Being only 10 days away from being done with my first two years of medical school, I wanted to share some of the classes I took during my undergraduate education that helped me while studying in medical school.

As a reminder, you should take classes that you find interesting. All of the classes I mention below, with the exception of Anatomy and Physiology, were because I found those topics fascinating and took them for my own benefit. Do not feel any pressure to take these classes during undergrad if it does not bring you curiosity or excitement. Take other classes instead that fit with your goals. These classes are just a few I took that I found helpful while studying during medical school and are not necessary to be successful. 

Before diving into those classes, remember that there are specific prerequisite courses for every medical school. Most medical schools will expect the following:

• General Biology – 2 semesters/trimesters/quarters (with labs)
• General Chemistry – 2 semesters/trimesters/quarters (with labs)
• Organic Chemistry – 1 semester/trimester/quarter (with lab)
• Biochemistry – 1 semester/trimester/quarter
• General Physics – 2 semesters/trimesters/quarters
• College English/Writing Intensive – 2 semesters/trimesters/quarters
• College Math or Statistics – 2 semesters/trimesters/quarters (college algebra or above)

However, pay extra careful attention to the specific schools you are applying to because they might have other courses that they require in addition to the general prerequisites above. 

This document from the AAMC outlines prerequisites for specific medical schools in 2023-2024: 

https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/7041/download

Personally, my undergraduate degree covered all the prerequisites for medical school and then more courses. The program for my major was designed with the idea that premedical, pre-PA, and other pre-health profession students would have a solid foundation in the sciences necessary to complete that form of higher education.

For that reason, I took courses like Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Immunology, Virology, and Biotechnology to fulfill major requirements. 

In addition, I had interests in Psychology (specifically the brain) and Global Public Health. These interests ended up being two of my three minors so I took additional classes to fulfill those requirements. 

Of all those courses, I felt like my undergraduate degree was very useful throughout my first two years as a medical student. That being said, medical school is very difficult and there was so much new information to learn specific to medicine. 

The following five bullet points include courses that I enjoyed and helped make medical school just a little bit easier to consume. 

Immunology with lab 

Immunology in medical school happens so quickly. I was so grateful I had a background from undergrad because it was just too much to learn all the different types of cells involved with the immune system. My classmates who had also taken Immunology in undergrad found it more manageable too.

The lab portion of my course was just fun and memorable. The techniques used in this lab were also important to know for the MCAT so preparing for the course was like studying for the MCAT. However, my favorite memory was looking at my own blood under the microscope to see the different types of blood cells. Trying to look for neutrophils and hopefully a basophil is a core memory for me, and I go back to it whenever I think about white blood cells. 

Neuroscience

The brain was definitely my favorite part of psychology. I set out to take extra psychology classes to obtain a minor and fulfill my desire to learn more about the brain. At my school, there were two neuroscience courses that were with the psychology department. These courses were specifically tailored for the Behavioral Neurosciences major so it worked really well for me and my background. 

I did take two neuroscience courses. One was an introductory course which covered many topics like how neurons work on a cellular level to how the brain works during sleep. The second course I took was much more helpful in studying pharmacology this year for medical school. The course name was “Drugs, Brain, and Behavior” which meant the course was focused on how drugs impact the brain and the types of behaviors that come from those drugs. 

Global Public Health

Global Public Health is a subject that holds a special place in my heart. I was also fortunate enough to complete a minor in the subject. I learned so much about healthcare infrastructure, social determinants of health, and burdens of disease. This minor required an introductory course and a capstone course, but it was very helpful in understanding how individual health is impacted by much more than one’s own willpower. 

I can only speak for my medical school, but it does try to integrate some public health related issues into the curriculum. However, having a background in public health just makes me feel more cognizant of how my future patients will have different barriers to care that will impact them. 

Nutrition in Health and Illness

Nutrition is a subject that must be taught in medical school. However, the way that it is taught is going to vary between schools. However, I have always been fascinated by food and its impact on health. Naturally, I took the course during undergrad so I could learn more but in the context of illness. This course taught the basics of nutrition such as macronutrients and micronutrients.

This course went one step further and taught me how different diseases will have different nutritional plans. These plans will usually be created by a registered dietitian on the care team. My professor divided us into different groups and each group focused on one disease process. My group had a patient with COPD. At that time, it was my first time hearing the term COPD and I had no idea what it was. I got to learn the disease process a little bit through research and then I learned about the nutritional challenges associated with it. 

Anatomy and Physiology with lab* 

Anatomy and Physiology is here with an asterisk because some medical schools might require it as a prerequisite. However, I know that my medical school did not require it. I remember my anatomy professor trying to calm me down by saying “You were not expected to know anatomy before you got here, so do not worry, we will help you.” She also does admissions interviews so I know she knew the requirements to become a student at my school. So this requirement really does depend on the medical school. Make sure to look at individual school requirements and use the link above to help you.

Anatomy and Physiology with the lab is just helpful because seeing information multiple times helps consolidate. Anatomy is a lot to memorize especially in medical school when it’s in very short periods of time. I found it helpful to have already had a foundation in anatomy and physiology. This foundation was not perfect, but it was enough to help me feel slightly less stressed during the academic year. I also had an idea of which organ systems I struggled with during my undergraduate education so I knew when I needed to spend extra time on the information. 

Those are the courses and subjects that were enriching for me during my undergraduate experience. I really do believe some of these subjects were helpful in developing a foundation before medical school. If I had to boil it down to two of the above, Anatomy and Physiology with a lab component and Immunology with a lab component would be the best. 

Finally, make sure to take classes that bring you joy. Don’t take the classes to check off boxes. I don’t think a person has to be miserable to learn. Especially since becoming a physician is such a journey, you want to try to enjoy yourself as much of the process as possible.

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