Anatomy In Second Year

[Cellar Door]

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I am currently considering matriculating to a school that teaches Anatomy in the second year of the curriculum. It seems like the vast majority of medical school curricula have Anatomy in the first block. I am wondering what would be the positives and negatives (if any) of taking anatomy the second year. What effects would it have on Step 1, other classes etc..? Do you guys feel it was essential to take Anatomy in the first year?

 

[silverlining1]

From what I hear, it can be beneficial because we learn the physiology and then delve into the specific anatomy later on. (We do learn relevant anatomy along the way, whether through lecture or lab sessions with pig hearts and human brains.) Taking anatomy also makes you think about physiology again, so it's a good refresher in that sense. For all the minutae that you just have to remember (muscles, etc.), I don't really see how learning that 1st or 2nd year would be better.

I hear anatomy isn't terribly high-yield on the boards; anatomy here is just in the fall quarter of second year (I believe), and the rest of second year is focused on classes that ARE high-yield (microbiology, etc.).

I haven't heard complaints from my big sibs and other upperclassmen that I know - my impression is that the timing of anatomy just depends on the style of a school.

 

[Sol Rosenberg]

I would consider that to be a plus. Most of the stuff you learn in anatomy isn't particularly relevant to any of the other stuff that you take in first year, and you go over the relevant "anatomy" in the other classes anyway (i.e. over the anatomy of the organ systems in physiology.) Also, my anatomy profs weren't exactly the best in explaining the neuro stuff (cranial nerves, etc.) I felt totally lost with those, but the profs that taught my neuro class were way better. I wish I could re-take anatomy, because I would do so much better on that stuff now.

So, all-in-all, I think anatomy is best postponed.

 

[bodonid]

I would consider it a negative- I mean aside from it being very low yield, anatomy is something that requires lots of repetition- from neurophys and phys and path- and then later in clinical years- to really remember, right?

But I would consider it a minor annoyance... phys is the main thing you need hammered in during 1st year, or so it seems.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

This sounds like a terrible idea. As low-yield for boards as anatomy itself seems to be, almost everything ties into anatomy in some way, at least loosely. I would like to know the rationale for setting it up like this.

Then again, I guess it depends on how your curriculum is set up.

 

[Jolie South]

For me personally, I like to have a mental image of an organ/vessel/part to understand how the physiology fits into it. I think learning phys first and anatomy second would be horrible.

 

[cpants]

I think anatomy first is the way to go. Along with biochemistry, anatomy is the basic foundation which allows you to understand the rest of medicine. While anatomy is low-yield in that it isn't directly tested much on the USMLE, it is still extremely important for understanding phys, pathophys, and path. If they are going to have to teach you the relevant anatomy to understand phys anyway, why not just get it out of the way first?

 

[WiscDoc]

I would consider it a HUGE negative for the following reasons:

1- I never had anatomy before med school, and without starting with Anatomy, I would have struggled in many/most of my classes (or at least not have been able to learn the material as well).

2- The anatomy knowledge you need for the preclinical years of med school (and I am guessing step 1 as well) is NOT in the detail that an anatomy class goes into. So, if you have had any kind of anatomy prior to med school, it shouldn't be as much of a factor. HOWEVER, first year is kind of the time to build a foundation of general knowledge that should carry you through the rest of med school. Second year is a crazy load of specific info that you need to enter the clinical years. So, having anatomy in second year would be a great distraction.

 

[Tiger26]

I am currently considering matriculating to a school that teaches Anatomy in the second year of the curriculum. It seems like the vast majority of medical school curricula have Anatomy in the first block. I am wondering what would be the positives and negatives (if any) of taking anatomy the second year. What effects would it have on Step 1, other classes etc..? Do you guys feel it was essential to take Anatomy in the first year?

terrible idea--you need anatomy first--agree with everything above

 

[chessknt]

So the consensus is that its horrible.

 

[MediumDef]

terrible idea--you need anatomy first--agree with everything above

Bah, you need to learn something first. Anatomy was easier to remember when I knew the physiology, and physiology was easier when I was already familiar with the anatomy. Is one way inherently better than the other? I don't really think so I just think that because most people learn the anatomy first they think it really helped them with other things, learn the physiology first and it will help you learn the anatomy.

 

[cpants]

So the consensus is that its horrible.

I don't think it's horrible. I just think anatomy first makes more sense logically. This, or really any curriculum concern should not be very important in your decision on where to attend. The truth is you won't really no what you prefer until you get there, and even then the grass is always greener. So if this is the only school you got into, then go there. If you have other acceptances, decide based on money and location.

 

[chessknt]

Idk, most people on this thread think the grass is browner on this particular issue.

 

[decal]

You will forget the vast majority of what you cover in anatomy in a matter of months if not weeks. Even though it's not a very high yield topic, it still would be advantageous to have it closer to Step I. You should be able to get by just fine in path, pharm & micro without the level of detail med students get in anatomy. I would say histology & even biochemistry are more important in that respect.

 

[lukgirl]

The school I'm starting at in August is (most likely) going to have anatomy 2nd semester of 1st year. They did it this way for c/o 2012 and will likely keep it like this for us 2013ers.

