Do you want a career in the medical field?

You’ll need to start with some type of pre-med major. But which is best?

You’ll have several to choose from if you want to specialize in a specific area within the healthcare field. And that’s especially difficult if you’re not sure yet what you want to do.

Either way, instead of asking which pre-med major is best, consider enrolling in a pre-professional program that provides a broad look at healthcare.

When Choosing One Pre-Med Major Might Not Be Best

Let’s say all you know at this point is that you’re interested in a career in healthcare. That might lead your friends and family to say, “So … what kind of doctor do you want to be?”

But going into healthcare or even “medicine” doesn’t necessarily mean becoming one specific type of doctor, or even becoming a “doctor” at all.

For students who are looking to become agents of change for the betterment of healthcare as a system, healthcare administration may be the right fit for you. This path unites business and healthcare, leading students to become fundamental leaders and contributors to various healthcare systems. 

Healthcare is a really broad field. These are just a few of the career options:

• Anesthesiologist
• Chemist
• Dentist
• Dietician
• Environmental Specialist
• Forensic Science Technician
• Hospital Administrator
• Medical Device Liaison
• Occupational Therapist
• Optometrist
• Pharmaceutical Representative
• Physical Therapist
• Physician
• Physician Assistant
• Research Scientist
• Respiratory Therapist
• Sonographer
• Surgeon

If what you really want to do is explore, it may be that no one major will expose you to a wide enough range of knowledge and skills to help you take the next step.

There May Not Be One Best Pre-Med Major for You

Even if you are pretty sure about the job you want in the future, think carefully before selecting a specific pre-med major.

Say you want to:

• Work in a lab as a chemist, so you study chemistry.
• Do a specific type of life sciences research, so you study something like biology.
• Become a medical examiner, so you study anatomy.

What if, along the way, you discover opportunities in a related field that interests you, like hospital administration, medical technologies, or physical therapy? Your pre-med major might not offer exposure to those fields, making it difficult to even consider them.

There’s nothing wrong with having a clear focus, of course. Many students do, and college academic advisors will help nurture that focus by recommending a major like those above.

But other students, especially at the undergraduate level, sometimes get too focused and come to wish they had a broader base of knowledge. For them, a broad pre-med program is often the best option.

Pre-med programs, one of several multi-discipline pre-professional programs (almost like a “package” of majors), expose you to many different areas of study that play a role throughout the healthcare field:

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Environmental Science
• Hospital Administration
• Organic Chemistry
• Mathematics
• Nutrition
• Research

And that’s just a partial list. Together, these studies give you the best chance to explore a variety of medical fields and decide what type of career in healthcare suits you best.

At Bethany College, Find the Best Pre-Med Major(s) for You

Here at Bethany, you’ll be able to choose from a variety of academic options—including a broad pre-med program to help you explore many life-changing careers in healthcare!

This hands-on program offers several engaging internship opportunities with our community partners that allow you to explore whatever interests you in real work settings.

Here are a few of the intriguing roles you might experience as a pre-med student at Bethany College:

• Brain Science Intern
• Cancer Treatment Organization Intern
• Clinical Assistant
• Clinical Lab Intern
• Environmental Health Intern
• Healthcare Administration Intern
• Medical Scribe
• Nonprofit Healthcare Organization Intern
• Pharmacology Intern
• Physician Assistant Shadowing Intern
• Policy Intern
• Sports Medicine Intern
• Undergraduate Research Fellow

And like every area of study at Bethany, the pre-med program is part of a well-rounded liberal arts degree that includes interesting and essential studies in language, philosophy, and culture.

All to fully prepare you to confidently leave here ready to pursue your career of choice or to continue your studies in graduate and professional school.

Explore Bethany College’s pre-med majors and pre-professional program today!