Anyone else having trouble with Gross Anatomy?

[Psycho Doctor]

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Oh good Lord! You guys take this stuff way too seriously. Here's the deal--I am a bitter, complaining type of person. But people like me because I'm funny. I can do a killer and brutally mean imitation of every professor we have and it's only been a week. I'm not really serious when I say these things on here! It's not that UTH is any worse than any other med school--It's just that I like to complain about stuff. That's just how I deal with life. I've hated every school I've ever attended, every place I've ever worked, and every boss I've ever had. That's just my personality--Sorry if it upsets you.

At least EvoDevo got the joke 😉 I hope everything's going peachy for you in San Antonio Mr. Frog

But anyways yeah I think people being happy or depressed has more to do with them than it does with where they're at. I'm the type of person that would be complaining and bitter anywhere, and other people are just upbeat positive types that would love any med school they attended. Most of us cynics aren't really that horrible at heart, we just provide comic relief.

And come on, GROSS ANATOMY SUCKS. You have to admit that at least...

I can see you being funny, but I think it's extremely sad that you hated every place you've ever been. Try to find the positives in your experiences and it will make you a happier and less bitter person. Perhaps you can even find enjoyment in life.

 

[SocialistMD]

great ! have my job offers lined up to practice in Tampa, FL. Back with the man. just waiting for my license to arrive so i can make real $$ 😀

So, washU huh? you must be smart ! 😛

Congrats. I thought the man was in Cali (last I heard, anyway); he looking forward to to the move to Fla?

And you know I'm not smart, just charasmatic...😉

 

[MadameLULU]

great ! have my job offers lined up to practice in Tampa, FL. Back with the man. just waiting for my license to arrive so i can make real $$ 😀

Does that mean you crushed the test???

 

[Pianoboe01]

Gotta love that UTH is the ONLY school in the nation that I know of that:
-Teaches all of gross anatomy in one horrible semester
-Has lab 3x a week for 3+ hours

I think I have you topped. Gross anatomy 5x a week for 4+ hours - but for only 10 weeks, not a whole semester. We're on a block schedule where we only have one (or sometimes two) classes at a time.

 

[getunconcsious]

Which is what my point is, I'm worried a pre-med who is somewhat naive and doesn't know his SDN personality would have their opinion of our school turn negative because he directs his frustration at the school, not the course itself or med school in general. I think he would be upset/unhappy no matter what school he is at which is what he just said above. I just don't want to see my school trashed in the process.

I actually liked anatomy but hated every other class except maybe neuro so I can understand. And I'm far from the cheerleader type off line, I barely even interact with my classmates unless it is required. People generally tend to go on SDN to ask advice, have someone tell them they can do it and will, or blow off some steam. I think the OP of the thread was looking for mostly the first and maybe a bit of the second.

I'm sure that my one little post is going to totally turn them against our school 🙄 My friend came and stayed with me while he interviewed here and he's ranking it first despite all my whining. And trust me, he got way more than I let off on here. Besides, I actually know the OP of this thread and we're both amused (along with a few other people in the class) at how rabid the reactions were. Talk about sweating the small stuff! SDN's not that crucial, so I'm going to stop worrying about it (and posting in this thread) and get back to studying for gross anatomy, the bane of my existence...oh wait, I mean the light of my wonderful life, as are all things affiliated with UT-Houston! Hear that premeds? Everything here is sunshine and lollipops. Now to go hide from the UTH spirit squad/gestapo.

 

[AlaskaGirl]

Gotta love that UTH is the ONLY school in the nation that I know of that:
-Teaches all of gross anatomy in one horrible semester
-Has lab 3x a week for 3+ hours
-Makes us do those God-awful prosections every 2 weeks

I practically live in that stupid lab, and sad to say I'll be there this weekend...again. I guess the one upside to the UTH method is that it's all overwith after the first semester.... 🙄

If you think that is bad, try cramming it all into 7 weeks. Lab every day for three hours and a test every two weeks. I wish I had it easy like you!

