of high school. Have college-level curricula - most future doctors are probably perfectly capable of doing such work a few years early. Include biology, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, neuropathology (joking about that one), etc. in the curriculum, as well as the traditional liberal arts subjects. Maybe add a year to medical school for those who graduate less than fully prepared by the curriculum. Whatever the case, it's better than four wasted years. Suburban and urban high schools should have the resources to implement this program. If not, they can apply to the government for funds.
1. Most kids that age haven't a freakin' clue what they want to do with their life. Pushing them into medicine that early is not a good idea. For example, 2000 premeds that started with me as freshmen in undergrad, only 150 went on to medical school.
2. Which brings me to my second point. Out of those 150 that did go into medicine, not all of them had decided by their freshman year that it was what they wanted to do. So there were people who thought they wanted to be engineers, architects, etc, who found medicine much more fascinating and wound up applying to med school.
3. There already exist fast paths to med school - where you do undergrad and med school in a condensed program.
4. The maturity level and judgement processing of most people in their early 20s ain't that hot.
5. What happens to people who want to go to med school later in life? They're screwed. Some of the best docs I know are folks who came from other fields and bring their life experience and humanity to medicine.
6. I would not, for one second, want to have missed out on what my undergraduate years taught me. Not just in terms of academics, but in life.
1. Most kids that age haven't a freakin' clue what they want to do with their life. Pushing them into medicine that early is not a good idea. For example, 2000 premeds that started with me as freshmen in undergrad, only 150 went on to medical school.
2. Which brings me to my second point. Out of those 150 that did go into medicine, not all of them had decided by their freshman year that it was what they wanted to do. So there were people who thought they wanted to be engineers, architects, etc, who found medicine much more fascinating and wound up applying to med school.
3. There already exist fast paths to med school - where you do undergrad and med school in a condensed program.
4. The maturity level and judgement processing of most people in their early 20s ain't that hot.
5. What happens to people who want to go to med school later in life? They're screwed. Some of the best docs I know are folks who came from other fields and bring their life experience and humanity to medicine.
Nowhere in this proposal does it say that entrance to medical school would be limited to people who followed this track. Additionally, if this proposal was followed, pre-med programs would be unnecessary.
As most of the posters here probably know, in the U.S. you need to attain a B.S. (or B.A.) before attending medical school. I think this is a massive waste of resources. Many doctors carry debt not only from medical school, but also from the unnecessary undergraduate years. Yet the value of a liberal arts education, especially for a doctor, cannot be understated. So what's my solution?
Simple - create a special "medical track" for students wanting to become doctors. Start this track at age 15, in the sophomore year of high school. Have college-level curricula - most future doctors are probably perfectly capable of doing such work a few years early. Include biology, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, neuropathology (joking about that one), etc. in the curriculum, as well as the traditional liberal arts subjects. Maybe add a year to medical school for those who graduate less than fully prepared by the curriculum. Whatever the case, it's better than four wasted years. Suburban and urban high schools should have the resources to implement this program. If not, they can apply to the government for funds.
I'm highly skeptical of 15 year olds being able to do college level work. I know, AP classes are available to some hs sophomores, but not all colleges grant credit for these courses. You have an inflated opinion of the mental capacities of both doctors and 15 year olds if you think most med-school bound 15 year olds can do college work. A future doctor is going to get way more out of a liberal arts education once s/he has reached the traditional college age. I also have major concerns about people making career decisions too young.
I do not think a college education is a "massive waste of resources" for physicians. I agree with most of what stan4 says. One way to reduce med school related debt is to go to a state supported undergraduate program, if money is an issue.
^^That doesn't seem to be what the OP is proposing. S/he seems to be proposing starting college "pre-med" classes in high school. At least that's how I interpreted it.
Look up 7 year BS/MD programs. You apply in high school, spend three years officially as an undergrad and four years as a medical student.
It is something the majority of medical schools offer as an option.
Googling your thread idea before posting is a good thing!
I'm sorry if your reading comprehension wasn't up to par (even though I try to make my posts as simple as possible to read), but I wasn't proposing that. My proposal would begin in the sophomore year of high school. It would probably be most similar to the British system of medical school training.
I'm sorry if your reading comprehension wasn't up to par (even though I try to make my posts as simple as possible to read), but I wasn't proposing that. My proposal would begin in the sophomore year of high school. It would probably be most similar to the British system of medical school training.
What makes you feel the British system is superior to ours?
I'm sorry if your reading comprehension wasn't up to par (even though I try to make my posts as simple as possible to read), but I wasn't proposing that. My proposal would begin in the sophomore year of high school. It would probably be most similar to the British system of medical school training.
oh boy. You sure told me.
Can you recommend some books on basic grammar? I am so sorry for wasting your time!
Do you know ANYTHING about medical school?
Med school in Britain takes roughly 5 years, and after that you spend 3 years in a teaching hospital. That equals what? 8 years. How long does it take in the United States? 4 years for undergrad plus 4 years for medical school is what? You guessed it! 8 years! MY suggestion takes less time than your suggestion.
Again - do some research instead of insulting someone when they propose a valid solution. My proposal is workable, yours is not.
The British system starts students in their studies around ages 18-19 (the same age as US students starting undergrad). You DO realize students who are accepted into medical school need prerequisite classes, don't you? High school science and math are essential to beginning even a pre-med course in undergrad. You cannot take microbiology if you do not have foundations of biological sciences, which already start in high school. What do you want to cut out of the current high school curriculum? English? Believe it or not doctors need to know how to write. Math? That, again, is an essential prereq for med school.
Do you have any response the CONTENT of my posts, or are you going to jump to insults yet again slick?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
