Biochemstry in medicine?

steddyeddy

Hey all biochemistry is my area of interest. I find it very interesting however I have been told be various doctors that it was one of their least favouraite parts of their medical degree. Can I ask everyones general feelings on it and why you so many doctors dont like it?

crazy dude

I think that's because medical school can ruin any subject. The USMLE is their obsession and all teaching is geared towards this exam which is very much "pseudoscience" and rote learning. Medical school is not anything like science...infact its a disadvantage to be a scientist. Its really like the leaving cert or more correctly like how Leeson street teaches for the leaving cert and although some GEP student might have a PhD in biochemistry he might be disappointed to find an English degree person will get higher marks because medicine really suits people with good regurgitive memories (if that is a word). For example, you might make the connection that the lower limit of blood glucose (5.5 mM) corresponds to the Km of the liver enzyme hexokinase and because of its sigmoid profile is essentially a switching off of glycolysis in the liver to conserve blood glucose as its going too low. No Dr. would know that and if you asked for the reason why below 5.5 mM is a hypo you'd be told that in the exam to remember the mnemonic "6,7,8, 11 and 13" because these are the key values in diabetes and it always comes up on the MCQs and the USMLEs! I knew less biochemistry after a year of med school!:D

RobFowl

Have to say found Biochem the least interesting subject even though now appreciate it's value.
Sociology in pre-med too was one i thought was useless at the time but 20+ years on realise how relevant it was.
In my day the quality of lecturing was IMO very poor though.
From post grad diploma's done since it's improved immeasurably.

Xeyn

I think its because firstly its not as immediately clinically relevant as other big early subjects like anatomy, physiology, pathology. Secondly its one of the most difficult subjects to visualise the processes you are studying.
I think most top students have a good understanding of biochemistry as it will certainly help in both physiology and pathology.

steddyeddy

Thanks for the replies everybody. It was just a question spurred by the amount of friends who went through medical school and depised the subject! Even on the rare occasion when I go to hospital the Doctors there tell me they hated biochem, the Kreb cycle ect. I guess its a matter of interest. Personally I find the larger anatomy far harder to remember than molecular "anatomy". I will say biochemistry is very helpful if your researching a particular disease.