By: Resa Brinkley, Pre-Health Advising Coordinator, UCS
Anatomy & Physiology is a preferred or required course for any number of health professions (all, pretty much, at least headcount), but how you choose to take it and how much of it you need is really a bit more subjective.
Premed students are encouraged to take Biology 252/L, and that (in addition to 101/L) counts as the second biology course and is solid preparation for whatever anatomy content may appear on the MCAT. Allied health (nursing, PA, PT, OT, etc) are a bit different, in that many prefer/require two semesters of anatomy and physiology. Wording you may see is:
- 1 class in each (3 hrs each)(2 semesters of A&P will work)
- 6 hrs lecture, 2 hrs lab (must be human A&P); preferred within 2 years of admission deadline (separate or combined A&P courses accepted)
- Anatomy with lab (4 hours) Physiology with lab (4 hours)
Students who are Exercise and Sports Science (EXSS) majors must take the sequence of 175 anatomy/276 physiology/275L cadaver lab as part of that major, and that works for a large number of programs, so some will stop right there. For those who wish to apply to a school that required an additional lab, to gain the other lab and/or get bio credit for PA programs that require a biology prefix for A&P, those students will move on and also take BIOL 252/L.
Our non-EXSS majors often took BIOL 252/L to start, but since EXSS courses are difficult if not impossible to get even if they ARE a major, those students then often took a course called Physiology 202 (now renamed to 292) with is a human physiology course – but it’s 5 credit hours, but no lab.
We did eventually offer a two semester bio A&P sequence here at UNC-CH. There were two summers when we offered BIOL 352/353 both with labs, deemed Anatomy 1 w/lab and Physiology 1 w/lab. It was very popular but issues beyond our control stifled the easy transition for this to be taught during the academic year, so a professor came to me with ideas for an advanced A&P (a continuation of 252/L) which is now offered and titled BIOL 253/L. THIS is now the preferred two semester Anatomy & Physiology sequence for non-EXSS majors interested in an allied health science that requires a two semester sequence.