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Pre-Health Profession Program

Physician (M.D. / D.O.) Professional Program Admissions

A physician (i.e. medical doctor) is a highly trained, licensed medical professional

tasked with promoting, maintaining &/or restoring health and wellness in his/her patients. Some
physicians, referred to as “general practitioners” or “generalists,” maintain a practice that
provides continuing and inclusive care for individuals, families or a specific community, treating
acute and chronic conditions as well as providing wellness and preventive care education.
Other physicians – the “specialists” – focus their practices on specific diseases (e.g. cancer,
infectious disease), specific organs or body part (e.g. skin, lungs), specific patient groups (e.g.
children, elderly) or treatment type (e.g. diagnostic, therapeutic).

Physicians trained in the United States must obtain a professional (graduate level)
degree from an accredited medical school or college and pass a state licensure exam prior to
practicing. Most medical schools require students to have completed an undergraduate degree
program before they can begin their medical education. Following medical school, most new
physicians complete additional training in “residency,” which can last two to ten years
depending on the specialty chosen. Physicians are also required to complete varying hours of
continuing medical education (CME) in order to maintain their license to practice (e.g.
Kentucky: 60 CME credits every three years)

Students wishing to become physicians have two educational options – allopathic or

osteopathic medical schools. Allopathic medicine focuses on the use of pharmaceutics &/or
physical interventions to treat a patient’s symptoms or pathology. Physicians trained in
allopathic medical schools receive a “Doctor of Medicine” degree, signified by the initials M.D.
after their name. While based on an educational curriculum very similar to allopathic medical
schools, osteopathic medicine involves additional training in osteopathic musculoskeletal
manipulative principles and techniques and emphasizes a holistic view of the patient.
Physicians trained in osteopathic medical schools receive a “Doctor of Osteopathy” degree,
signified by the initials D.O. after their name.

Admission requirements or recommendations to most medical schools (allopathic or

osteopathic) include the following:
Bachelors degree from an accredited College/University (any major)
Appropriate pre-requisite coursework
GPA 3.4 or higher preferable (accepted students usually have higher GPAs)
Satisfactory MCAT scores (Medical College Admission Test)
College academic transcripts
Shadowing, patient contact or volunteer experience (recommended)
Undergraduate research experience (recommended)
Recommendations.

Application to medical school occurs through a centralized application service. Students

applying to allopathic medical schools apply via AMCAS – the American Medical College
Application Service, with the exception of medical schools in Texas. Application to these
schools is through TMDSAS – the Texas Medical and Dental Schools Application Service.
Students applying to osteopathic medical schools apply via ACOMAS – the American Colleges
of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service.
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Pre-Health Profession Program

Pre-Medicine (M.D./D.O.) Admission Course Prerequisites

Requirement Recommended BC Courses

Inorganic Chemistry (+ lab) (1 year) CHM 131: Accelerated General Chemistry
CHM 311: Quantitative Analysis

Organic Chemistry (+ lab) (1 year) CHM 221: Organic Chemistry I

CHM 222: Organic Chemistry II

Biology (+lab) (1 year) BIO 110: Modern Biology

(2 yrs. recommended) BIO 323: Human Physiology**
BIO 330: Genetics**
BIO 441: Cell & Molecular Biology*,**

Physics (+ lab) (1 year) PHY 217: Physics I

PHY 218: Physics II

Mathematics (1 year) MAT 115: Algebra with Modeling

MAT 125: Trigonometry with Applications
MAT 135: Calculus

English/Composition (1 year) Satisfied by BC General Education

Courses GSTR 110 & GSTR 210

VERY Strongly Recommended Courses

Biochemistry*,** CHM 340: Biochemistry I (biomolecules)

CHM 440: Biochemistry II (metab. pathways)
Microbiology** BIO 222: Microbiology
Embryology** BIO331: Developmental Biology
Histology** BIO 306: Histology & Histotechniques
Social Science* (2 or more terms) PSY 100: General Psychology
PSY 209: Social Psychology
SOC 100: Sociology for Everyday Life

*Increased emphasis on new MCAT V exam

** Recommended by many medical schools based on recent curriculum changes!

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Some medical schools require or recommend one of more of the following courses. The Pre-
Medical Advisory Committee recommends considering the (***)-noted courses in light of the
additional Social Science and Critical Thinking emphasis on the new MCAT V exam.

Subject/Course Recommended BC Courses

Anatomy BIO 101: Anatomy and Physiology I
BIO 220: Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy

Neuroscience BIO 325: Neurobiology

PSY 212: Behavioral Neuropsychology

Nutrition CFS 221: Fundamentals of Nutrition

Psychology*** PSY 208: Cognitive Psychology

PSY 209: Social Psychology
PSY 211: Abnormal Psychology
PSY 231: Social Gerontology

Sociology*** SOC 110: Problems of American Institutions

SOC 132: Introduction to Race in America
SOC 223: Social Stratification & Inequality

Statistics ECO 250: Applied Statistics

Child/Family Studies*** CFS 130: Lifespan Human Development

CFS 207: Family Relations

Health HLT 111: Human Sexuality

HLT 210: Health in Appalachia
HLT 215: Significant Issues in Health

Communication COM 206: Interpersonal Communication

COM 207: Intercultural Communication
COM 305: Interracial Communication
COM 311: Communication & Gender

Philosophy*** PHI 100: Introduction to Philosophy

PHI 214: Approaches to Ethics
PHI 250: Minds, Brains and Machines

Women & Gender WSG 236: Women & Health

WSG 366: Cross-cultural Perspectives on
Family
WGS 220: Gender in Appalachia
SOC 325: Gender and Sex Roles

Art ART 115: Drawing

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Professional Society Information & Links

Allopathic Medical Colleges [MD]

American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC)
www.aamc.org

AAMC Students, Applicants, Residents

https://students-residents.aamc.org/

AAMC Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/taking-MCAT-exam

AAMC Fee Assistance Program

https://students-residents.aamc.org/
(Click on “Applying to Medical School” link. Under “Applying to Medical School:
Understanding the Process” heading, click on “Fee Assistance Program” link.

AMCAS (Association of Medical Colleges Application Service)

https://students-residents.aamc.org/
(Click on “Applying to Medical School” link. Under “Applying to Medical School:
Understanding the Process” heading, click on “Applying to Medical School with AMCAS”
link.

Osteopathic Medical Colleges [DO]

American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM)
www.aacom.org/home

AACOM Osteopathic Medicine

www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor

AACOM Applying to Osteopathic Medical College

www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/applying

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/taking-MCAT-exam

Fee Assistance Program

https://students-residents.aamc.org/
(Click on “Applying to Medical School” link. Under “Applying to Medical School:
Understanding the Process” heading, click on “Fee Assistance Program” link.

AACOMAS (American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service)

www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/applying/aacomas

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