“They’d love your perspective on this. If you have a chance, please stop in!”
It was probably about the dozenth time I’d been invited to take a guest seat at Dartmouth Medical Center’s ethics panel. At the time, I was studying under the supervision of Professor John Hare at the Yale Divinity School.
Hare was the chair for Yale New Haven Hospital’s ethics committee. John didn’t have a medical background, but he was the son of the legendary ethicist R.M. Hare, and was a well-reputed philosopher in his own right as the Noah Porter Professor for Philosopical Theology at the university. We shared a professional interest in Kantian moral thought, and this was the basis on which our perspectives were valued in such contexts (his much more than mine, of course, as a leading thinker in our field.)
That’s because doctors face Kantian moral problems on a regular basis. By the time a situation gets to committee, there are a wide range of ethical considerations in play for a patient’s well-being, and it can be extremely helpful for doctors to have a philosopher in the room who can contribute meaningfully to the conversation and broaden their perspective on the consequences of one or another course of action on behalf of the patient.
This is not a peculiar connection: the bonds between the humanities and medicine run deep. Nor was this my first contact with the intersection of philosophy at Yale and medicine. A few years prior, during the summer before grad school, I’d fallen ill with a life-threatening case of pneumonia. The attending pulmonologist who led my case pulled in doctors of every specialty to save my life during my 10 day stay in the ICU.
When I was on the road to recovery, he shared with me that his BA in philosophy had been at Yale. “Have you ever considered a career in medicine?” he asked.
In hind sight, the question wasn’t entirely unprompted: There’d been a moment in my care where I’d caught a critical assumption that meaningfully affected my prognosis, and at another point in the ICU, my background in phenomenology meant that I was able to accurately describe subtle effects of my morphine medication in a way that was unusual for patients, identifying pharmacological qualities about which I knew nothing (biochemically speaking, at least).
But at the time, I was sure that academic philosophy was my future. While we bonded over our mutual interest in Kant, another doctor chimed in, lamenting that far too many of the med students they were getting had no awareness of the ways in which philosophical questions play a critical role in patient care and outcomes. My pulmonologist nodded with emphatic agreement, saying that if I ever changed my mind, he’d be happy to give advice, guidance and support to pursue a medical career.
When most people think of pre-med, they imagine a heavy load of biology, chemistry, and calculus. That’s not wrong… but it’s not the full story. Even in top-level med school programs, coursework requirements rarely extend beyond 12 STEM courses. That’s plenty of room for a complimentary major in philosophy.
Worried about your chances? According to AAMAC data for 2024, philosophy applicants are accepted at a 53% rate to qualified medical schools in the US, while applicants in the biological sciences are only admitted at a 44% rate. Med schools only care about your prerequisites, your MCAT scores, and relevant service/clinical/research experience.
That’s it: your major is not a factor in decision-making. What’s more, a background in philosophy confers several distinct advantages that bio students miss.
-Adding sustained prerequisites over a long period of time shows an intentional approach towards medicine. Philosophy med students are self-selecting, which gives them the appearance of being more certain of their career path.
-Philosophy makes for substantively better preparation for the MCAT’s Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS) section, which is usually bio students’ lowest-scoring section. Since the STEM prerequisites are defined preparation for the MCAT, there is no correspondingly pressing reason why philosophy majors with adequate prep should struggle elsewhere on the MCAT, meaning these candidates should attain higher scores on the whole.
-Placement is a major pain point in the process of med school success. Med schools want to ensure that virtually all of their graduates find high quality internships and employment. Philosophy is a better foundation for strong communication skills.
In my experience, there is a special connection that healthcare practitioners and philosophers share whenever their paths cross. Their callings are both ancient and central to the experience of the human condition in profoundly complementary ways. Biochemistry may be the fluency from which doctors must operate, but their most profound calling is, in a sense, an irreducibly philosophical one: to promote human flourishing in body and mind.
I know it can be a scary choice to even contemplate: everyone around you who wants this career is probably clamoring for BS/MD programs, or at the very least top biology programs. But a decision isn’t wise because it’s popular. Make the choice that helps you get where you want to go, following your passions and strengths as best you are able.
Need help clarifying what that might look like in practice? Reach out to our team to see how we can help you figure out the right applications strategy for your goals in a free consultation.