First Time Anatomy Anxieties

[balletomane]

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I'm new here, so apologies if this is repetitive, I used the search feature for similar posts and didn't see any that were too alike, but if I'm wrong feel free to delete this and redirect me!

I'm a 4th year undergrad (but not a senior...I transferred and changed to bio/chem from a non-science major, I'm at least a year and a half behind) and I'm taking my first anatomy class ever. It's only four weeks into the semester and I have already failed the first two quizzes, with the third coming up tomorrow and our first quiz on Friday. I study 5+ hours a day for this class alone, but none of the material seems to be "sticking." I've written notecards, I've gone to the open lab to look at the models (my university doesn't have access to cadavers, unfortunately), studying with others from the class, I've watched videos online, I've used flashcards, coloring books, practicing from the old exams that the professor has provided, and though I'm feeling a bitmore confident for this next quiz, I am freaking out about the upcoming test.

I know studying is different for everyone, but can someone please suggest some new ways I can look at this material? Is it just something most people struggle with the first time around, or should I seriously consider dropping the course if this first exam doesn't go so smoothly?

 

[Born4spd]

Which topics have given you trouble so far?

 

[Morsetlis]

If you're still failing everything and it comes time, regardless of the class, here's how it breaks down:

-Dropping is preferable to a W
-W is preferable to a C
-C is preferable to an F.

As for Anatomy, I'm in med school and I don't study 5 hours a day for Anatomy, so you're either doing something wrong, or you have a learning disorder, or your testing anxiety is knocking all the information out of your head.

I don't use flash cards. If your LECTURER is bad, use YouTube or other sources of online video. If you can't make sense of the anatomy, try a different book/atlas/online source. If you can't memorize, try mnemonics, or re-drawing the anatomy, or a coloring book. If you've tried all of these... go back and mix it up! Try finding tutors. At least at my school, there's upper-term tutors, TA's, and clinical tutors (hired teaching but not lecturing MD's) for every single class/subject.

 

[balletomane]

Which topics have given you trouble so far?

Bones, specifically bony landmarks. With muscles, it's origin and insertion when they involve, again, bony landmarks. No idea why.

 

[balletomane]

As for Anatomy, I'm in med school and I don't study 5 hours a day for Anatomy, so you're either doing something wrong, or you have a learning disorder, or your testing anxiety is knocking all the information out of your head.

I don't use flash cards. If your LECTURER is bad, use YouTube or other sources of online video. If you can't make sense of the anatomy, try a different book/atlas/online source. If you can't memorize, try mnemonics, or re-drawing the anatomy, or a coloring book. If you've tried all of these... go back and mix it up! Try finding tutors. At least at my school, there's upper-term tutors, TA's, and clinical tutors (hired teaching but not lecturing MD's) for every single class/subject.

I've never had a problem with memorization until this semester, which is very concerning because it's also paired with exhaustion. I have been formally diagnosed by my psychiatrist with test anxiety, have been giving a low-dose beta blocker, and my therapist and I have practiced lots of relaxation techniques which I practice quite often and use before/during testing. Speaking with other students, I was under the impression that my failure to remember material/poor grades thus far/exhaustion were normal, but I'm starting think it isn't. It hasn't gotten in the way for my other classes. I should probably see my GP soon...

Also, I forgot to mention, I am seeing a tutor. We normally have small group sessions led by students who aced the class the semester before, but nobody could teach it this semester, so I signed up the first day of classes for a private tutor because I figured I'd need one.

 

[JJMrK]

Anatomy is one of those things that is the same regardless of the textbook you use or the source you study from. IMO, you're probably using too many sources. Does the class have a recommended text? If so, buy it and read it multiple times. If you don't have a copy of Netter's buy that too. If something wasn't sticking for me I would copy the figure in Netter's in a notebook and label it myself. Do that a few times and you should have it down.

 

[Morsetlis]

Netter's is bad for TEACHING Anatomy, but it's good for LEARNING Anatomy after you already heard it once. You probably should have a manual of notes or some sort of summary that details:

Structure

Function

Relative Location

Special Notes (Clinical significance, etc.)

Netter's does NOT teach you Function. It SHOWS you relative location, but it doesn't explicitly point it out. Gray's Anatomy for Students does all these, but it's thicker than Netter's, so that's why I'm saying having a set of annotated skeleton notes (with lecture notes on it) is ideal.

 

[ensuii]

I was always big on the Acland's video dissections...I used to watch each relevant segment before our labs and it helped tremendously. You can find the vids through your favorite torrent engine and/or the transcripts via google.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I think of weird stuff to put together so I remember. I mean really weird stuff.

 

[balletomane]

I like everyone's suggestions thus far. My quiz today went significantly better than the first two, but there's still the test on Friday...

Our only mandatory texts are a course packet which the professor created himself. I will ask him what supplementary texts he recommends.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I really do appreciate the help.

 

[Ormm]

Bones, specifically bony landmarks. With muscles, it's origin and insertion when they involve, again, bony landmarks. No idea why.

