Perspectives

The Premedical Curriculum: We Can Do Better for Future Physicians

Authors: Bharat Kumar, MD, MME, RhMSUS, Melissa L. Swee, MD, MME, Manish Suneja, MD

Abstract

I n the long journey toward becoming a doctor in the United States, the first day of medical school often is considered the starting point. The fact is that medical education begins long before that epochal event. Indeed, the first dedicated steps take place in college, with enrollment and successful completion of the premedical curriculum, a battery of courses that includes three semesters each of biology, physics, general chemistry, and organic chemistry as well as two semesters each of mathematics and literature.

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