Medicinal chemistry is the scientific field that deals with how chemical agents interact with the human body to discover, isolate, or improve pharmaceutical products.
It's a fascinating field and medicinal chemists are responsible for the latest medicines and drugs. These pharmaceutical products may be designed to prevent, treat, or even cure illnesses and conditions.
The drug discovery field has a bright future and good job prospects so it's hardly surprising that a lot of people are starting to become interested in studying courses focusing on pharmacy, drug discovery, or related academic fields. However, there's one important question that any aspiring medicinal or pharmaceutical chemists need to answer: is medicinal chemistry difficult?
Let's see what makes studying medicinal chemistry difficult and how you can get help if you start to struggle with it.
Any Science Can Be Difficult and Medicinal Chemistry is No Different
Scientific disciplines are about accuracy and getting things right so it probably won't surprise you to hear that this is true of medicinal chemistry, too.
By the time you finish high school, you should have already studied different aspects of science including chemistry, biology, and physics, and have a general understanding of what they're like and what they entail.
You should also remember that the hard sciences tend to deal a lot with the quantifiable and that means "math". To study medicinal chemistry, you'll have to make peace with the fact that you'll be expected to have an excellent understanding of mathematics.
Science can also be difficult conceptually and medicinal chemistry, pharmacy, or organic chemistry is no different. After all, we learn about what's happening, but this is often at a microscopic or molecular scale that can be difficult to grasp at first. There's a lot of abstraction involved when thinking about how chemical compounds interact with the human body and this is something you'll need to get to grips with if you want to study medicinal chemistry.
Degrees Should be Difficult
The first thing you need to remember is that all undergraduate degrees should be difficult. Every study is different and some will find certain things more difficult than others, but it's still an undergraduate degree with a level that should be beyond anything you've studied before (provided this is your first undergraduate degree).
Of course, if you've done some AP courses, then you'll have some familiarity with a college-level education, but for most high school students, their undergraduate degree classes should be more advanced than anything else they've ever studied.
You'll Be Studying More Advanced Topics
Unless you've taken every single AP class and also studied medicinal chemistry, organic chemistry, and biology at a college level outside of high school, you'll be tackling more advanced topics by the time you get to college.
More advanced means that you'll likely take more time to grasp topics, that there'll be more to remember, and that you'll need to understand a broader range of related topics, too.
This means that you'll likely find things difficult and even if you don't at first, there's bound to come a time when you have to increase the amount of effort you put in.
You'll Have More Work to Do
Usually, the workload for a degree should also be more than you've experienced in the past. This can sometimes trip up students, especially if they found high school rather easy and were able to succeed with little effort. When combined with more advanced classes and topics, an increased workload can make things more difficult to manage, but it is manageable.
You'll need to stay on top of things and be organized. You'll need to pay attention in all of your classes, take notes, and plan your time effectively. The more work you have, the easier it is to fall behind and the harder it'll be to catch up if you do.
Make sure that you stay up-to-date with your chemistry class. If you prefer face-to-face support, look for a chemistry tutor near me in your area. If you have to miss a class, make it a priority to catch up with what you missed before the next one. The medicinal chemistry industry has a good future ahead of it, but it still expects excellent graduates.
It Won't Always be Fun or Interesting
It's quite easy to learn if we're enjoying ourselves or having fun as you'll learn without even realizing it. Sadly, certain topics and concepts can be quite dry and boring and you just have to accept it.
At times like these, you'll need to be really motivated. If you start to doubt whether or not you're interested in medicinal chemistry, certain topics will feel unbearable. You have to remember that to get to the fun and exciting parts, you'll need to study and understand all of it, which means you may have to just put the work in even when you find it incredibly boring.
You'll also need to work on your concentration and other soft skills to make sure you're extracting as much knowledge as possible from every part of the academic program, especially when it's something that you find tedious.
Every Student is Different
Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses and what one student may find easy, another will struggle. Work to your strengths where you can and it'll make medicinal chemistry easier.
For some students, medicinal chemistry will be easier than another major and for others, it won't. As you take more advanced classes, things should generally get more difficult, but there'll still be things that you find easier or harder just based on the type of student you are, the lecturer teaching you, or how interested you are in a particular topic.
The most important thing is that you're honest with yourself and work hard in the areas where you know you might struggle.
How to Get Help with Studying Medicinal Chemistry
Studying medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry can be difficult and you may need help with it. Fortunately, there are several ways to make it easier or more manageable. You just need to work out the best ways to find help.
Here's where you can get help.
Get Help with Medicinal Chemistry Online
If you're reading this, we'll assume you're already online. Take to a search engine and look for the resources you need.
You can find almost everything online and if you need help with medicinal chemistry classes, you can find resources, student communities, and even activities to help you study.
Reach Out for Help on Social Media
A quick way to get the word out that you need help with your classes is by asking around on social media. You can let your friends or followers know what you're looking for help with and they can spread the word.
Even if none of your friends or followers can directly help you, they may know somebody who can. Word of mouth can be really powerful so use it both online and off.
Study with Your Classmates
If there's somebody who's going to understand, it's likely going to be your classmates as they're going through exactly the same thing.
Studying with classmates is not only a good way to help each other, but it's also a great way to hold each other accountable. It's harder to procrastinate or skip a study session if you know somebody else is already there waiting for you.
It can also be useful to check your understanding. Explaining concepts to somebody else is an excellent way to test that you understand them. Test each other and push each other to do as well as you can. You can also work together, share notes, and pool your resources.
Speak to the Teaching Staff or Faculty
There are also plenty of people at your school who can help you. Your lecturer would much rather hear that you're struggling and want to do something about it than hear nothing and see that you failed a test.
Most of the best colleges also have services to help students that are struggling with their classes or looking for better ways to study. Make the most of any resources offered by your school, especially since you're technically paying for them.
Get Help with Medicinal Chemistry from a Private Tutor
No matter which classes you struggle with, a private tutor can help. You can search for a chemistry tutor near me to find local options. Having somebody dedicated to helping you do better in your classes is always a good idea.
With a private tutor, you can get experts in medicinal chemistry to help you through the trickier topics and classes or get a tutor to help you with study techniques, taking notes, and a plethora of other transferable skills that can make you a more effective student (or help you find jobs in medicinal chemistry).
Getting the most out of any academic program is about ensuring that you combine your knowledge of each topic with analytical skills and reasoning.
While private tutors were once reserved only for wealthy families, the tutoring market has been democratized and you can find tutors for all budgets and levels.
Generally, the more experienced or qualified the tutor, the more they'll charge you. If you're looking for a budget tutor, you may find that they're a fellow medicinal chemistry student or even a master's or doctoral medicinal chemistry student looking to make some extra money.
Specialist tutors with qualifications in medicinal chemistry and/or teaching qualifications will likely charge a premium, but this is the price you have to pay for expertise.
If you are on a budget, don't forget that online tutors are usually cheaper than face-to-face tutors as they don't have to travel and you can also save money by getting group tutoring instead of one-on-one tutoring.
In any case, help is out there if you need it!
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