Does take Human anatomy in undergrad, look good even it's not required?

[dragonjinse]

I'm going to stay in undergrad for 5th year due to double majors.
So I'm kinda interested to take Human Anatomy (without lab). It's not required for my pre-med major because I have to take Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy later in my 5th year.

So should I take Human anatomy? One of my adviser told me that it will look good in my resume when I apply for med school bc I take the extra courses.

Please help me, I'm registering my class right now.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrBowtie]

Doesn't matter at all.

 

[MedPR]

Doesn't matter at all.

Depends on who reviews your file. I've had interviewers who commented that they like that I've taken two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[Jlaw]

I'm going to stay in undergrad for 5th year due to double majors.
So I'm kinda interested to take Human Anatomy (without lab). It's not required for my pre-med major because I have to take Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy later in my 5th year.

So should I take Human anatomy? One of my adviser told me that it will look good in my resume when I apply for med school bc I take the extra courses.

Please help me, I'm registering my class right now.

If you do well then its good for your transcript obviously but I doubt it would make any difference in whether or not you are accepted. However, as someone who did not take anatomy prior to med school, if I could go back and do one thing differently it would be to take anatomy.

It will be worth it down the road when you are just relearning stuff you already know while some of your classmates are struggling to get down the terminology.

 

[Mehd School]

I've taken human anatomy when I was a different major, and am now taking Comparative vertebrate anatomy. If you have to take comparative, don't waste your time with Human anatomy unless you need a gpa boost. In that case it might be apparent that's all you're doing.

 

[DrBowtie]

Depends on who reviews your file. I've had interviewers who commented that they like that I've taken two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

I'm seriously surprised that your interviewers actually looked at what courses you took.

If the determination of whether or not you are accepted comes down to taking anatomy or not, you've screwed up somewhere else.

 

[MedPR]

I'm seriously surprised that your interviewers actually looked at what courses you took.

If the determination of whether or not you are accepted comes down to taking anatomy or not, you've screwed up somewhere else.

Just because something isn't the determining factor doesn't mean it didn't contribute.

All of my open file interviews talked about specific classes.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[dragonjinse]

One of my adviser said I should NOT take it...
Anothe adviser told me it will be a benefit for me to take it before Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy.

I'm so confused!

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

One of my adviser said I should NOT take it...
Anothe adviser told me it will be a benefit for me to take it before Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy.

I'm so confused!

Advisors are usually dumb. Comparative anatomy will spend too much time on other animals.

 

[Member000000]

If you think you can get an A, I don't see why it shouldn't help.
If you don't think you'll get an A, don't take it.

 

[SLC]

I always told students last year that they should take anatomy if they could before coming to med-school.

My undergraduate anatomy course made med-school anatomy a walk in the park. I've been able to focus on the clinical applications of anatomy because I already know better than 95% of the structures and understand the terminology completely.

So no, I doubt it will "look good" any more than any other upper level science class would "look good". But it will pay dividends in med-school should you manage to get accepted.

I'm honestly at a loss for why Human Anatomy isn't a Pre-requisite.

 

[SLC]

If you think you can get an A, I don't see why it shouldn't help.
If you don't think you'll get an A, don't take it.

This is a terrible reason to decide on what classes to take.

Take the Pre-requisites, then take classes that present you with applicable knowledge for medical school. You should never be concerned about whether or not you can earn an A. Because if you honestly don't know that you can, you probably don't have any business trying to attend medical school.

 

[Goro]

Yes, it looks good, even better if you do well in it, and more importantly, it will help you in medical school.

I have a colleague on the AdCom who firmly believes that anatomy should be a requirement for medical school! But before you all freak out, keep in mind that's only one person's opinion.

I'm going to stay in undergrad for 5th year due to double majors.
So I'm kinda interested to take Human Anatomy (without lab). It's not required for my pre-med major because I have to take Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy later in my 5th year.

So should I take Human anatomy? One of my adviser told me that it will look good in my resume when I apply for med school bc I take the extra courses.

Please help me, I'm registering my class right now.

 

[HalfListic]

Depends on who reviews your file. I've had interviewers who commented that they like that I've taken two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

I'm seriously surprised that your interviewers actually looked at what courses you took.

If the determination of whether or not you are accepted comes down to taking anatomy or not, you've screwed up somewhere else.

The question was, does it look good to take A&P...MedPR is the clear winner here.

I agree with MedPR, as I had similar experiences...just like biochem or genetics, taking it *and doing well, looks good.

 

[dsoz]

At Western U COMP, if you have had anatomy before starting school, you are eligible to take a summer intensive anatomy class before matriculation. The benefit is that you get the anatomy part out of the way, and you can be a TA for your classmates for the anatomy block. Being a TA is a paid position (not much, but everything helps). It puts you in a leadership roll right off the bat, and it makes the first semester of med school a little easier to manage.

The down side is that you give up most of your summer before med school starts.

dsoz

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

Depends on who reviews your file. I've had interviewers who commented that they like that I've taken two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

n=1.