I know everyone else has answered in terms of what makes the most sense from a curricular standpoint, what is best in terms of Step 1, etc. But another angle to consider is that anatomy has traditionally been a "rite of passage" into med school. You go into anatomy lab on the first day and confront all the emotions that come along with it. A lot of people I know say that anatomy lab is what made med school feel like med school. It is also where a lot of people formed lasting friendships.

Having anatomy 2nd year or 2nd semester of 1st year is just out of sync with this.

 

[87138]

The school I'm starting at in August is (most likely) going to have anatomy 2nd semester of 1st year. They did it this way for c/o 2012 and will likely keep it like this for us 2013ers.

I know everyone else has answered in terms of what makes the most sense from a curricular standpoint, what is best in terms of Step 1, etc. But another angle to consider is that anatomy has traditionally been a "rite of passage" into med school. You go into anatomy lab on the first day and confront all the emotions that come along with it. A lot of people I know say that anatomy lab is what made med school feel like med school. It is also where a lot of people formed lasting friendships.

Having anatomy 2nd year or 2nd semester of 1st year is just out of sync with this.

I don't know about this "confronting emotions" thing, but it's certainly a way to foster a friendly and social atmosphere as you all begin your med school experience. As many people will tell you, often times your good friends tend to come from the people with whom you shared a scalpel.

 

[NRAI2001]

Bah, you need to learn something first. Anatomy was easier to remember when I knew the physiology, and physiology was easier when I was already familiar with the anatomy. Is one way inherently better than the other? I don't really think so I just think that because most people learn the anatomy first they think it really helped them with other things, learn the physiology first and it will help you learn the anatomy.

SO TRUE...taking one will help with the other.

I would rather take anatomy first bc its such a BS class; so much work for such little yield. I d rather get as many of the BS classes out of the way early on. Physio is such much more high yield.

Like others have said already...this should be a non-consideration when deciding on a school👍

 

[HPSPpayissues]

I would consider it a HUGE negative for the following reasons:

1- I never had anatomy before med school, and without starting with Anatomy, I would have struggled in many/most of my classes (or at least not have been able to learn the material as well).

2- The anatomy knowledge you need for the preclinical years of med school (and I am guessing step 1 as well) is NOT in the detail that an anatomy class goes into. So, if you have had any kind of anatomy prior to med school, it shouldn't be as much of a factor. HOWEVER, first year is kind of the time to build a foundation of general knowledge that should carry you through the rest of med school. Second year is a crazy load of specific info that you need to enter the clinical years. So, having anatomy in second year would be a great distraction.

👍 I agree, it is a terrible idea. You will be wasting a quarter, and trust me, you will WASTE a lot of time in the lab.
It is going to make your scoring high on Step I so much harder, but it is still doable..

 

[HPSPpayissues]

I think anatomy first is the way to go. Along with biochemistry, anatomy is the basic foundation which allows you to understand the rest of medicine. While anatomy is low-yield in that it isn't directly tested much on the USMLE, it is still extremely important for understanding phys, pathophys, and path. If they are going to have to teach you the relevant anatomy to understand phys anyway, why not just get it out of the way first?

👍

 

[NRAI2001]

What school is it by the way??

 

[phospho]

What school is it by the way??

I'm pretty sure it's UCSD, but I could be wrong...

 

[chessknt]

👍 I agree, it is a terrible idea. You will be wasting a quarter, and trust me, you will WASTE a lot of time in the lab.
It is going to make your scoring high on Step I so much harder, but it is still doable..

Huh?

 

[cpants]

Huh?

I think he meant that having anatomy closer to the step is a disadvantage. Most schools try and teach the highest yield stuff closest to the exam, both because it makes you score better and it is a logical way to teach the material. Usually the last class you will have pre-boards is path/pharm.

 

[chessknt]

But isnt that belittling the effect studying has on your score? If your school's curriculum has such a large effect on your score, then we should see enormous STEP 1 disparities between schools with different curricula, but I have yet to see any evidence of this.

 

[87138]

I'd say regardless of "statistics" or "facts" or anything silly like that, common sense would suggest that spending a significant time on something so low yield (Anatomy) for Step I relatively close to to the time you'll be taking the exam (rather than spending the months leading up to the summer studying relevant things like path/pharm) would be a bit of a negative.

 

[chessknt]

So even though there are no "silly" facts to support the allegation that curricular tweaks negatively impact STEP performance, it is still true nonetheless?

 

[87138]

So even though there are no "silly" facts to support the allegation that curricular tweaks negatively impact STEP performance, it is still true nonetheless?

Answer this: would you rather spend several months before the boards learning information that won't be on the boards, or learning information that will be on the boards?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I doubt it's horrible or anything, and if you like everything else about the school, I'd still go there. But I agree that I don't like spending time on something as low yield for Step I as anatomy during 2nd year. It's not a huge deal, especially since it's only in the fall, but it's not my favorite.

Maybe 2nd semester of 1st year is a good idea. Starting the first year with anatomy and biochem makes for a boring experience.