 

[Brain]

If you think that is bad, try cramming it all into 7 weeks. Lab every day for three hours and a test every two weeks. I wish I had it easy like you!

Yes, but are you taking it along with four other classes as well? What I'm struggling with at UTH is that we have something scheduled from 8:00 am until 4:00 at the earliest. We usually go longer than 4:00 because there's no way we can do all the stuff they want us to do in gross lab in the allotted time. I now see why many people don't go to class and complete all the labs. There just isn't enough time and energy left to study the material like it needs to be studied.

 

[oompaloompa]

I'm sure that my one little post is going to totally turn them against our school 🙄 My friend came and stayed with me while he interviewed here and he's ranking it first despite all my whining. And trust me, he got way more than I let off on here. Besides, I actually know the OP of this thread and we're both amused (along with a few other people in the class) at how rabid the reactions were. Talk about sweating the small stuff! SDN's not that crucial, so I'm going to stop worrying about it (and posting in this thread) and get back to studying for gross anatomy, the bane of my existence...oh wait, I mean the light of my wonderful life, as are all things affiliated with UT-Houston! Hear that premeds? Everything here is sunshine and lollipops. Now to go hide from the UTH spirit squad/gestapo.

As another UT-H 3rd year I can vouch for Seabass, she's extemely talented and knows what shes talking about. But I think you've been sufficiently griped at, so I won't add to it. I for one, agree with you on the gross anatomy, it was the most miserable part of my time at UT-H. Some people just have a knack for it(like Seabass) and some people(like me) just kind of muddled through. So don't let it get to you. After that first semester, things really started to look up for me, and classwork became a lot more managable as time went by. The summer after 1st year was one of the best ever for me, and 2nd year was a lot more interesting.

Also, some advice.(Although I'm sure you've already gotten more than you wanted) Go to class faithfully for this semester and at the end ask yourself if it really helped you learn the material. If it did, great -- go with it. If it didn't, stop going. It will open up hours of time for you and UT-H, whatever issues you may have it, is actually set up pretty well for the correspondence student. (Decent syllabus, online lectures) My grades got a lot better when I started studying on my own terms. But different strokes, man. Good luck with everything, feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[UT_mikie]

I'm sure that my one little post is going to totally turn them against our school 🙄 My friend came and stayed with me while he interviewed here and he's ranking it first despite all my whining. And trust me, he got way more than I let off on here. Besides, I actually know the OP of this thread and we're both amused (along with a few other people in the class) at how rabid the reactions were. Talk about sweating the small stuff! SDN's not that crucial, so I'm going to stop worrying about it (and posting in this thread) and get back to studying for gross anatomy, the bane of my existence...oh wait, I mean the light of my wonderful life, as are all things affiliated with UT-Houston! Hear that premeds? Everything here is sunshine and lollipops. Now to go hide from the UTH spirit squad/gestapo.

Whatever dude, I saw you chasing interviewees out of the building with a severed cadaver leg. Stop scaring people away! 🙄

 

[UT_mikie]

First semester is all about learning how to cut out the crap and get down to what you need to know. This is a skill which will come in handy in the spring with neuro which has a syllabus of about 1200 pages I think.

"the superficial branch of the radial nerve emerges in the distal part of the forearm and crosses the roof of the anatomical snuff box"

turns into: snuffbox = superficial radial nerve

don't learn more words than you need to, take notes on the opposite page of your syllabus that bare it down to the fact that you need to know, excluding the words that make it seem hard when it isn't.

Any thoughts on how much time I should spend on each lecture of gross? And is it true that I just have to give up trying to know everything and just go for stuff that I think will get me the most points? I'm currently going over muscle origins, insertions, nerves, actions but its taking forever to try to memorize. I spent 3 hours today on it and I still don't have it down that well. Hrmm... maybe whining, but I'm just looking for all the advice I can get. I spent 10 hours studying today but I still didn't get through everything I needed to.