 

[dsoz]

n=1.

n=2

I am a second. 🙂 except for me it was three semesters of A&P.

dsoz

 

[Mehd School]

Advisors are usually dumb. Comparative anatomy will spend too much time on other animals.

You don't understand the point of Comparative anatomy.

Of the three medical school visits (2 MD and 1 DO) all of them listed "Comparative Anatomy" as a class looked upon very favorably during the admissions process.

Having taken the class, I can't imagine doing gross in medical school without having it first. Same goes for histology for that matter.

 

[MedPR]

One of my adviser said I should NOT take it...
Anothe adviser told me it will be a benefit for me to take it before Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy.

I'm so confused!

I took comparative anatomy in UG. It was 100% non-humans. It did, however, serve as a solid foundation for when I took human A&P.

Advisors are usually dumb. Comparative anatomy will spend too much time on other animals.

+1.

You don't understand the point of Comparative anatomy.

Of the three medical school visits (2 MD and 1 DO) all of them listed "Comparative Anatomy" as a class looked upon very favorably during the admissions process.

Having taken the class, I can't imagine doing gross in medical school without having it first. Same goes for histology for that matter.

Comparative is better than nothing. Human is better than comparative. My human A&P class (at community college) had a histology component. My comparative class (at university) did not.

n=1.

n=1 that it helps. n=0 that it hurts. 1 > 0.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

You don't understand the point of Comparative anatomy.

Of the three medical school visits (2 MD and 1 DO) all of them listed "Comparative Anatomy" as a class looked upon very favorably during the admissions process.

Having taken the class, I can't imagine doing gross in medical school without having it first. Same goes for histology for that matter.

You're going to have to help me out a little with that train of thought, med schools want you to take a course that lightly gives you an idea of general mamalian anatomy as opposed to a course that focuses on human anatomy? Comparative anatomy is a requirement for Evolution/ Ecology Bio concentration majors at my school, and looking over the syllabus it went over less material than my Anatomy and Physiology course and focuses on broad generalized function and its relation to evolution. Likewise as MedPR said A&P covers histology.

I mean, I know that it does help as it is recommended. But I still don't understand why.

 

[coolingglasses]

Of course it helps.

 

[Temperature101]

My A&P classes were lower divisions (2000 level)..Do they matter at all?

 

[MedPR]

My A&P classes were lower divisions (2000 level)..Do they matter at all?

Course number doesn't matter at all.

 

[Mehd School]

You're going to have to help me out a little with that train of thought, med schools want you to take a course that lightly gives you an idea of general mamalian anatomy as opposed to a course that focuses on human anatomy? Comparative anatomy is a requirement for Evolution/ Ecology Bio concentration majors at my school, and looking over the syllabus it went over less material than my Anatomy and Physiology course and focuses on broad generalized function and its relation to evolution. Likewise as MedPR said A&P covers histology.

I mean, I know that it does help as it is recommended. But I still don't understand why.

The point of my comparative class (and subsequently the others from schools around me) is to compare the developmental and evolutionary anatomy of vertebrates to that of Human Anatomy. This ranges from cellular to histological to gross sections.

Is my class unique? Absolutely not. I know this because my professor wrote the textbook which is used at over 100 institutions (according to him) across the nation. He also has a PhD in Comparative Anatomy, and told me this is basically how it is generally everywhere. I have a strong LOR from him.

 

[Refreshed]

The point of my comparative class (and subsequently the others from schools around me) is to compare the developmental and evolutionary anatomy of vertebrates to that of Human Anatomy. This ranges from cellular to histological to gross sections.

Is my class unique? Absolutely not. I know this because my professor wrote the textbook which is used at over 100 institutions (according to him) across the nation. He also has a PhD in Comparative Anatomy, and told me this is basically how it is generally everywhere. I have a strong LOR from him.

I think comparative is useful. And it's fun if you get to dissect stuff. We dissected cats, sharks, and salamanders. It certainly isn't as useful for med school as a human anatomy course is though.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[Mehd School]

I think comparative is useful. And it's fun if you get to dissect stuff. We dissected cats, sharks, and salamanders. It certainly isn't as useful for med school as a human anatomy course is though.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

We've done a Cat, fish, frog, turtle, and a bird. I haven't really found any of it to be fun. My friend in medical school says the same about working on her cadaver; it's just a lot of work.

But I'll disagree. My comparative class will be much more useful than the human anatomy course I took. YMMV.

 

[MedPR]

We've done a Cat, fish, frog, turtle, and a bird. I haven't really found any of it to be fun. My friend in medical school says the same about working on her cadaver; it's just a lot of work.

But I'll disagree. My comparative class will be much more useful than the human anatomy course I took. YMMV.

We did those too. Sharks instead of fish though. It helped me a lot for human anatomy but there was a lot more physio and histo in my human class.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[SLC]

The best anatomy course is one that incorporates histology and embryology into the teaching of anatomy.

I think that a solid grasp of basic embryology makes learning structure so much clearer. Histology also aids in the understanding of function.

