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eceive credit, without the stress of being
graded.
(3) General Education requirements are
trivialized.
I noticed that many of my classmates in the
courses were often uninterested in the
material at hand, or perhaps unwilling to
devote enough time to picking apart the
details of discussion. By and large, you might
hear a pre-med student say they’re getting
their gen-eds “out of the way” so they can
focus on what they want to learn. This line of
thinking causes students to devalue the
lessons they may learn outside of basic
science. Though such a mindset is tough to
address, I would advise taking a few courses
that you find fun and would probably never be
exposed to ever again in your education.
Pottery, choir, nutrition, women and gender
studies are a few examples that come to
mind. Expand your horizons and enjoy it!
(1) Mastery of knowledge requires
specialization.
The rigor of science courses is undeniable;
they demand a constant attention to
detail and deeper understanding not only of
how or what, but of why. Of course, these are
the things that draws pre-meds to the study
of biology in the first place. But many late
nights at the library to go over a signaling
pathway, reviewing anatomical systems, or
covering metabolic steps is exhausting in
breadth and depth of knowledge. Though
there is nothing inherently wrong with deeper
learning, this siloed approach does not allow
for cross-disciplinary learning. Dr. Keat
Sanford, former dean of the UConn School of
Medicine and current pre-med advisor,
advises students to “look at each semester as
an opportunity to provide some balance and
try to get some engagement in the three areas
that the Association of American
Medical Colleges (AAMC) has determined
important (cultural competency,
interpersonal skills, professional
development).” Working on these soft skills
is not a waste of time and a reason that
social sciences have become requisite
coursework for the MCAT.
(2) Pre-professional preparation drives
students to begin much earlier.
I realized that my future prospects as a
medical school applicant relied on
academic excellence in science-related
areas on top of research, volunteer work,
and clinical experience. While important to
building the foundation of knowledge in the
field that I wanted to enter, such
preparation lured my attention away from
the basic ideas and ideals of a liberal arts
education. Our culture of maximizing
results with minimal effort (“most bang for
your buck”) and instant gratification also
contributed to this shifting focus. Rising
costs of higher education makes it harder
to think beyond preparing for a career and
job, and certainly, for other technical
careers this sentiment is strong.
However, aspiring doctors should be
comforted knowing that the rate of
unemployment for physicians was 0.4%
in 2014, and their median income was
greater than $200,000. Despite these facts,
students may still find it difficult to justify
taking an indirectly related course for their
professional career. Beyond the tangible
benefits that I’ve already outlined, the
critical thinking involved in reading
literature, connecting historical events, and
learning language equips students to
problem-solve in situations that warrant
more than just basic science knowledge.
Writing and speaking to communicate
findings well and advocating for
disenfranchised individuals, using
statistics to peel apart convoluted data,
utilizing Spanish to communicate to
native-speaking patients are only a few
applications of things that should be
learned as an undergraduate.