I responded to a PM that addressed a few questions that I thought might come up for people interested in MC so I thought I'd post it in this thread just to put some of the MC info all in one place. Hope this is helpful for someone.
PM said:
Dustb2000
Hello. I just got accepted to the masters (medical science) program. I was wondering which classes you have taken (or are taking right now). Which would you recommend or not recommend? In the Fall I was thinking about taking Histology, Biochem, Human Heredity, and Immunology. Do you think that is too much? How easy/difficult is it for students to do research? I know it will count as credit towards the degree... but do students usually do research in the summer? What about DNA Forensics? Graduate Seminar? If you could answer my questions I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
I've taken Medical Physiology, Histology, Immunology, Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, Biochemistry, and the undergraduate equivalent of Human Heredity (undergrads take genetics by the same teacher and I'm pretty sure they're the exact same). I'm currently in Neuroanatomy and Embryology and I was also enrolled in Gross Anatomy at the start of the semester but dropped it before the first test because I wanted a little more relaxed final semester at MC. I've never taken DNA forensics but have had several friends who have. As far as research goes, I don't really know many people who have done any significant research at MC. Some people go to UMC over the summer in Jackson to do research but I don't really have much experience with that so maybe Dr. Baldwin would be a good person to ask about that. He is very good at quickly replying to emails and has always been extremely helpful with anything I've ever asked his help for. I'll give a quick summary of the classes and my opinions of them.
Medical Physiology:
This was the first 5 hour class I took and I had it in the spring of my junior year. Dr. Baldwin teaches it and it is probably my favorite class I've taken at MC. Med Phys is also a very conceptual based class and to me it was less memorization than the other 5 hour classes but more problem solving. This is a class I'd highly recommend to take at some point in the program.
Immunology:
Immuno is a very interesting subject and a fun class to take. Dr. Snazzele teaches the class and he is one of the nicest professors at MC. He's very helpful and while his lectures can seem kind of long at times by the end of the semester you will be amazed at the amount of immunology you know. This is another course I'd suggest you take. Its also slightly less intensive than the 5 hour courses.
Biochemistry:
Dr. Bailey teaches this class and he is without a doubt my favorite teacher at MC. He's a great guy and is a fun lecturer. He has taught biochem during the summers the past 2 or 3 years at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine but this was his first year teaching it at MC and he did a terrific job. The difficulty of the class depends on how strong of a chemistry student you are. Some people breeze through the class while some really struggle. I'd say to only take this class if you enjoy chemistry classes, otherwise just stick to the biology classes.
Medical Microbiology:
This class is probably the easiest in the program but still requires a good amount of study time. If you take this class try to find a typed set of notes that is passed around every year. Me and my roommate put it together a year ago when we took it and its very high yield goes along with Dr. Graves's lectures. Also Dr. Graves worked for the Mississippi Health Department and his lectures are fun to listen to because he usually tries to relates most of the bugs and diseases to different outbreaks he saw or heard about through his career so that helps make the material interesting.
Histology:
Another one of the 5 hour classes. The lab component is the most difficult portion of the class. Dr. Dungian taught the class when I took it but now Dr. Estes (this is her first year teaching at MC) is over the class. I'm pretty sure the class hasn't changed much since they still use the same text and lecture notes as when I took it last fall. If you enjoy spending hours looking through a microscope examining tissue samples then this is the class for you. At the end you will be able to take a sample from anywhere in the human body and you can identify where its from and all the types of tissues it contains. Many consider this the least intensive of the 5 hour courses.
Human Heredity:
I found this class boring but some people love it. I already had a solid background in genetics so I found it to be slightly repetitive but at times it could be interesting. This would be a great class for your first semester because its not quite as difficult as the 5 hour classes and will enable you to spend more time on the difficult subjects.
Neuroanatomy:
I'm only half way done with the class so most of this advice will be what has been passed on to me. This is a 5 hour class that Dr. Baldwin teaches. It was actually the first 5 hour class that was offered. Dr. Baldwin started teaching it when he first came to MC. The material is fascinating and with Dr. Baldwin's engaging style of lecturing this is a class that you can truly enjoy going to. The only negative is that the test are absolutely brutal. The upside to this is that any neuro class you take in medical or dental school will seem like a breeze because you will have already mastered the material while under Dr. Baldwin. I highly recommend taking this while you're at MC.
Embryology:
By far the most boring class I've ever taken. Although Dr. Dunigan does an absolutely amazing job at teaching the class, the material is extremely dull. While some people claim to enjoy this class I really don't see how. I guess it could be cool that by the end of the class you know step by step how a baby grows from its humble beginnings as a single celled zygote. If you're a huge anatomy buff this class can also be interesting since afterwards anatomy does make a lot more sense. This class is usually taught as a night class so its convenient for scheduling purposes and is not as difficult as the 5 hours. I do recommend taking the class even though it can be boring. Dr. Dunigan is a fantastic teacher who has only been at MC for a few years but really cares for students and always goes the extra mile to make sure that students really learn the material and understand the key concepts.
Seminar:
This is a simple requirement to fulfill. All you have to do is prepare a 20-minute presentation on a disease that is given to you at the start of the semester.
DNA Forensics:
This class is taught as a 2 week May term class. Last year there was only one test and it was a take home test. Also you are required to give a group presentation. Everyone that I know that took the class received an A.
I hope my answers will be helpful and any other questions you have please feel free to ask. Good luck with the program. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. MC is an amazing place to attend and I have no doubt that you will be satisfied with the quality of the education that you will receive.