Pre-med students questioning the need for a second semester of organic chemistry might be surprised to find that some medical school administrators are wondering the same thing.
Dr. Jules Dienstag, dean of medical education at Harvard Medical School, called for a reform of the pre-med curriculum and medical school admissions requirements in a Thursday editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dienstag wrote that current curriculum models often focus on topics far-removed from human biology, taking time from more relevant courses.
Dr. Richard Davidson, a professor in UF's College of Medicine and chairman of the college's curriculum committee, said medical school curricula will be changing nationwide and may require students to know basic sciences before being admitted, meaning pre-med courses will have to cover them.
As it is now, not all medical schools require biochemistry prior to admission, so it has to be taught at the graduate level, Davidson said.
UF requires it for admission.
Dienstag wrote that instead of spending a second semester in organic chemistry, schools should teach a sequence of organic chemistry and an introduction to biochemistry.
If Dienstag's ideas go into effect, medical schools across the country would have to coordinate their admission requirements and pre-med programs to ensure clarity, he said.
Tammy Davidson, faculty coordinator of the organic chemistry laboratory program, said she worries about condensing two semesters' worth of organic chemistry into one.
Davidson said because of the course's rigor, it teaches students critical-thinking skills.
"It's the first course that really challenges them," she said.
