University of Florida Homepage
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Liberal Arts and Sciences College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Academic Advising Center

Medicine (M.D. & D.O)

*A physician is a general term for a doctor who has earned a medical degree. Physicians work to maintain, promote, and restore health by studying, diagnosing, and treating injuries and diseases.

Physicians generally have six core skills:

  1. Patient care. Physicians have to provide compassionate, appropriate, and effective care to promote health and treat health problems in their patients. Physicians diagnose and treat injuries and illnesses.
  2. Medical knowledge. Physicians must be experts in established and new biomedical, clinical, and cognate sciences and how to apply this knowledge to patient care.
  3. Practice-based learning and improvement. Physicians must always investigate and evaluate their own care and look for ways to improve.
  4. Interpersonal and communication skills. Physicians must be able to communicate effectively with patients, their families, and other health professionals.
  5. Professionalism. A commitment to professionalism includes carrying out professional responsibilities, sticking to ethical principles, and being sensitive to a diverse patient population.
  6. Systems-based practice. Physicians must be aware of and responsive to the larger context and system of health care. They must also be able to find and use resources to provide the best care possible.

https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-physician

There are two types of practicing physicians in the U.S.:

  • The M.D. degree refers to allopathic physicians.
    • The D.O. degree refers to osteopathic physicians.
  • Suggested Timeline
  • Prerequisite Chart
      • https://www.advising.ufl.edu/docs/PreHealthRequirements.pdf
      • General Chemistry: CHM2045/L and CHM2046/L or CHM2051; or CHM2047/L (CHM2054L may be substituted for CHM2045L and CHM2046L)
      • General Biology: BSC2010/L and BSC2011/L Organic Chemistry: CHM2210 or CHM2212 and CHM2211 or CHM2213 and CHM2211L (CHM3217, CHM3218, and CHM2211L may substitute)
      • Physics: PHY2053/L or PHY2048/L or PHY2060 and PHY2054/L or PHY2049/L or PHY2061
      • Biochemistry: BCH4024 or CHM3218
      • Math: MAC2311 or MAC3472 and STA2023
      • English: Two semesters of any English department course. Examples are ENC1101, ENC1102, ENC3254, LIT2110)
  • PSY2012 and SYG2000
  • Electives
  • BCP/BCPM GPA Information
    • Each medical school has a range and median for BCPM/BCP GPAs. These will change each year.  Researching each school is strongly recommended.
      • M.D. schools  - national BCPM median is: 3.67

D.O. schools – national BCP median is: 3.36

  • Research
  • Shadowing
  • Healthcare Experience
  • Community Service
  • Leadership/Teamwork
  • Student Organizations
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives
    • UF College of Medicine Diversity Office
      Located on the first floor of the Medical Sciences Building, Room M-108, in the Health Science Center
      Office Hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM  Monday through Friday
      University of Florida
      College of Medicine, Office of Diversity & Health Equity
      P.O. Box 100202
      Gainesville, FL 32610
      (352) 273-6656 (telephone)
  • Summer Opportunities
  • Events
  • Professional Organizations
  • CAS Websites
  • 2023 Centralized Application Services (CAS) Event
    • Medical School Applications- AMCAS and AACOMAS - Bobbi Knickerbocker, M.A., MRE, RN- Senior Lecturer and Beyond 120 Pre-Health Curriculum Coordinator and Director PHPB & Co-host Michelle Baldwin, Admissions Officer I at UF College of Medicine (Watch the presentation)
  • Professional School Directory
  • UF Professional School Contact

UF College of Admissions
Office of Admissions
PO Box 100216
UF Health Sciences Center
Gainesville, FL 32610-0215 USA
(352) 273-7990
(352) 273-7599
 med-admissions@ufl.edu
 Medical School Website - https://med.ufl.edu/…

  • Standardized Test Resources & Information
      • MCAT: Medical College Admissions Test - https://students-residents.aamc.org/taking-mcat-exam/taking-mcat-exam
      • The MCAT exam has four test sections:
        • Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems
        • Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems
        • Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior
        • Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills
  • CASPer
        • https://takecasper.com/
        • Casper is an online situational judgement test used by academic programs to help assess applicants for non-academic attributes or people skills.  Individual schools will indicate if this is a requirement for admission.
  • PREview
  • Fee Assistance
  • Applicant Guides

AACOMAS - https://www.aacom.org/become-a-doctor/how-to-apply-to-osteopathic-medical-college/aacomas-application-instructions-and-faqs

  • Suggested Reading
  • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives
    • UF College of Medicine Diversity Office
      Located on the first floor of the Medical Sciences Building, Room M-108, in the Health Science Center
      Office Hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM  Monday through Friday
      University of Florida
      College of Medicine, Office of Diversity & Health Equity
      P.O. Box 100202
      Gainesville, FL 32610
      (352) 273-6656 (telephone)
  • Summer Opportunities
  • Financial Assistance
  • Fee Assistance Programs (Repeated)
  • Financial Resources
  • Student Financial Affairs
  • Specialty Programs Available
  • Medical Honors Program (MHP) 

UF College of Medicine

      med-admissions@ufl.edu

Office of Diversity and Health Equity

(352) 273-6656