extra courses

[gracietiger]

After reading startingovervet's post from a couple of weeks ago, encouraging us, especially nontrads, to consider taking additional upper level courses to make the transition to vet school a bit smoother, I am planning to do just that (even though I was planning to be done this semester -thanks SOV!).

I know I have read threads on here previously about recommended courses, but I am a caveman when it comes to technology and I can't seem to be able to find what I am looking for.

For starters, I am wondering if people have found an anatomy course, particularly human anatomy, helpful?

Also, the online nutrition classes seem to be very popular, and I have read a lot of threads comparing the various courses, but I am wondering if, on a whole, people feel like an online nutrition class teaches the same material? Do you feel like you have gained the same amount of knowledge out of an online course as one taught at your undergrad institution?

And, I am just curious what the top courses are that people would recommend for extra preparation... I mean, extra fun

I have read long lists of a lot of upper division science courses that would be helpful, but there about 12 that I have compiled from searching the threads, and would love to narrow it down to about 4. So top 4 courses?

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[SocialStigma]

I took a full year of human anatomy & physiology last year (mandatory for my program) and while I can't comment on how useful it is in vet school as I'm still an undergrad student, one of my professors this year (for human pathophysiology I and II) is actually a DVM. He is not a MD, just has his DVM and PhD yet he is teaching 4th year health science courses and he's also an associate professor for the medical school at my university.

I've talked to him about how I'm essentially in a pre-med program aiming for vet med and he said there is a lot of overlap and I will find all the courses I've taken (anat&phys, immunology, pathophysiology, pathoanatomy, etc), even though I'm taking the human "version" of the course, they will be helpful in vet school.

 

[ORvetgirl]

I can specifically address the anatomy question...I took an intensive 4 wk human anatomy course the summer before starting vet school, and found it quite helpful. Was it taught to the same level of detail as in vet school? No. But the reason it was useful was that it taught me what study methods worked for me when it came to anatomy, and got me used to the style of practical exams we'd be having. I'd recommend it if you're going to be taking classes anyway. I think some neuroscience could be useful too...we had neuro winter term of our first year, and conceptually it was hard for me, though it might have been the way it was taught.

 

[Whyevernot55]

Keep in mind that anatomy and animal nutrition are both required for some vet schools.

As far as other upper level courses that may be helpful, things like: immunology, histology, parasitology, endocrinology, etc. I have found endo and immuno to be helpful just in the day-to-day practice of being a vet tech in terms of deepening my own understanding, and being able to better explain things to clients.

 

[sumstorm]

I'd add virology and terminology (and 2nd immunology, physiology). I took anatomy a long time ago, but because it wasn't as in depth (and it was a human cadaver lab using a med schools cadaver's) it didn't help me learn to study in the manner I needed to for vet school (I actually found that course...a 400 level, relatively easy, and despised comparative anatomy in first year). I think I would have been better off with a comparative anatomy course. I took a med micro a long time ago and for me, it helped with my bacteriology course, but my classmates said otherwise about their experience My terminology was rusty, and there are instances where I put an appropriate human anatomy term on an exam that wasn't correct in animals (I kind of compare it to speaking multiple languages....if I am speaking Thai and can't think of the word I want, I tend to substitute in Japanese.)

 

[gracietiger]

Sumstorm, I do that all the time too - mix up my Thai and Japanese... Totally kidding. I don't even want to ask how many languages you know how to speak!

Thank you all, this post is very very helpful. I have taken physiology and biochemistry, but those are the only upper divisions I have had. I believe that I'll only be able to afford about six more classes (two more semesters). I plan to take nutrition and microbio, since those are required at many schools. So I have room for four, and would love to take neuroscience, immunology, histology, virology, endocrinology, epidemiology and parasitology.

I am considering a human anatomy course that has the human cadaver, all that. It would be the equivalent of two courses, meaning I could only take one other course at the same time as anatomy. I don't want to miss out on a course that could be very very helpful (ie, immunology or neuroscience) to take an anatomy course that might only be a little helpful. From what I have heard, this particular anatomy class isn't very hard, and in fact, many people online claim it's an easy A, and to me, that means there's a possibility that it would only scrape a tiny little bit of the surface of what a vet school anatomy class would be like because I have never heard anyone on here say that anatomy is easy in vet school.

I really appreciate all of your insights. Never did I imagine the day that I would be near 30 and trying to pick which upper science division classes I am willingly choosing to take!

 

[milkmaid]

I've had immunology, virology, parasitology, toxicology... not in vet school yet so I don't know how thankful I'll be that I've taken them in undergrad, but I am certain that at least having heard the concepts will make vet school classes easier. Anat/phys, biochem, microbiology, and nutrition were required for my undergrad degree.

 

[168135]

I'm in human anatomy and physiology now. It's also an easy A because it's a required course for nursing students. The nursing students, for whatever reason, tend to do a lot worse in the course than biology students so they've made the tests easier, have pop quizzes and daily participation questions so that people are less likely to skip class

The lab is a different format all together (BTW, I'm JELOUS that some of you get to work with human cadavers!). Basically, you're given a bone and a list of structure you need to know, and you spend the lab looking for the structure and writing a description. On the lab exam, they'll give you a bone, with a structure marked, and you have to name it. I'm hoping that will be helpful! We've gone through... 128 bones and structures of bones so far? Or something like that. We also had a few labs on cartilage, tissue, joints, and anatomical naming (muscle is deep to skin and stuff like that).

I'm taking biochemistry at the same time. It's awesome when he teaches us about a protein, enzyme, ect., and it's already been mentioned in anatomy. It makes learning biochem a little easier. I know that biochem is required for some schools out there.