Premed students have perpetually faced the "weedout" class -- the one that's supposed to define who will and won't go into medicine.
But Ashley Foster, a premed student in Memphis, challenged that notion in a tweet that garnered widespread support from physicians and educators who said the concept undermines diversity in medicine.
"I don't pay these institutions to 'weed me out' from my chosen field," Foster tweeted. "I pay you and the professors to teach me what I need to know to continue on my path."
Last fall, Foster began taking premed prerequisites so she could eventually get into medical school, coming into medicine as a second career. In an interview with 番茄社区, she said she was ready for challenging and demanding coursework -- but not for unsupportive faculty.
I have a question:WHY ARE ALL PREMED CLASSES CALLED 'WEEDOUT COURSES'? I dont pay these institutions to "weed me out" from my chosen field. I pay you and the professors to teach me what I need to know to continue on my path. This is really REALLY making me upset. Am I wrong?
— That Auntie Ashy (@Loading_DrF)
"I knew going into this the classes would be difficult, and I was prepared for that," she said. "I wasn't prepared for professors who are trying to ensure your failure."
Quinn Capers, MD, an interventional cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio, , suggesting that a professor who labels theirs a "weedout" course may simply be a poor teacher.
"A teacher's pride/swagger ought to come from their ability to transform a student who does not understand subject 'X' into one who does," Capers tweeted. "If the student didn't understand before they met the teacher ... and still doesn't by [the] end of [the] course, the teacher is the one who 'failed.'"
Michal Elovitz, MD, director of the maternal and child health research center at the University of Pennsylvania, said the idea of culling candidates so early is a .
"Let me say that as [a] tenured professor at [a] large academic university, premed courses have absolutely nothing to do with your future ability or love of medicine," she tweeted. "System is a bit broken."
No one is more famous for turning the concept of the "weedout" course on its head than Neil Garg, PhD, a chemistry professor at the University of California Los Angeles. Under his direction, the dreaded organic chemistry class that has long struck fear into the hearts of students has become .
"Part of the problem is that the 'weedout' reputation has been around for many decades," Garg told 番茄社区. "Our goal should be to teach and inspire, and never to intimidate our students."
Garg recently published a paper and best practices in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. That includes establishing the value of the class on the first day -- like how organic chemistry is about problem solving and critical thinking above all else.
And it didn't hurt that Garg invited his students to make , which he started in 2010, before doing so was popular.
"Students want to learn and we must never lose sight of this fundamental reality," Garg wrote in the paper. "Teaching is all about the students. We must challenge them, support them, make them feel connected to the class, and give them opportunities to do amazing things."
Not all the feedback on Foster's tweet was positive. Some shot back that it suggested a need for more resources for "struggling students," and others defended good teachers who still can't get through to students who don't want to learn.
But Foster derided the attacks as "gaslighting": "People who say things like, 'if you can't pass the class, you can't pass' are missing the point."
She urged critics to "think about it this way: there is a doctor shortage that isn't keeping up with our aging population. Why? Because these self-professed 'gatekeepers' are taking more-than-eager-to-learn students who would otherwise be great physicians and forcing them out of academia."
Foster wants to become a psychiatrist so she can help veterans with PTSD and those dealing with the psychological challenges of conditions like HIV/AIDS.
That may mean she'll have lifetime student loan debt, but that's a small price to pay for being able to contribute to her community, she said.