 

[SocialistMD]

I spent 10 hours studying today but I still didn't get through everything I needed to.

Welcome to your first semester of medical school. It will come easier after your first exam (I know that isn't much of a comfort to you now) because you will realize what they feel is important. Best things to know are innervations/blood supply and the structures themselves.

 

[pillowhead]

Welcome to your first semester of medical school. It will come easier after your first exam (I know that isn't much of a comfort to you now) because you will realize what they feel is important. Best things to know are innervations/blood supply and the structures themselves.

If anatomy just isn't your thing, forget about trying to honor it or make an A in it. I made the mistake of trying so hard in anatomy that I let other classes slide--I easily could have made an A in biochem but didn't because I was so determined to make an A in anatomy. It's your first semester of med school--try to pick one or two classes to honor, and if anatomy isn't one of them, that's okay. Once you've got things more under control, try acing them all next semester. I know that might seem pessimistic, but in retrospect, all that work in anatomy just wasn't worth it. Get your pass/B and get out of there so you can ace other classes that don't need as much work instead.

 

[Ribbets]

And come on, GROSS ANATOMY SUCKS. You have to admit that at least...

Absolutely! At first gross lab makes your life miserable. But later on, it becomes a social outlet, as odd as that sounds, once you realize that (at least for us) dissections are for you to learn, and they don't have to be perfect... then you find yourself able to work faster, take a peek at the prosections, and get out of there asap.
I studied the Rohen atlas and spent as little time in the lab as possible, b/c it wasn't really my thing. Some people LOVE gross lab though (future surgeons are nodding their heads 🙂 ).
And don't worry, there aren't any UTH cheer squads after you, or whatever it was you said. It's just that part of becoming a physician is taking on an attitude of professionalism. I'm sure you're rolling your eyes, but it's an attitude that becomes more natural as you sort of grow as a person thru med school... ideally anyway 😉.
Everyone has moments of extreme negativism sometimes. Good luck, it gets better.

 

[::Seabass::]

Any thoughts on how much time I should spend on each lecture of gross? And is it true that I just have to give up trying to know everything and just go for stuff that I think will get me the most points? I'm currently going over muscle origins, insertions, nerves, actions but its taking forever to try to memorize. I spent 3 hours today on it and I still don't have it down that well. Hrmm... maybe whining, but I'm just looking for all the advice I can get. I spent 10 hours studying today but I still didn't get through everything I needed to.

School is just hard in the beginning while your mind is rewiring and learning how to memorize, memorize, memorize. In the beginning it would take me forever just to learn the name of a couple muscles but by block three I had to flip through Netter once before the test besides the time I spent preparing before going into lab.

My best advice would be to do a good, complete read of each lab before going in and looking through Netter's and finding the structures and kind of getting a grasp on where they are located and what connects, just how they fit in the scheme of things. In the beginning you may need to memorize all the names before you even go in to dissect. Use lab time wisely. Find every structure, take mental note how it fits into the body. Visit several prosection tables, have them give you their talk more than once. Take turns with your tanks mates dissecting. Be half working, half looking at other tables. If you are there anyways turn it into studying, don't spend 3hrs focussing just on fat when you can be learning too. Also don't forget the syllabus because the questions for the written test will come right from there and I know it is something people forget alot first block just because lab can be overwhelming if you let it. I wouldn't worry so much about insertion. Muscle action, innervation, and blood supply are more important.

If anatomy isn't your thing, take the advice someone else offered and focus on a class or two you are really interested or are strong in.

 

[SitraAchra]

As the mysterious "friend" who stayed w/ Getunconscious, you either get him or you don't. As acerbic as he tends to be...it's a riot.

Case in point: UT-H let me in, I want to hate gross lab too!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

As the mysterious "friend" who stayed w/ Getunconscious, you either get him or you don't. As acerbic as he tends to be...it's a riot.

