It’s a common perception that enrolling in a medical school requires students to have an in-depth knowledge of biology, physics, and chemistry. However, it is exactly not the case. Completing an English literature course is one of the most important admission requirements for enrolling in MD programs.
While no one can deny the importance of completing science-based courses before getting into a medical school. You can’t overlook the importance of building a deeper understanding of humanities and literature as it can help make you a strong doctor. Completing undergraduate English literature and language programs allows you to build some important skills that you can’t be able to learn in pre-medical curriculum.
Enrolling in Literature courses can strengthen your ability to interpret findings in peer-reviewed research as well as improve the analytical and critical thinking skills that will help you prepare for your future career. Furthermore, completing a literature and humanities course can also improve your understanding so that they can better handle social, emotional, and economic problems.
Whether you are a premedical student choosing courses for your upcoming semester, or a medical school hopeful thinking how to improve your chances of getting selected for your favorite medical school, completing a literature course is a sensible decision for a variety of reasons.
Let’s discover the important benefits of enrolling in a literature program before applying to a medical school.
Polish Your Critical Thinking Skills
Since a majority of science courses mainly focus on memorizing complex medical terms and learning intricate biological principles. When it comes to literature courses, they mainly focus on interpretation. These courses are tailored to strengthen your critical thinking skills, which is one of the most high-demand qualities for medical school and beyond. Not only does this discipline require you to clearly understand the course material but also enable you to understand the sociological, philosophical, psychological, historical, and economic contexts of those topics.
Some literature programs mainly focus on literary analysis, literary text, and literary theory so that students can better develop their critical thinking skills. The goal is to allow students to develop their personal perspective and then combine their point of view and interpretation of course material together. It will also improve the interpretive skills that will help you understand the intricate medical concepts and clinical representations during your entire medical school journey and later in your career.
Strengthen Your Research Skills
If you want to become a researcher, you need to learn beyond using lab equipment, writing abstract, and summarizing important data. The ability to gather and synthesize important information can help you successfully take part in research projects, which will more likely play a major contributor to the medical field. There is no denying the fact that clinical science courses are designed to teach students how to perform experiments in a challenging situation. Students with little or no literature background, find it difficult to interpret the results of clinical trials in a broader context, which will negatively impact in their academic performance during medical school.
By taking literature classes, students can develop the skills required to write a literature review, academic articles related to your subject of interest. In the medical field, literature reviews play a critical role – from obtaining official approval of a clinical trial to presenting work to teachers and class fellows, and getting it published in academic journals. When students write text for literature classes, they will learn how to interpret text before coming with their own perspectives.
Furthermore, taking literature classes will also hone your review skills as you have to clearly absorb information before drawing any conclusion. It’s true that research is important for the medical school application process but enrolling in a literature program will help you write a literary review of a clinical trial.
Instill Empathy to Deal with Diverse Patients
As a physician, you will deal with diverse patients and colleagues whose points of view contrast with your own. A good physician always accepts the viewpoints of their patients with empathy and sincerity, and considers cultural differences in mind while creating a treatment plan. The ultimate goal of literature courses is to develop a deeper understanding of cultural values, ethics, and how to employ empathy.
These courses will help aspiring physicians learn how to deal with people of various cultures with empathy. Literature classes allow premedical students to learn the differences in people’s lives and their views about the world. They will also know how to connect with patients with diverse cultural backgrounds, how to respond to their stories, and earn their trust, which is important for the delivery of excellent health care.
All in all, students with a solid background in a literature program find it easier to successfully complete their medical school journey. As they are equipped with all the essential skills, including critical thinking, analytical, research, review skills that students need to become a good doctor.