anatomy course difficulty in med school

[whirlpool159]

How difficult is human anatomy in medical school for someone who didn't take a course in college or high school?

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[Espressso]

It's not too bad. I didn't take gross anatomy in UG and we're almost done with our gross anatomy. We have organ system blocks and some organ systems don't have anatomy labs. It's a pain, tbh, but it's doable. I recommend getting the Rohen flashcards with actual pictures of cadavers. That has helped me a lot. And also accept the fact that you need to go in there in your free time to study because just being in there for the lab times most likely won't cut it

 

[Preston Garvey]

I don't know about others but at my school anatomy is one of the most difficult classes we take. I took a nursing anatomy class in college as preparation but we probably covered 10% of what you learn in med school anatomy. I don't think any course will make that class easy as a first year but some preparation couldn't hurt.

 

[el_duderino]

You'll get taught on the assumption that you know little to nothing about anatomy. I'm sure it's a bit harder than if you had some, but don't worry about it. I never took anatomy and was fine. Even the people who took anatomy only learned a small fraction of what you will learn in med school.

 

[Espressso]

FWIW, i've heard that if your anatomy is a legit class, it's difficult, but if its incorporated within organ system courses, it's slightly more bearable

 

[whirlpool159]

FWIW, i've heard that if your anatomy is a legit class, it's difficult, but if its incorporated within organ system courses, it's slightly more bearable

My school has a separate course for anatomy with lab. I’ll just flip through some flashcards to get an understanding of the basics so I’m not completely lost during class

 

[Ho0v-man]

My school did some study and apparently there’s not a statiscally significant difference in the performance of those who did take anatomy in undergrad vs those who did not. The only time a difference was observed is for the few who had it with cadaver lab at a graduate level. Of course this is specific to my school.

 

[NecrotizingFasciitis]

The hardest part is getting those weird words into your head - you need lots of repetitions! You can buy pre-made FC's as suggested.

ORRR you can take a good atlas (I use Netter - I dig it) and highlight all the anatomy you need to know from your structure list for school, mark the pages with highlighted anatomy with bookmarks, and BOOM. You have personal flashcards tailored specifically to your schools' curriculum that you can whip out anytime to test yourself.

I started doing this a couple blocks ago and it makes it really easy to bust through high repetitions.

 

[Medic741]

Heh just finished gross. What an enormous waste of time in a dissection lab... anyhoo, not hard just an enormous pain in the €€€

There are some wonderful augmented reality apps that you can use to study away from the cadavers

 

[073116]

MSII here. We had a full separate legit class with labs - e.g. not system based. Besides mandatory labs, I went to open labs only before exams. That was enough to pass that course at about 85% (average). There are 2 separate exams: written portion and practical (lab portion). Written - you can do just by studying handouts - not much different from other courses. Lab portion requires you to be familiar with cadaver - so with some extra labs before each exam - you should pass with no worries. I'm an average in my class, so trust me if I passed - anyone can. Anatomy is over-hyped. Neuro course will be a lot more harder imho.

 

[getfat]

First year @ traditional curriculum here. Took no anatomy classes in undergrad. Had a little knowledge because of scribe, EMT background. Spoiler alert this did not prepare me well for anatomy.

First test will be difficult I'm sure but you will figure out what best suits your learning style pretty quickly.

Don't hesitate to adapt or talk to your classmates about lectures. There was multiple times where a classmate would pick something up from a lecture that I completely missed. You just don't know the "med school game" yet.

 

[Espressso]

Another thing I'd point out, is focusing your anatomy study around clinical correlates. I think when learning anatomy, say, of the shoulder joint.. you can incorporate a lot of clinical stuff regarding vessels, brachial plexus, and joint mobility issues, to help hammer in the actual anatomy.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

personally I thought it was a generally miserable class.

But as with all medicine. Passing is entirely reasonable as long as you sacrifice enough.

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[whirlpool159]

I'll definitely keep these study tips in mind. Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[Goro]

How difficult is human anatomy in medical school for someone who didn't take a course in college or high school?

You'll be fine. While I am a fan of taking Anatomy in UG, that experience counts for maybe a month in our labs. Ditto Biochem

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Anatomy is the hardest course at my school. Haven’t had neuro yet so can’t compare it to that.

 

[getfat]

Anatomy is the hardest course at my school. Haven’t had neuro yet so can’t compare it to that.

At my school people will tell you the class you are taking is always the hardest class.

 

[Espressso]

At my school people will tell you the class you are taking is always the hardest class.

They do that here as well. However, Neuro and our Blood/heme course were our two hardest, no doubt.