Studying medicine: do you have to be good at physics?

Henry Hildebrandt

Henry Hildebrandt

Advisor at futuredoctor

Reading time: 3 Minuten
Last updated: 18 June 2024
Studying medicine: Do you have to be good at physics?

📖 Table of contents

Studying medicine: do you have to be good at physics? Many school leavers, as we have certainly heard, have a lot of respect for studying medicine. One of the reasons for this is that we hear from all sides how difficult the degree programme and its content are. There is particularly frequent talk of the Preclinicincluding the 1st state examination, the Physikum. Physics is also part of this. But how difficult is the subject really?

The pre-clinic: what to expect

In the first two semesters, most universities cover the basic subjects of the natural sciences. These include the following:

  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry

The remaining Preclinical subjects are anatomy, physiology, terminology, biochemistry, medical psychology/sociology.

Physics is therefore not "just" part of a larger subject area, but is taught as a subject in its own right. This leads to the assumption that you have to be good at physics to get through the preclinical phase. Is that true?

Studying medicine: do you have to be good at physics?

In a nutshell: No, you don't have to! But what does good mean?

Good grades in physics advanced course or basic course

Did you take physics as an advanced course? Then you don't need to worry about the content of medical studies. In any case, "medical" physics is no more in-depth than upper secondary school physics.

Did you take a basic physics course? Then you have already heard something about all of the upcoming topics and are guaranteed to be able to do something with them. If we understand "good" to mean a grade of 2, then that is more than enough to master the content in your degree programme. Even a grade of 4 proves that you have learnt the basics and makes the subject much easier for you.

So you don't have to have a certain grade to be good enough for physics in medical school.

This way you can improve your A-level average and get a place to study medicine:

+ All necessary deadlines, insider information, clear and easy to access

No physics in sixth form: can I manage to study medicine?

If you took physics in secondary school, this is more of a bonus than a prerequisite. In other words, you can do the physics subject in medical school without any prior knowledge!

In general, each of the three subjects: physics, chemistry and biology starts with the absolute basics. It is therefore not assumed that you have any prior knowledge. Of course, you will notice that some fellow students have to spend significantly less time studying if they already had physics in the sixth form.

So if you didn't study physics in secondary school, the subject will require a little more learning during your studies, but it is definitely doable. It is very rare for medical students to fail the subject of physics.

Physics preparation course for medical studies

There are several offers for this on the internet. In our opinion, however, this is not absolutely necessary. As long as you are prepared to learn a little more during your studies, physics will not be a problem for you. However, if it gives you more self-confidence and security for the start of your studies, then a Preparation course certainly does no harm.

Conclusion: Don't let yourself be driven crazy, physics plays a subordinate role even in the pre-clinical phase! Your medical studies will almost certainly not fail because of this.

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