Any MS II here who aced renal physiology in MS I year?

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FadingPromise

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Find a study room somewhere and use the chalk/white board. Draw the nephron and all its parts - draw and label all the different transporters with their directions of movement on them. Talk it out loud (I know its weird when you are by yourself but it works). Erase the board and start over. Don't stop until you can draw the whole thing without looking at your notes. Then draw it a few more times.

I actually have a white board at home for this very reason. It works better for me to see it on the board than on a piece of paper. Plus, you can erase it and start over as many times as you need.
 
EMmedic, thanks for a prompt answer. Sounds onerous, but no whining at this league, eh? I think I will try that as soon as I can. Thanks again.
 
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Can also try reading the material in a different source

If I come across some sort of concept or mechanism that I just can't wrap my head around I'll go find it in a different source and usually it'll explain it in a different way that for whatever reason just makes it click. Another textbook, go online, etc.

Sometimes that's enough to help me remember it, if it's just a problem with memorizing then repetition, repetition repetition....
 
don't worry about the subtle transporters of the kidney. they are not important. think about your block exam and how it was structured. chances are that only the most important things about the kidney will be asked. i did well on my renal block for physiology.

a great resource is BRS physio. it's not a great book for physio as a whole (as it is too detailed sometimes), but for renal, it does wonders. it even bolds the most important transporters of that portion of the nephron.

keep your eye on what's important. and again, don't lose focus by getting distracted with the million of carriers and on whehter they are on the basolateral or apical side.
 
I think I said it before, but i'll say it again. If you havent checked out vander's renal phys definitely check it out. That was my sole source for renal and really helped me through that block. It was important for us to know which transporters were on the apical/basolaterla and how they all worked in response to an acid overload etc. The book really laid it out conceptually.
 
EMmedic, thanks for a prompt answer. Sounds onerous, but no whining at this league, eh? I think I will try that as soon as I can. Thanks again.

Everyone has different learning styles - it may seem onerous, but its really not. At least for me, I can learn the material much more quickly this way than reading it 6 times over. It just sticks faster. It might not work for you, but give it a try.
 
Thanks to everyone again for being so considerate with good comments. I have been actually reading BRS costonzo first for a better understanding, and I am starting on nitty gritties soon (my instructor seems big on the transporters). No whining and its time to just get the work done, but at the end of the day, I still wanna be able to say..."kidney sucks!" :)

Thanks to you all though!

Use BRS Phys big time. I had the benefit of actually being taught by Dr. Costanzo herself (and she is awesome) but her book is basically everything she writes on the white board. It's important to see how everything connects for renal phys, so the BRS Phys Cases and Problems might be a helpful study tool to integrate the concepts. Definitely get a good understanding of renal phys before renal pathophys-it makes your life soooo much easier. And yeah, all the transporters can be a pain in the neck to learn but they are important for understanding diuretics and renal tubular acidosis. Just draw lots of pictures of nephrons with the transporters in place-it will all come together eventually if you keep working at it.:luck:
 
I relied on Renal Physiology by Koeppen and Stanton last year, and did really well on my renal phys exam. I also drew the different parts of the nephron over and over again, as EMmedic suggested, until I knew all of the transporters cold. Repetition was key for me, and, at some point, it all just clicks. Good luck!
 
Use BRS Phys big time. I had the benefit of actually being taught by Dr. Costanzo herself (and she is awesome) but her book is basically everything she writes on the white board. It's important to see how everything connects for renal phys, so the BRS Phys Cases and Problems might be a helpful study tool to integrate the concepts. Definitely get a good understanding of renal phys before renal pathophys-it makes your life soooo much easier. And yeah, all the transporters can be a pain in the neck to learn but they are important for understanding diuretics and renal tubular acidosis. Just draw lots of pictures of nephrons with the transporters in place-it will all come together eventually if you keep working at it.:luck:

I second both BRS phys (or the big costanzo if you want more detail) and repetition. repetition is key.
 
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