Case in point: UT-H let me in, I want to hate gross lab too!

hope his patients feel that way too 🙄

 

[getunconcsious]

hope his patients feel that way too 🙄

I hate you. So very, very much.

 

[getunconcsious]

I spent 10 hours studying today but I still didn't get through everything I needed to.

Dude, stop studying and join the 'too cool for skool' club. We never study. We just drink all night, every night. Our meetings are in the new student housing...PM me for more info.

 

[synapse lapse]

I hate you. So very, very much.

I don't much like either of you. You bitch too much and PD is too damn panzy. As a matter of fact, I think yall would make a great couple who cares, the world needs all kinds of different people, and medicine certainly has a place for all of them

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I don't much like either of you. You bitch too much and PD is too damn panzy. As a matter of fact, I think yall would make a great couple who cares, the world needs all kinds of different people, and medicine certainly has a place for all of them

well you guys aren't my type either. You're both obnoxious, malicious and so uncaring. i really can't imagine you as doctors, researchers possibly where you don't have to deal with people who need compassion and care. Best of luck.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Yeah, well, you take the cake when it comes to pretending to being Christ-like but really being an obnoxious, nasty, passive-aggressive hypocrite.

i have a lot of really bad qualities but those aren't any of them. nice try though. You do get points for creativity, however.

PS: checking your post history, not one of your 5 posts said anything meaningful or constructive, so it's not like this one means anything either.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I don't much like either of you. You bitch too much and PD is too damn panzy. As a matter of fact, I think yall would make a great couple who cares, the world needs all kinds of different people, and medicine certainly has a place for all of them

sorry I prefer girls

 

[DeterminedMD]

So at our school, we start Gross anatomy on day 1. There are no lectures and we have lab from 9-12 Mon-Fri. We have "conference" where the professor uses a powerpoint to ask us questions. And the entire course is 7 weeks long. We were doing Brachial plexus on day 2. I dont like anatomy. Lab is interesting, but I am not fond of all the structures, innervations...blah blah blah. I study so much and feel like no matter what I do I am not absorbing the info. I go in to lab often I use Rohen's and Netter's and flashcards, I have studied in groups, etc. Nothing seems to improve my ability to remember all this stuff..... I dont like Gross anatomy. I cant wait for it to be over !

 

[EvoDevo]

I hate you. So very, very much.

Dude, at least you don't have like a year of Gross lab. 🙄

How's life in the Greater Paved Swamp?

 

[getunconcsious]

Dude, at least you don't have like a year of Gross lab. 🙄

How's life in the Greater Paved Swamp?

Hot and muddy as usual! Yeah I dont' know which is worse with the gross lab thing. I'm definitely happy to be done with it in December...BUT we are moving so ridiculously fast. We've covered the back, upper extremity, and neck all in three weeks. The thorax is next...wish me luck. It's weird cuz school wouldn't really be that bad at all if not for gross lab. I keep neglecting my other classes for it, but others (at my school at least) are in the same boat, so I'm not *too* panicked.

How's UTSA?

 

[getunconcsious]

Any thoughts on how much time I should spend on each lecture of gross? And is it true that I just have to give up trying to know everything and just go for stuff that I think will get me the most points? I'm currently going over muscle origins, insertions, nerves, actions but its taking forever to try to memorize. I spent 3 hours today on it and I still don't have it down that well. Hrmm... maybe whining, but I'm just looking for all the advice I can get. I spent 10 hours studying today but I still didn't get through everything I needed to.

DUDE! That practice practical made me want to kill myself. WTF...how can they expect us to know all that stuff? Did most of your section fail miserably too? I think most people on my group got about half the questions right, myself included.

 

[getunconcsious]

I don't much like either of you. You bitch too much and PD is too damn panzy. As a matter of fact, I think yall would make a great couple who cares, the world needs all kinds of different people, and medicine certainly has a place for all of them

Well I might be a petulant, immature crybaby, and PD may be a passive-aggressive, toucy-feely, religious zealot...but you're an arrogant know-it-all. So does it really matter? We're all just stock carachters to someone else...

