Please calm my physics fears...

[bahdahboom]

Physics and I don't do well. Chem and I also don't do too well, but it's more of a tolerable subject for me than physics. I'm starting med school in fall. How much is physics and Chem used in the med school curriculum? I'm assuming to a larger extent in pharmacology but are they in a clinical context? Or will I be forced to memorize formulas and equations again?

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[osckey]

Physics and I don't do well. Chem and I also don't do too well, but it's more of a tolerable subject for me than physics. I'm starting med school in fall. How much is physics and Chem used in the med school curriculum? I'm assuming to a larger extent in pharmacology but are they in a clinical context? Or will I be forced to memorize formulas and equations again?

Physics in medical school? I suppose you'll have to be competent in voltages and potential differences along with having a competent understand of basic principles of physics. However, I highly doubt you or I will be required to apply physics to the degree we did in undergrad. Our experiences with chemistry will most likely differ.

 

[spiffysteve]

You'll have to learn biochemistry, but I doubt it will be formulas and equations. I did an SMP (which consisted of M1 classes, so I can't speak for pharmacology) and the biochem I had to do was mostly metabolic pathways. As for physics, a very basic knowledge of things like voltage and fluid mechanics would help, but it shouldn't be hugely necessary.

 

[costales]

There is quite a bit of physics behind many tools and treatment methods - e.g. ultrasound, X-ray, PET, MRI, radiation therapy, CV physiology, etc. - but as far as med school goes, you only need to understand the basic concepts and terminology. So you can safely get rid of your physics textbook - nobody is going to ask you to calculate an electric field or projectile trajectory or open a physics book in med school. (In fact, you can pretty much get rid of all the science textbooks that don't have "clinical/medical" in the title.)