So if you can find a class like that, take it and soak up everything you can.

 

[wjs010]

My thought process when taking A&P was " wow I'm glad I'm taking these classes because some day I will be dealing with A&P in humans. " lol is it really a difficult question? To me, taking these classes is imperative. What do you expect to do in med school if you haven't taken anatomy?

I also took anatomy with kinesiology, which was basically biomechanics. I felt this class really added to my knowledge of the body.

 

[MedPR]

My thought process when taking A&P was " wow I'm glad I'm taking these classes because some day I will be dealing with A&P in humans. " lol is it really a difficult question? To me, taking these classes is imperative. What do you expect to do in med school if you haven't taken anatomy?

I also took anatomy with kinesiology, which was basically biomechanics. I felt this class really added to my knowledge of the body.

Lots of M1s haven't previously taken anatomy/histology/physio/biochem. Most pre-med programs don't require them, some don't even offer them, and most med schools likewise don't require them.

The pre-med program at my UG didn't have human anatomy/physio/histology and the biochem was a biology (not chem) class. No biochem department either. I went to a pretty reputable school too.

 

[ManBroDude]

Comparative came in real handy during fetal cardiac development. And dissecting skills.

I will admit it was a love-hate class for me though.

 

[ManBroDude]

I took an Anatomy & Physiology year-long class and I will admit that the osteology and muscles were a piece of cake for me during my first anatomy practical (upper and lower limbs, aced that sucker).

I have a pretty solid love for anatomy, so my undergrad A&P class was probably the most fun I've ever had in a class. Take it for fun if you like (I did it thinking I might go to PA school), but remember it still can count against you if you do poorly.

 

[deleted357625]

I'm going to stay in undergrad for 5th year due to double majors.
So I'm kinda interested to take Human Anatomy (without lab). It's not required for my pre-med major because I have to take Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy later in my 5th year.

So should I take Human anatomy? One of my adviser told me that it will look good in my resume when I apply for med school bc I take the extra courses.

Please help me, I'm registering my class right now.

It doesn't look good because it doesn't matter. Take your required courses for your degree which revolve around upper-lvl courses anyways so don't worry about taking "extra" upper-lvl to impress when in reality your degree itself included many upper-lvl courses..

 

[MedPR]

It doesn't look good because it doesn't matter. Take your required courses for your degree which revolve around upper-lvl courses anyways so don't worry about taking "extra" upper-lvl to impress when in reality your degree itself included many upper-lvl courses..

Volunteering isn't required. Research isn't required. Shadowing isn't required. Altruism isn't required. Humanism isn't required. Yet all of that looks good.. Good sir your "it doesn't look good because it doesn't matter" argument is flawed.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Volunteering isn't required. Research isn't required. Shadowing isn't required. Altruism isn't required. Humanism isn't required. Yet all of that looks good.. Good sir your "it doesn't look good because it doesn't matter" argument is flawed.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

Volunteering might as well be standardized as a requirement. Almost no one gets in without it. And Shadowing isn't required at least for MD, for DO it's required or else you'll never get a DO letter. Either way, this is all apples to oranges here. You shouldn't tenure your undergraduate experience towards being impressive or looking good to ADCOMS, you should do the required things ( Semi-required included) and try to be you as much as possible.

 

[Mehd School]

Volunteering might as well be standardized as a requirement. Almost no one gets in without it. And Shadowing isn't required at least for MD, for DO it's required or else you'll never get a DO letter. Either way, this is all apples to oranges here. You shouldn't tenure your undergraduate experience towards being impressive or looking good to ADCOMS, you should do the required things ( Semi-required included) and try to be you as much as possible.

You've got to play the game. You do it, and I do it.

Although I've been extremely pressed for time my entire undergrad career, I've done some pretty extraordinary EC's that really pop off the page. If it were up to me, I'd just focus on my studies and do hobbies in my free time instead of doing medical grunt work.

Jumping through hoops is necessary for admission, unfortunately.

 

[ShyRem]

Bottom line: might be looked upon mildly favorably. Won't hurt you unless you do poorly. Will help you if you get into med school as you will have some slight vague familiarity with the thousands of structures you will be required to know.

Take it if you are interested in it. Otherwise take something else you are interested in.

 

[BabyDoc86]

Be less concerned about what may or may not look good, and focus on learning something. Are you interested in it? Do you feel you'd learn something that would be useful?

 

[ladybug1552]

Having taken human a and p with lab and vertebrate physiology, I can say that both were super helpful for the mcat. Generally at least 2 passages (not to mention many stand alone questions) are based off of physiological systems and it was a major help to have had background in this area while the rest of my mcat group had to start from scratch and try and learn physiology on top of all the other stuff we had to study. I'm not sure if you've taken the mcat yet or not, but I know my group members had wished they'd taken some form of anatomy or physiology prior to the test prep course. As a pre-med student I can't say how helpful it will be for med school, but I'm certainly glad to be going in with some prior knowledge since gross anatomy is apparently like trying to drink from a firehose.