Block 1

Before medical school you think you have no idea what classes are going to be like. You google everything imaginable to try and get an idea of what it's going to be like, how much you're going to have to study, etc. But, medical school is basically like college just on steroids. The concepts are no more difficult the amount of material just seems overwhelming. But, if you keep yourself from getting behind the amount of material is very reasonable. Gross anatomy is probably the only medical school class that everyone in the world knows about. When you say med school everyone automatically thinks of gross anatomy. Anatomy has two components: lab and lecture. Lab is fairly straight forward. Go to lab, do the dissections, learn the structures. It is very helpful if you can get the whole class to pin 2-3 structures on their body for a practice test. The lecture part of the course is a little more challenging and requires knowing the exact relationship, innervation, origin, insertion, structure, blood supply, and function of most of the body. If you know each one of these things about each structure you will do fine. I thought the textbook for the class was very helpful. As for the lab Atlas get Netter's (hands down the best).

Block 2

This block is worthless. Biochem and genetics are extremely interesting subjects that warrant study but the manner in which they are tought is totally ineffective. I think that these two classes alone illustrate the need for a more integrated educational strategy. All of the important transcription factors, G-proteins, kinases, etc will be taught again in physiology, cell, pathology, and neuro. But, for now you still have to learn them. To do well is not that hard if you can just motivate yourself to study. The material is pretty boring and requires some time to memorize it all. You really need to understand all of the concepts in genetics (as opposed to just memorizing the details) to get some of the more poorly worded test questions correct. Class is helpful to some but it had the lowest attendance rate (for both biochem and gen) this year.

Block 3

The third block, beginning in Jan 1, consists of physiology and cell biology. Physiology is extremely interesting. This course is pretty much why you are in medical school. In order to learn what happens to the body when something goes wrong you have to understand how everything normally functions. This is why I think that it is an especially good idea to summarize your notes for physiology. I wouldn't write out every detail but definitely capture a concise enough picture to help you not only in this class but also in pathology during the second year. Reading over your physiology summaries before the beginning of each pathology block will be very beneficial down the road. Cell biology is pretty interesting, especially if you studied biology in college. The key to this course is to actually make sure you study enough for it. It seems that physiology is the most important course but they are worth about the same so don't skip and lose easy points.

Block 4

The last block of the first year is easier and more difficult at the same time. By this time you've adjusted to what it takes to make good grades. Now good grades are different for everyone but hopefully by this time you've figured out what works for you. At UAB we take Neuroscience, Behavior, Nutrition, and ICM. It seems like an incredible workload but Nutrition is open book (only two exams) and they alternate days with behavior lectures so it is pretty reasonable. The only downside is that there are so many different things going on at once. The Palm pilot is key to make sure that you don't miss anything. Neuroscience is a beast of a subject but extremely interesting. The faculty responsible for administrating the course have some problems especially with testing issues. The key in this course is to hammer in the pathways and neuroanatomical locations. Make sure that you know exactly what will happen if you infarct any area, at any location. Also make sure to arrange some kind of activities for the summer whether they are research or recreation.

studying styles

Recently, I've written mostly about something that I've come across during the day that sparked my interest. But, for the next couple of days i'm going to talk about med school classes, how to study for them, and what they mean in the big picture. Probably the biggest deal is figuring out your studying style (and no this doesn't mean how good you look while you're studying). Here is what works for some people:
1-Going to every class
2-Never going to class but reading the transcripts while listening to the audio and looking at the powerpoints
3-Mixture of going to some classes, reading all the transcripts while highlight every word in every imaginable color
4-Not studying and failing out
5-What I do:

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Here is my basic study strategy that is the perfect mix of keeping of me motivated to study while keeping up with the material.
|1| Wake up two hours before class and read over the material to be lectured on
|2| Go to class
|3| Short lunch break
|4| Read the scripts from the day before while underlining in a black pen
|5| On the second time reading the scripts i summarize each set down to about 1 or 2 pages on a long yellow legal pad. This is a great way to make sure that you will be able to quickly get through all of the material. It also forces you to stay ahead so that you won't get to far behind.
|6| Read through the scripts (and the legal pad)- noting anything that you don't remember with a red pen
|7| Last run through- write everything you can't remember on one horizontal sheet of white computer paper: Chemicals and names in the upper left hand corner, disease in the upper right, pathways and list in the lower right, and misc. stuff in the lower right.
|8| note: textbooks are great for reading before you go to class, some are good but most are a waste of money