 

[virilep]

i really wonder how u all are in real-life...if u call med school real life. i study hard all day long and then on the wkends i swear i have to lose some glial cells...or something. i dunno. alright...anatomy quiz tomorrow mornin. cubital fossa, quadrangular space, heart development, body cavity development, flexor digitorum profundus... and all that fun jazz. i'm screwed.

 

[EvoDevo]

Hot and muddy as usual! Yeah I dont' know which is worse with the gross lab thing. I'm definitely happy to be done with it in December...BUT we are moving so ridiculously fast. We've covered the back, upper extremity, and neck all in three weeks. The thorax is next...wish me luck. It's weird cuz school wouldn't really be that bad at all if not for gross lab. I keep neglecting my other classes for it, but others (at my school at least) are in the same boat, so I'm not *too* panicked.

I feel for you...a little. 😉 We have our first anatomy exam on Tuesday which is covering:

Back, spinal column, head (cranial nerves, external anatomy, internal anatomy, and MOST of the nerves/ganglia), the deep neck (boy howdy - can you say "Cervical Plexus" boys and girls???) and of course most of the body's innervations, save specific nuclei/ganglia of the body wall and extremities. 🙂 On the bright side, save for the brachial plexus, it's all downhill in difficulty from here. 🙂

If there's one thing that I've discovered, it's that ALL of med school moves fast.

Other than that, UTSA is great. Though I do miss Houston and the things to do there. Haven't really had much time to explore SA yet. Too busy. 🙁 I should give you a holler next time I'm in town.

Good luck on your exam.

 

[Arsenic]

I feel for you...a little. 😉 We have our first anatomy exam on Tuesday which is covering:

Back, spinal column, head (cranial nerves, external anatomy, internal anatomy, and MOST of the nerves/ganglia), the deep neck (boy howdy - can you say "Cervical Plexus" boys and girls???) and of course most of the body's innervations, save specific nuclei/ganglia of the body wall and extremities. 🙂 On the bright side, save for the brachial plexus, it's all downhill in difficulty from here. 🙂

If there's one thing that I've discovered, it's that ALL of med school moves fast.

Other than that, UTSA is great. Though I do miss Houston and the things to do there. Haven't really had much time to explore SA yet. Too busy. 🙁 I should give you a holler next time I'm in town.

Good luck on your exam.

they do move fast and thats one hell of an exam you've got Evo, good luck bro. i guess you havent done thorax yet but thats cake compared to what you've already done, easiest section of the body for sure. pelvis is CRAZY, abdomen is a little better. at my school we dissected everything except the upper and lower extremities during first year, they save those for 2nd year when we cover the musculoskeletal module next month.

 

[getunconcsious]

they do move fast and thats one hell of an exam you've got Evo, good luck bro. i guess you havent done thorax yet but thats cake compared to what you've already done, easiest section of the body for sure. pelvis is CRAZY, abdomen is a little better. at my school we dissected everything except the upper and lower extremities during first year, they save those for 2nd year when we cover the musculoskeletal module next month.

Hmm...well in that case good luck to both you and evo with the brachial plexus! Talk about excessively burdensome! 😱

 

[ajf211]

Gotta love that UTH is the ONLY school in the nation that I know of that:
-Teaches all of gross anatomy in one horrible semester
-Has lab 3x a week for 3+ hours
-Makes us do those God-awful prosections every 2 weeks

I practically live in that stupid lab, and sad to say I'll be there this weekend...again. I guess the one upside to the UTH method is that it's all overwith after the first semester.... 🙄

Buffalo is the same way. When I read that someone only goes to lab once a week for an hour or so, I wanted to cry. And I am sooooo behind. Thank goodness for the three day weekend. I'll be in the lab!

AJ