There's an app called speedbones. It helped me when I was taking anatomy last year.

 

[dmf2682]

I think of weird stuff to put together so I remember. I mean really weird stuff.

This.


It also helps to wiki some of the bones and find out where they got their names. For some reason having a story always helped me.

 

[orthomyxo]

I think of weird stuff to put together so I remember. I mean really weird stuff.

The stupider, the better. I had the strangest mnemonics for remembering muscles.

 

[typicalindian]

If you're still failing everything and it comes time, regardless of the class, here's how it breaks down:

-Dropping is preferable to a W
-W is preferable to a C
-C is preferable to an F.

As for Anatomy, I'm in med school and I don't study 5 hours a day for Anatomy, so you're either doing something wrong, or you have a learning disorder, or your testing anxiety is knocking all the information out of your head.

I don't use flash cards. If your LECTURER is bad, use YouTube or other sources of online video. If you can't make sense of the anatomy, try a different book/atlas/online source. If you can't memorize, try mnemonics, or re-drawing the anatomy, or a coloring book. If you've tried all of these... go back and mix it up! Try finding tutors. At least at my school, there's upper-term tutors, TA's, and clinical tutors (hired teaching but not lecturing MD's) for every single class/subject.

really??

 

[Isoprop]

Try signing up for a tutor? Get help from a friend or professor?

How are the lectures? Notes? Book?

Ditch the coloring book. Waste of time IMO. Instead, draw out the structures. They don't have to be perfect. They can be schematic.

Anatomy is all about relationships (xyz goes through some structure or abc is always medial to this... blah blah blah). So if you can schematically draw out those relationships, then you will know them really well.

 

[Beta Cell]

Two majors and a miss, am I right?

 

[Wolfman89]

Is it bad that I read the thread title as "First Time Anxieties" and then realized that adding anatomy to the title doesn't make it any less dirty?

Sorry OP I did not mean to derail your thread.

 

[balletomane]

Is it bad that I read the thread title as "First Time Anxieties" and then realized that adding anatomy to the title doesn't make it any less dirty?

Sorry OP I did not mean to derail your thread.

Not at all, I was skimming through another thread and misread the name of a university as "debauchery" and literally did the most cartoon-esque double take. Probably not the best name I could have come up with for a thread, either...

 

[balletomane]

To answer some more of the questions:

Lectures are a course packet consisting of notes and drawings which we color in during class. I find the coloring books to be useful in some circumstances, such as distinguishing one region from another in a bad drawing in our packet, or grouping things together, but I try not to go overboard. Some of the other students spend all class coloring in the drawings and forget that the professor is still lecturing.

I don't have an iPhone or iTouch but that app would have been very useful!

I've started some mnemonics and such, they seem to be helping.

I have a private tutor that I see once a week and I get together with friends from class to study.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[TriagePreMed]

As for Anatomy, I'm in med school and I don't study 5 hours a day for Anatomy, so you're either doing something wrong, or you have a learning disorder, or your testing anxiety is knocking all the information out of your head.

I agree with you. I took summer anatomy and I studied 3-5 hours a day and ended up with an A. I think during a regular semester I wouldn't have had a problem coasting through it. It's definitely the test anxiety that's killing this person. Perhaps he's even anxious during studying, which will make matters even worse.

 

[TriagePreMed]

really??

I think that depends on the course and the amounts of W's. If you have 0 to 2, a W is better than a C. If you're talking about a prerequisite and don't intend to take upper level courses on it, a W is better than a C. If it's some irrelevant course or have >3 W, just take that C.

 

[balletomane]

Alright...I took the test on Friday and did horribly (we got our grades online today). Honestly, if it was possible to get less than an F, that's what I got. I've now got a 33% in the class, with 3 exams (including the final) to go. I'm going to talk to the professor and ask if he thinks I should withdraw. I should not be failing a course I study for several hours each day.

 

[balletomane]

I agree with you. I took summer anatomy and I studied 3-5 hours a day and ended up with an A. I think during a regular semester I wouldn't have had a problem coasting through it. It's definitely the test anxiety that's killing this person. Perhaps he's even anxious during studying, which will make matters even worse.

I agree with all of this (except the fact that I'm a she 🙂), I'm even nervous when my tutor quizzes me. I'd hate to use that as an excuse though, especially when I talk to my professor, I mean if a doctor just stands there over a patient in distress and goes, "Uhh...hold on a sec..."

 

[Thales]

I agree with all of this (expect the fact that I'm a she 🙂), I'm even nervous when my tutor quizzes me. I'd hate to use that as an excuse though, especially when I talk to my professor, I mean if a doctor just stands there over a patient in distress and goes, "Uhh...hold on a sec..."

