Basic sciences play a key role in the medical education of students. In addition to gathering scientific facts, basic sciences improve students’ ability to observe and effective thinking in medical school.
What are basic sciences in med school?
Basic science courses in medical school are a very key component of every medical school curriculum. They provide the foundation to medical students about their understanding and knowledge of the human body, its diseases, treatments and therapies. Simply knowing how the body works is not going to be enough for a physician. Modern medicine is highly advanced and patient care has many complexities today. A solid understanding of the basic sciences will help any medical student learn better and any physician to perform optimally.
As students keep gaining seniority, they become more competent in advanced methods of training. Students are gradually given more responsibilities for overseeing and caring for patients in a real clinical setting This helps students put their knowledge to application in real-life situations. And when in the real-world, patient care is a lot different than having clarity over theoretical and data-based learning. This is the best way to gain an understanding of what the medical profession demands from physicians and if this really is the right choice of career for you. The vast amount of knowledge that students learn at medical school can enhance their decision-making skills especially during critical or complex situations.
The knowledge students gain from such in-depth understanding goes a long way, when it comes to clinical findings and gathering data. For instance, if a patient complains of pain in the right-upper quadrant of the abdomen then knowledge of the abdomen is required. However, to diagnose polyuria or polydipsia a physician also needs to have the understanding of the normal water regulation physiology.
Basic science in the clinical years
Basic sciences provide medical students with the essential framework to understand clinical medicine. Students can use their basic science knowledge for accurate diagnosis as well as treatment for real patients, and hopefully offer them relief.
As the clinical rotations start for medical students, numerous transitions occur at the same time and an important shift in learning is noticed. This shift refers to a transition from learning pathophysiology, physiology, or pharmacology to evidence-based medicine practice. However, without a basic science background, physicians would never be able to successfully reach that stage as they’ll struggle to study the huge range of symptoms they observe in patients.
Basic sciences offer an invaluable tool for memory to medical science students. For instance, it is a lot easier to treat asthma when students understand pharmacology and pathophysiology. Because here, memorizing symptoms and names of different drugs won’t be enough.
Now that you have a better understanding of why basic sciences are a part of the medical school curriculum, you should know its importance and pay attention to learning the essentials especially if you mean to study medicine in future. Join a program today and start your training at the right time.