do i need chem for med (1 Viewer)

hscgirl

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but going back to the general topic, I find it strange that chem isn’t a prereq. I feel it should be for the reasons already mentioned
i've been told by my school that if we are gonna do med in uni, we must choose chem (some teachers even say chem is a prereq for med)
 

jimmysmith560

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There is a bit of nuance between a prerequisite and recommended studies. If a subject is a prerequisite for a particular degree, a student must take and complete that subject in order to be eligible for consideration for that degree. This applies to USyd, where a student must take and achieve a minmimum result in either Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1 or Mathematics Extension 2 (including its Double Degree Medicine program).

However, Chemistry is not a prerequisite for the Doctor of Medicine, meaning that a student can still study medicine even if they did not take Chemistry, provided that they meet the other requirements (such as high ATAR, favourable UCAT results and favourable interview performance). Of course, this does not necessarily suggest that a student who wishes to study medicine should not take Chemistry. Despite not being a prerequisite for the Doctor of Medicine, it is still a subject that is recommended to be taken (alongside Biology) if a student wishes to study medicine.
 

GrilledCheese

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did you never do chem in school?
I did chemistry for the HSC. My undergrad was engineering but I also did do a couple of chemistry electives in the lead up to GAMSAT.

It probably helped a bit for GAMSAT but I don’t think it helped that much for med itself.
 
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jazz519

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If you had 2 students who both got into med with one who did chemistry and one who didn't do chemistry, there probably isn't any real advantage either has. The concepts studied in chemistry at a high school level have no link to medicine which would be more linked to biology. The only real thing you can say about chemistry is that since the subject scales well if you are naturally good at sciences then it can help you get the high ATAR you need to get into medicine but you get in without at the same time
 

rubbishbear

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Yeah like others said, check prereqs. Its helpful to get basics out of the way when you get to uni, good foundation, but id rather to bio. theres also this blog ive read on prereqs: www. medentry.edu.au /blog/ medicine-prerequisites-what-are-the-requirements-for-studying-medicine-at-each-university Hope this helps
 

idk123233

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If chemistry is a big part of studying medicine in university and OP doesn’t like it i’m confused as to why he/she would wanna pursue medicine as a career anyways lol.
my baddd im so late on replying
anywayss the reason i didnt wanna pick chem was because i didnt think id be able to manage it properly and since im not even that good at chem AND BECAUSE EVERYONE KEPT SAYING IT WAS SO HARD :')

buttt

i kinda regret not picking chem since it scales so good and i feel like maybe i couldve managed chem cuz so many people in my school do chem but literally know nothing abt it and stuff, the prelim average was a fail i think it was like 30% SO MAYBE I SHOULDVE PICKED IT but than at the same time maybe its good that i didnt pick it cuz it rlly is hard????
idkk


do you do chem?? if so how do you find it?
 

idk123233

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If you had 2 students who both got into med with one who did chemistry and one who didn't do chemistry, there probably isn't any real advantage either has. The concepts studied in chemistry at a high school level have no link to medicine which would be more linked to biology. The only real thing you can say about chemistry is that since the subject scales well if you are naturally good at sciences then it can help you get the high ATAR you need to get into medicine but you get in without at the same time
yuppp i agree, chem's good cuz it scales well - thats the only reason i regret NOT picking it
 

idk123233

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Do I need chemistry for medicine in new south wales, i really don't wanna do chemistry. I know little to nothing about chemistry. I've tried researching perquisites for universities to get into med but couldn't find much info (probably cuz i suck at researching). so can i get into medicine without doing chem in y11 and y12?
okay so update, i didnt do chem and kinda regret it but at the same time dont but i recommend doing it if you think you could get okay marks in it since it scales well
 

GrilledCheese

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Just re-iterating, having gone through Med, from a practical point of view, if you haven’t done chem you will be able to get up to speed during the course. Med is not as chem heavy as some posters on here have made out.
 
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