Was nervous about AP1 as it was my first semester back and bombed my first test after some hard studying. I decided that I needed a confidence booster so I talked to my teacher, she was awesome and really supportive about helping me in any way she could. She let me sit in on another class so I was getting twice as much lecture time, I changed up my study methods and just decided to relax. Having a supportive teacher allowed me to let go of my stress. Next test I studied more efficiently, walked in more confident, and destroyed the test. I ended up with an "A" in AP 1 after I was able to get some confidence and figure out the most efficient method of studying for me. I did slightly worse in AP2 because I was working 70 hours a week and ended up with a "B+".

 

[deleted357625]

anatomy is easy, just memorize. 5+ hrs a day? thats crazy. An hour at the most was enough for me

try to come up with mnemonics for things, and flashcards never worked for me.

 

[Morsetlis]

Studying 5 hours a day by yourself and still getting a 33%...

...it means you need a tutor.

 

[balletomane]

Studying 5 hours a day by yourself and still getting a 33%...

...it means you need a tutor.

I have one.

 

[Morsetlis]

I have one.

Well, I ran out of ideas.

You could PM me for some comprehensive notes (about 50 pages of high-yield stuff), but other than that...

 

[balletomane]

anatomy is easy, just memorize. 5+ hrs a day? thats crazy. An hour at the most was enough for me

try to come up with mnemonics for things, and flashcards never worked for me.

Mnemonics are great, especially for innervations which I'm really having trouble with. I'm figuring out that the flashcard are fine for terms, or something like listing a bony landmark and then all the muscles that attach to it, but they weren't doing much for me as far as "Name of muscle, action, origin, insertion, etc."

 

[balletomane]

Well, I ran out of ideas.

They were good ideas, at least, and I thank you and everyone else for the suggestions and support 🙂

I feel like I've done everything I can for this course for this semester, and maybe dropping it would be my best options. I'm obviously not going to pull my grade up to an A with just 2 tests and a final left, even with weekly quizzes. Even if I try to alter my way of studying, there's only so much I can do this semester.

I talked to my uncle who's in the medical field, and he really thinks I need to drop the class, take it when I'm taking an easier load. I'm thinking he's right.

*sighs* Worse things can happen...

 

[Thales]

They were good ideas, at least, and I thank you and everyone else for the suggestions and support 🙂

I feel like I've done everything I can for this course for this semester, and maybe dropping it would be my best options. I'm obviously not going to pull my grade up to an A with just 2 tests and a final left, even with weekly quizzes. Even if I try to alter my way of studying, there's only so much I can do this semester.

I talked to my uncle who's in the medical field, and he really thinks I need to drop the class, take it when I'm taking an easier load. I'm thinking he's right.

*sighs* Worse things can happen...

Well, good luck. Perhaps you can determine what needs to be done before you take the class again. Do you think it's a matter of course load, difficult content, or just nerves? All three can be handled with the right methods.

 

[Drogo]

They were good ideas, at least, and I thank you and everyone else for the suggestions and support 🙂

I feel like I've done everything I can for this course for this semester, and maybe dropping it would be my best options. I'm obviously not going to pull my grade up to an A with just 2 tests and a final left, even with weekly quizzes. Even if I try to alter my way of studying, there's only so much I can do this semester.

I talked to my uncle who's in the medical field, and he really thinks I need to drop the class, take it when I'm taking an easier load. I'm thinking he's right.

*sighs* Worse things can happen...

All the students I know did group sessions a few times a week (and really buckling down near exams) with other students and there was always one tutor or one student there who aced the class. From what I saw and heard from the students this was making the difference between failing, grinding by with just a C/low B or actually getting an A/A-.

I learn best when I have someone on my level or slightly above and we have indepth discussions/study sessions about the material at hand, rote memorization plus mnemonics and great guidance from other students and a tutor make a world of a difference.

 

[Thales]

All the students I know did group sessions a few times a week (and really buckling down near exams) with other students and there was always one tutor or one student there who aced the class. From what I saw and heard from the students this was making the difference between failing, grinding by with just a C/low B or actually getting an A/A-.

I learn best when I have someone on my level or slightly above and we have indepth discussions/study sessions about the material at hand, rote memorization plus mnemonics and great guidance from other students and a tutor make a world of a difference.

I tutored a classmate in AP1 Lab and that helped tremendously when it came to making things stick. I would have to lock it in my mind before I taught her. I will say that once I pegged the method that worked best for me I studied about 2 hours the week of a test and managed an A. For AP2 I studied less, missed more lectures and my grade dropped slightly as a result.

When it comes to any subject I find I do better when I rewrite, rephrase, reteach, basically make the subject mine. Try that method OP.

 

[Zuerst]

go to your anatomy lab and take in more of that awesome smell... it's make you feel better... promise

 

[balletomane]

Do you think it's a matter of course load, difficult content, or just nerves? All three can be handled with the right methods.

All of the above...No, mostly nerves, I think the difficulty in the material just lies in the fact that I've never had anatomy before and that I'm more than a bit stressed this semester.

I figure I'm already a year or two behind from transferring/switching my major, why try to rush now? If I can save my GPA by dropping and do better next time, why not?

Thanks again, everyone, you've all been very supportive!