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Why Medical Colleges start with Basic science subjects as the Subjects in Medicine 1st Year in Nigeria
Subjects in Medicine 1st year are the same as secondary school science subjects. Universities or Medical colleges will not want to start you directly with core medical courses because they need to ascertain the depth of your knowledge in the application of basic science subjects.
Therefore the 100 Level Medicine Courses are the same science subjects taken in secondary school but the subjects in Medicine 1st Year in Nigeria are just upgraded a little to the standard of a University or a Medical college.
Subjects in Medicine 1st year in Nigeria
The 100 level Medicine courses are divided into first and second-semester courses. You need to pass all the 1st year medicine courses with a minimum of 50% to continue to 200 level. Though the pass mark of other courses is 40%, that of medicine must be 50%. The cumulative score of your first and second semesters should be equal to or more than 50%. Anything less than that means you are repeating the year.
At Unijos, if you pass all the courses but fail one of the major science courses such as Chemistry, Physics or Biology; then you are repeating the whole year but will only rewrite the course you failed. When you fail again, you leave medical school. If you fail a non core science course such as use of English or General studies, You may be considered to proceed to 200 level and rewrite the non core science course later; but failing any core science subject after the cumulative has been taken means you have to repeat the whole year and pass before proceeding.
List of 100 level Medicine courses for the first semester
- Zoology – similar to Biology
- Chemistry – general and organic chemistry
- Use of English
- Philosophy and Logic
- Physics – practical and theory
- Maths 101
Second Semester 100 level subjects for Medicine
- Chemistry 103 – 2
- Use of English -2
- General studies
- Maths 103
Under each courses, there are subdivisions such as practical, theoretical etc.
Medical Courses to be taken after passing 1st year of Medicine
After you passed your 100 level medicine courses, you now proceed to 200 level. This is when the core medical courses are started. These courses are same in 200 and 300 levels. The courses after 1st year of Medicine include Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology and Public health (or Community Medicine).
Do intend studying medicine? The you must score very high in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, because Medicine is highly competitive. It requires you put your best to keep passing exams and graduating.