What Are The Subjects In Medicine 1st Year In Nigeria?

Congratulations on your admission to Medicine and Surgery in Nigeria;now you’re in, it is essential to know what to face and the subjects in medicine 1st year in Nigeria.

Like Rick Bizet, a friend of John Maxwell, said, “the only factor that relieves pressure is preparation.”

After acing the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Post UTME with high scores and admission, many students have no idea about what they will face in their first year of medical school in Nigeria.

Furthermore, students often think they’re going to start pre-clinical courses immediately, i.e., anatomy, biochemistry, or physiology. But it’s not true.

I bet you had to think about that, too. This isn’t uncommon. I was thinking about that. Even before I saw my name on the admissions list, I had a friend who gave me some PDF medical courses.

I was so excited and thought I could become a super-smart folk by reading biochemistry ahead of a medical school. But when I came in, it was different from what I felt about the subjects of Medicine 1st year in Nigeria.

But you’re not going to be like that, are you? That’s precisely why you’re here to read more about the subjects to study in first year of medical school.

So sit tight, and let’s get started.

In our last post, we addressed the procedures on how to study medicine in Nigeria, and today we’re going to tell you the subjects to expect in first year of medical school.

Just wait a minute …

We’ll also give you some tips on subjects in medicine for the first year in Nigeria. If that’s all fine, then let’s get to it ASAP!

If it’s not pre-clinical, then what is it?

If the subjects you’re going to study in the first year aren’t Anatomy, Biochemistry, and Physiology, so what’s that? Perfect question!

Here’s the deal: Nigeria’s medical school curriculum is split into three phases — pre-medical, pre-clinical, and clinical.

The first phase, which is Pre-medical, is what you’ll be doing in the First Year of Medical school. So the deal is that you’ve not formally started medicine, so the subjects in Medicine 1st year will be the basic science courses you know in secondary school.

But…

Is it the same stuff you learned back in secondary school? No. It’s not the same thing but instead the same background knowledge at a higher level.

Also Read: How to be Self-Disciplined in Medical School

Subjects In Medicine 1st Year In Nigeria (100 level Courses)

Your 100 Level medicine courses will depend on the University you attend. Most schools don’t do mathematics while some do.

Furthermore, all schools have different schemes and topics concerning core subjects like Physics and Biology. Asides from that, there are some other courses, usually called General Studies, which you’ll have to take.

In general, here are the subjects in Medicine 1st year in Nigeria:

  • General Biology
  • Practical Biology
  • General Physics
  • Practical Physics
  • General Chemistry
  • Practical Chemistry
  • General Studies

Every School Is Different

Note that every medical school in Nigeria have different courses for first-year medics. For example, here’s the course outline for a student in the first year in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN):

University Of Nigeria 1st Year Medicine Subjects

First Semester

  • General Biology I| BIO 151
  • General Biology for medical students(Genetics)| BIO 101
  • Basic practical chemistry| CHM 171
  • Basic Principles of Chemistry| CHM 101
  • General physics for life sciences| PHY 111
  • Practical physics| PHY 191
  • General Studies| GS 101- Use of English
  • General Studies| GS 201- Peace and Conflict studies I
  • General studies| GS 111- Use of library studies

Second Semester

  • General Biology II| BIO 152
  • Basic Parasitology for Medical students| ZEB 122
  • General Practical Biology| BIO 154
  • Basic Principles of Chemistry II| CHM 112
  • Basic Principles of Chemistry III| CHM 122
  • General physics for life sciences II| PHY 112
  • General Physics for Life sciences III| PHY 114
  • General Studies| GS 102- Use of English II
  • General Studies| GS 202- Peace and Conflict studies II

Now, here’s for folks in the University of Benin (UNIBEN):

UNIBEN 1st Year Medicine Courses

First Semester

  • Introduction to Plant Biology
  • Introductory Zoology
  • General chemistry
  • Organic chemistry
  • Use of English
  • Philosophy and logic
  • Practical physics
  • Mechanical, thermal physics and properties of matter
  • Vibrations, Waves, and Optics

Second semester

  • Functional Zoology
  • Introduction to plant biology
  • Use of English II
  • Electromagnetism and modern physics
  • History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
  • Organic chemistry II
  • General Chemistry

To sum up, these are just examples to show you that the courses may differ for each University. For instance, UNN medical students offer Genetics in the first year while in UNIBEN, they don’t.

Also Read: What Next After Medical School In Nigeria?

Note on 100 Level medicine courses:

Like I’ve said earlier, the subjects to do in first-year medicine will differ for each school. Some schools do mathematics in the first year, while the majority don’t. An example is the Abia State University (ABSU).

Asides from that, there’s an extra course called General studies, which the University will use to access your knowledge. This subject is unrelated to your sciences, but you’ll have to pass them to succeed.

Note that GS will differ in different schools. UNN uses the use of English and Peace and conflict studies. UNIBEN uses History, logic, and Philosophy. In a school like ABSU, they use History and communication. UNIUYO uses Citizenship studies and computer science.

In conclusion, you’ll have to be sure to know the first-year subjects in your school of choice. You can ask from senior colleagues.

Final Thoughts on the 100 Level medicine courses

To sum up, we haven’t exhausted what you need to hear about subjects in medicine for the first year in Nigeria. Furthermore, we will keep updating this post with a course outline for all universities as time passes.

Was this article helpful? Have you got an idea of the courses you’re going to study in your first year of medical school? If yes, please let us know using the comment section below.

Other than that, feel free to share this article with your friends and colleagues. Cheers!

Also Read: Top 10 Lucrative Medical Courses In Nigeria 2021

Read This Post for the Complete Course Outline For Medicine and Surgery From 100 Level to 600 Level.


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Anaso Emmanuel
Anaso Emmanuel

My name is Anaso Emmanuel and I’m the founder of MedicsDomain; an SEO Expert, Content Writer and an Enthusiastic learner. To the outside world, I’m an ordinary Medic but secretly I use this blog to help aspirants get into medical school, provide insightful guides and connect with others like me.