Formulas and mechanisms

[swing]

---

Members don't see this ad.

In our school, Physio was taught with lots of formulas for calculating blood flow, and and aspects of respiration. Micro, taught by a parade of PhD's, had us memorize, step by step, all the genetics for producing heavy vs light chains on Ig's, as well as every second messenger cascade in T-cell activation.

While I dutifully memorized all this, I'm wondering how much of this is likely to show up on Step 1? Or will there be more of a clinical focus with "big picture" type emphasis?

I shadowed a Plastic Surgeon recently as he saw cleft palate repair patients. When I tried to remember something about pharyngeal arches form embryology, he just laughed and said, "That's just something they teach you in med school for tests."

I'm hoping that's not the case for a lot of this as the PhD's at our school have been quoted as saying repeatedly, "But we leave so much out!" Apparently the school agrees, as Clinical Correlations lectures we had last year have been eliminated for the first years this time in favor of more lectures from PhD's regarding cell bio details.

Thanks!

 

[Celiac Plexus]

Pretty much the same story at my med school. The first 2 years were pretty much dry science. But, that's what Step I tests. Maybe you won't ever need to know about pharyngeal arches in your practice, but you will for Step I. Seriously, the more minutiae you know, the better off you are for Step I. All those biochemistry pathways I used to know cold, I can't remember at all. But I do remember getting tested heavily on them for Step I. Physio, same story.

Keep your nose to the grindstone!