Top Ten College Courses That Give You an Edge in Healthcare
Date: June 14, 2022
Top Ten College Courses That Give You an Edge in Healthcare
Continuing one’s education is a big commitment. For this reason, taking a strategic approach to planning one’s future can go a long way toward a future vocation. In short, some preparation now can make your college path easier later.
With this in mind, here’s a preview of courses a student can take today to transition into their education tomorrow. Often, taking certain classes provides a leg up. Plan today how you might fit one or two of these classes into your academic schedule this semester. The following are the top ten college courses for an edge in healthcare.
1. Biology−One of Top Ten College Courses
One college course providing an edge in healthcare is biology. Simply put, biology is the study of life. While the word “biology” is derived from the Greek “bios” (life) and “logos” (study). Significantly, those who study biology learn about the structures, functions, growth, origins, evolutions, and distributions of living organisms.1 Yet, biology is not only the study of living things but also the study of their vital processes.2
Of note, an introductory biology course can teach students everything from cell structure to genetics. Most frequently, biology is the starting point for physical sciences. This is because biology covers general scientific concepts. Generally, taking biology early on allows one to learn the foundational building blocks. Most often, one can use such knowledge “blocks” to build upon their education and add more advanced sciences later.
2. General Chemistry−One of Top Ten College Courses
Therein, a second college course giving one an edge in healthcare is chemistry. By and large, chemistry is fundamental to healthcare. So much Theodore William Richards once said of modern chemistry and medicine, “The particular branch of science called chemistry holds the key which alone can unlock the gate to fundamental knowledge of the hidden causes of health and disease.”3 With this in mind, chemistry was also once called “the handmaid of medicine.” Ultimately, this is because our bodies are built up of chemical substances, and all living organisms depend on chemical reactions.3
Overall, chemistry is an integral part of a well-rounded healthcare education. Moreover, a foundational chemistry course is where one may learn the science of substances. Additionally, students study body health and biochemistry. Such may later provide a base for general pharmaceutical knowledge.
3. Anatomy and Physiology−One of Top Ten College Courses
A third college course giving one an edge in healthcare is anatomy and physiology. While human anatomy covers internal structures, physiology is basically concerned with how those structures work. Of importance are systems and how they integrate within the body. For example, an imaging scan like an X-ray or ultrasound can show anatomical planes. Likewise, urine and blood tests or electrocardiograms (EKGs)—reveal details regarding different organ systems, aka physiology.4
Correspondingly, it’s not hard to see why learning anatomy and physiology fundamentals are essential to one’s healthcare education. Additionally, building a solid vocabulary base in this course often proves helpful for advanced subjects later.
While learning anatomy and physiology concepts, one may study everything from digestive processes to mechanical muscular mechanisms. As related to healthcare, an overview of physiology can prove helpful in understanding how the body functions under optimal conditions. While one may learn what happens when disease or injury occurs.
4. Physics−One of Top Ten College Courses
A fourth college course giving students an edge in healthcare is physics. By and large, physics courses introduce critical concepts. For example, these may include concepts such as the principles of force, pressure, and volume. Hence they help one understand how these forces then work within the human body. These theoretical concepts are crucial for those with educational trajectories, including using large machines. Examples of such include X-ray technology or Medical Resonance Imaging (MRI). In all, fundamental physics should provide a glimpse into how imaging instruments work and operate. Additionally, the course should give an overview of how such are used in the human body.
5. Intermediate Algebra−One of Top Ten College Courses
A fifth college course giving one an edge in healthcare is algebra. As a discipline, algebra fosters reasoning and critical thinking skills. Learning algebra can be helpful to would-be healthcare professionals. This is because, beyond numbers and letters, algebra teaches one how to think critically. Primarily, mathematicians and technicians operate by noticing patterns, categorizing items, estimating, and recognizing differences versus similarities. Moreover, algebra teaches one to detect changes and abnormalities in patterns.5
Future professionals should fully understand the shape and size of molecules and cells for work. Essentially, this is useful for tasks with machines such as pacemakers, ultrasound equipment, and more. Medical doctors may need to calculate chemicals with numerical bases and know their interactions with other chemicals and medications that interfere with one another. Many advanced educational pathways require calculus and trigonometry, and algebra provides the gateway prerequisite to higher mathematics.
