Do Pre-Meds Really Need That Year of Organic Chemistry?

Organic chemistry, c. 1973. Photo by david55king via Flickr. Has organic chemistry -- tormenter of young souls, perennial weeder of would-be doctors -- run its course as a fixture of the pre-med curriculum? Pre-meds do need some basic instruction in o-chem before they can take on biochemistry, an essential subject for the modern physician. But does a student really need a full year of organic chemistry to prepare for the study of biochemistry? That's the question posed by Harvard med school's academic dean, Jules Dienstag, in this week's New England Journal of Medicine. The implicit answer -- No -- ...