Madison PalmieroBIOSC Senior and Pre-PA The Certificate in Conceptual Foundations of Medicine (CFM) is offered by Pitt’s department of History and Philosophy of Science. A certificate, like a minor, is a great addition to your degree and can be a great way to satisfy gen-eds. Unlike a minor, a certificate is usually inter-departmental - requiring classes from multiple departments. The CFM certificate consists of 18 credits and can be easily incorporated into even a busy schedule. The focus on the conceptual and social side of medicine offers an invaluable perspective for anyone wishing to pursue a career in the health professions. Requirements The two main courses required for this certificate are Mind and Medicine (HPS 0612) and Morality and Medicine (HPS 0613), which satisfies the Philosophical Thinking gen-ed. Another requirement is a two-term biology course, which is easy to fulfill as a biology major! Lastly, you need two elective courses that deal with historical, social, or conceptual topics related to biomedical sciences. These courses can be taken from a variety of departments, which allows you to add something different to your schedule. The HPS website has a full list of approved courses, but here are some examples: Anthropology of Food (ANTH 1752), Intro to Health Economics (ECON 0220), Drugs in Global History (HIST 1706), Psychology of Personality (PSY 0160), and Medical Sociology (SOC 0477). Many of these electives satisfy gen-ed requirements! Each course must be passed with a C letter grade, and the average for all required courses should be a C+ or higher. My Experience I heard about this certificate fall semester of sophomore year, which was my first semester at Pitt. I had already taken a two-term biology course at the college I transferred from, and one of the electives I was taking that semester happened to be on the list of approved electives for the certificate. This meant that I only needed three more classes to fulfill the certificate requirements, which I thought I could easily work into my schedule for my remaining two years. The elective course I took that semester was Introduction to Biomedical Ethics (PHIL 0360), which was the first philosophy course I had ever taken. I enjoyed the class and realized that I liked learning about philosophy, especially when it related to my future career. During my fall semester junior year, I took Morality and Medicine with Dr. Sandra Mitchell, and it was one of my favorite courses I’ve taken at Pitt. As the name suggests, we discussed various ethical dilemmas, such as MD-assisted suicide, but we also discussed medicine in terms of social and political systems. During that same semester, I took Psychopathology (PSY 0205) as my second approved elective. Psychopathology was considered an upper level psychology class, and we discussed a wide variety of psychological diseases, but overall it was not a difficult class. This semester, I am currently taking Mind and Medicine with Dr. Jason Rampelt, and it has been great so far. My Advice I would strongly recommend this certificate program to anyone pursuing a career in the health professions. If you are considering this certificate, here are a few suggestions for planning which courses to take and when to take them.
Apart from being a nice addition to your resume and current major and minors, there is a lot that can be learned from this certificate and applied to a future career in medicine. As science majors, much of our focus is on the science side of medicine, but the conceptual side is important as well. Ethics and morality, along with the social and political aspects of medicine are great subjects to be knowledgeable about and aware of when pursuing a career in the health professions.
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January 2022
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