6. Psychology−A Smart Course to Take
A sixth college course giving one an edge in healthcare is psychology. This is because the most significant part of healthcare is working with patients. For this reason, a healthcare professional should have a bit of skill in handling people. Discover the psychology behind why people go to the doctor. Learn how the brain can affect disease symptoms. Further, know why such behaviors play vital roles in survival, long- and short-term health, and emotional and physical well-being.6
Knowing how patients deal with chronic disease or why hostility, depression, and stress play significant roles in the progression of many chronic diseases.7 Correspondingly, this course, paired with psychiatry, can help prepare one for a better bedside manner. While more advanced classes stress neuroscience or other brain-specific studies.
7. Sociology−A Real Power Move
A seventh college course giving one an edge in healthcare is sociology. Moreover, sociology is the study of people and societies. In brief, sociology provides healthcare professionals with better insights into the people they serve. According to a post in Nursing Times, “Sociological knowledge also allows nurses to enhance the quality of patient care. While understanding individual patients’ social context can provide significant insight into how one’s patients experience the world. This is particularly true with their experience of health and care.” 8
In short, the application of sociology allows nurses to reflect on their actions toward patients. Generally speaking, this is most useful when patients are from different social backgrounds (McPherson, 2008). Notably, one application of medical sociology is considering what is important to a patient and then trying to see the world from that perspective.8
8. Ethics−A Big Help
An eighth college course giving one an edge in healthcare is ethics. According to the Vermont Ethics Network, an organization advancing ethics, “Medical ethics or bioethics, in its simplest form, is “a set of moral principles, beliefs, and values.” As such, “those values guide us in making choices regarding medical care. At the core of healthcare, ethics is our sense of right and wrong and our beliefs about rights we possess and duties we owe others.”9
Of significance, doctors and nurses routinely face dilemmas in their work. Ranging from client/patient confidentiality to new technologies, all the while illuminating the need for ethics. In summary, ethical questions arise every day. Moreover, understanding different theories also provides professionals with perspectives on decision-making processes. Additionally, such give roadmaps for making wise choices.
9. Statistics−an Appreciated Course
A ninth college course giving one an edge in healthcare is statistics. Perhaps one might wonder how statistics can help in a healthcare career. “By identifying statistical trends and trails, healthcare providers can monitor local conditions and compare them to the state, national, and international trends,” says two National Library of Medicine authors, Barbara Bartkowiak and Brian Finnegan. Moreover, “Health statistics provide empirical data to assist in allocating public and private funds and help determine how research efforts should be focused.”10
Overall, health professionals should know how to read statistics and detect inconsistencies within them. By and large, a statistical course can help one understand medical research, sort through data, and gain the know-how to present findings. These may then be relayed accurately for the betterment of patients, teams, and themselves.
10. Microbiology with Lab−One of the Top Ten College Courses
A tenth college course giving one an edge in healthcare is microbiology. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, or microbes, a diverse group of generally minute simple life-forms that include bacteria, archaea, algae, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. In short, this field is concerned with such organisms’ structure, function, and classifications. It is also focused on ways of exploiting and controlling their activities.”11 Overall, knowing microbiology is imperative for understanding how bacteria and viruses interact with the body and its systems. In short, microbiology didactic classes, along with lab work, only reinforce and add to one’s base knowledge. Simultaneously, students gain exposure to working in a laboratory, a staple of healthcare education.
Next Stop−Your Top Ten Courses
Finally, preparing to go into an allied healthcare program can take a lot of planning. Including a few of the top ten college courses, today can help you with such planning. As you develop your initial course schedule, you’ll see the top ten college courses are building blocks to new horizons.
Adding the top ten college courses can make transferring to a healthcare program like Gurnick Academy more beneficial. Moreover, Gurnick Academy strives to support continual student success. Our institution offers quality education with clinical practice, advanced equipment, and internships. Such provides students with experience in their fields.
Of note, Gurnick Academy is ABHES accredited. Financial aid is available to students who qualify. To learn what you may be eligible for, contact our admissions office. Get started on your top ten college courses today! ~
By Cindy R. Chamberlin.