As a current or future college student, you may feel puzzled while looking over the curriculum and classes for your pre-medicine or other pre-health major. You’ll notice that the curriculum includes a blend of sciences beyond health science, from chemistry to biology to physics. Why are pre-health majors required to study physics?

Physics lends itself naturally to degrees in engineering and mathematics, so it is usually easy for students in those majors to understand why they are enrolled in a physics class. Often, however, pre-health majors wonder how physics is applicable to their career goals.

Why do biology majors need physics? Physics in medicine and biology is critically important for several reasons. Physics plays a key role in patient care, both in diagnostics and in various treatments. Studying physics can also provide a strong foundation of soft skills, like critical thinking and analytical reasoning, that can translate well to the medical field. It’s advisable to pour your efforts into succeeding in all of your pre-med track classes, including physics.

Aside from the practical applications of physics in the medical field, studying physics can benefit pre-health track students in other ways. Studying physics is a unique experience that is heavily dependent upon formulating hypotheses, conducting experiments, solving equations with various mathematical symbols and thinking in both theoretical and applied ways that explore a diverse range of natural phenomena.^{(See disclaimer 1)}

Because of this, physics is well-positioned to guide students in developing critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills. They also have opportunities to strengthen their problem-solving and decision-making skills.^{(See disclaimer 1)} These skills are all key for providing a foundation for health science, and may provide a gateway toward exploring diagnostics and medical problem-solving.

Physics is the most fundamental of all the sciences, and as such, a firm knowledge of physics will only help students attain deeper insight in the areas of chemistry and biology.

Physics ranges from the extremely small nano-scale to the extremely large Giga-scale and beyond. Physics is the root system for all other branches of science that derive their information from the central facets of motion, forces, thermodynamics, electromagnetism and atomic and nuclear physics, just to name a few.

Taking physics classes as a pre-health major can enable you to develop a foundation of scientific knowledge that can prove useful as you navigate your pre-med pathway. From diagnostics to therapeutics, physics offers practical applications in medicine that can transform patients’ lives — and help save them.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

The study of physics makes diagnostic imaging possible and helps make it as safe as possible for patients to undergo these medical studies. Ultrasound imaging, for example, relies on sound and wave propagation. High-pitched sound waves are emitted at specific parts of the body, producing various echoes when they encounter different densities of body tissues.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Physics allows for the control and interpretation of these sound waves, enabling doctors to view real-time images of the patient’s organs. Using this technology, healthcare providers can assess the development of a fetus and diagnose internal bleeding.^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Ultrasound machines aren’t the only diagnostic tools reliant upon physics. The study of physics is also essential for CT, PET and MRI scanners. Specialists known as medical physicists play an important role in patient diagnostics by calibrating these scanners and assisting with their operation.^{(See disclaimer 3)}

Many healthcare providers focus on human movement and biomechanics, such as orthopedists and athletic trainers. Physics is fundamental to understanding principles such as the forces of motion.

Human movement is a complex symphony that is dependent upon muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones and nerves all working together to achieve specific motions. An underlying understanding of physics and principles such as speed, acceleration and velocity helps students progress to exploring kinetics and biomechanics. This academic foundation underpins injury prevention and rehabilitation.^{(See disclaimer 4)}

When considering the physics in medicine and biology impact factor or how else it may be relevant to pre-med students, it’s important not to overlook the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. The principles of physics are applicable to these systems, as the flow of blood through the arteries and veins, and the flow of air due to changes in pressure, are both governed by physics. For example, with an understanding of physics, doctors can develop a better understanding of how cardiovascular disease affects a patient’s functioning and to what degree.^{(See disclaimer 5,6)}

Physics begets many of medicine’s current practices and technologies, including, but not limited to X-rays, medical imaging procedures such as Doppler ultrasound, echocardiography, MRI and the operation of ventilator machines. In radiation oncology in particular, physics enables ground-breaking innovations, ranging from external radiation therapy to implanted radioactive materials for the short-range targeting of tumors inside the body.^{(See disclaimer 3)}

While sitting in a general physics class learning about speed, acceleration and forces, a pre-health professional biology student may not realize at the moment how basic physics is beneficial to future doctors. Nevertheless, it’s essential for future medical professionals to have a firm understanding of the physics involved in the medical technology they are equipped to use.

Here are some specific ways physics applies to medical professionals:

• Mechanics is applicable to the motion of joints.^{(See disclaimer 4)}
• Fluid dynamics, pressure-volume relationships and resistance in a closed circuit apply to the circulatory system.^{(See disclaimer 5)}
• Optics applies to the working of the human eye and all the procedures of ophthalmology and optometry, such as laser surgery.^{(See disclaimer 2)}
• Nuclear physics applies to nuclear medicine (SPECT and PET scans and radiation therapy technologies).^{(See disclaimer 2)}

Physics requires a very precise, detail-oriented and astute way of thinking. Physics forces you to think critically and problem-solve, and it uses the scientific method to do so. Physics challenges you to think beyond simply memorizing facts and instead forces you to apply your knowledge within a real-world context.

The scientific method itself is foundational to modern medicine, and physics is a great science to expose students to this way of thinking. Physics conditions the mind towards logical deduction, which aids in diagnosis. Physics, along with the scientific method, conditions you to be able to work with patients in applied settings.

There are many good reasons why medical school physics requirements are in place. Physics is fundamental. Physics teaches critical thinking. Physics is the basis upon which medical technologies have been discovered and invented, and it is transformative for patients.

When you complete undergraduate physics coursework, you’ll be simultaneously preparing to tackle admission tests required for applying to professional programs in healthcare disciplines.

Grand Canyon University offers a diverse spectrum of STEM degrees for students interested in health and biology. Here, you can choose from tracks in pre-medicine, pre-physician assistant, pre-dentistry and pre-veterinary medicine, among others. All of these majors offer comprehensive curriculum that teach a multidisciplinary foundation in sciences, including physics.