Help with Anatomy and Physiology!

[Sunoknow]

Hey guys, so I recently registered for a ONE semester Anatomy and Physiology class, and my professor said she was surprised that I was taking this course over the 2 semester A+P course that is available here. The majority of pre-med students were taking the 2 semester course, and my class was basically a ton of nurses.

3 questions:

- I have read that the Physiology is more important than the Anatomy, but in terms of MCAT preparation, how much better is a 2 semester A+P course VS 1 semester A+P course.

- Will med schools view this as me taking the "Easy way out"? I am doing this so that next semester I can maybe try and take cell bio or genetics, but if I take the 2 semester A+P course I wouldn't be able to do that.

- Is it usual for pre-med students to take a ONE semester A+P course? Is there anyone else out there that has taken/has pre-med friends taking a 1 semester course?

Thanks a lot in advance!

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[armybound]

Is the 2-semester A&P course longer because it has more information, or is it the same amount of info in a more condensed format? It sounds like maybe it's a more basic course.

If the 2-semester course has more material, I'd consider swapping into that one.

As far as whether it's more common for pre-meds to take a 1-semester course, I don't think it's more or less common, since I don't even think it's too incredibly common for pre-meds to take ANY A&P course. A&P wasn't offered at my school. I took a 1-semester physiology-only course, and that was just an elective.

 

[Mattabet]

Any Anatomy and Phys. is frosting - you won't be expected to have it. Even with the two semester course, you're not going to learn a majority of the information you'll need in medical school. So, treat it like a primer; if you like the class you're in, stay there.

 

[Sunoknow]

It seems like a lot of people actually don't take it at all. I'll ask about the material that is covered in the courses though, I'm guessing it should be the same if you compare the 1 semester and the 2 semester course

Can anyone else help me out?

 

[scotsdoc54]

IMO, taking the genetics course (or the cell bio probably) would be infinitely more helpful for the MCAT. But....mine had a lot of genetics/biochem.

 

[Sunoknow]

Bumping for more advice@

 

[armybound]

how much more advice do you need? take the course you feel like taking. probably any course will be more than a lot of pre-meds have.

 

[wanderer]

BS only covers Intro Bio, any course after that will only help if you have a crappy memory or your intro bio course wasn't as comprehensive as it should've been.

 

[zkbd9]

I would suggest looking to see if they offered human anatomy and human physiology separately so you don't have to wade knee deep through a semester worth of general info you learned in bio 1.

 

[Isoprop]

- I have read that the Physiology is more important than the Anatomy, but in terms of MCAT preparation, how much better is a 2 semester A+P course VS 1 semester A+P course.

A human anatomy class is almost useless for the MCAT. All of the anatomy on the MCAT is material covered in your basic bio class (veins move away from the heart, gross anatomy of the brain, etc.). There will be no insertions, innervations, dermatomes, etc on the MCAT unless it is clearly explained in the passage.

Physiology, while helpful, is also unnecessary. However, after taking genetics, microbiology, immunology, physiology, biochemistry, & cell biology, I will tell you that out of all those courses, I believe human physiology is the most helpful. Still, it's not necessary.

- Will med schools view this as me taking the "Easy way out"? I am doing this so that next semester I can maybe try and take cell bio or genetics, but if I take the 2 semester A+P course I wouldn't be able to do that.

No, A+P is beyond the prerequesites. Nobody is going to question why you took the one semester version of A+P instead of two because no one is expecting you to take it. They will view this class as another science class.

- Is it usual for pre-med students to take a ONE semester A+P course? Is there anyone else out there that has taken/has pre-med friends taking a 1 semester course?

Remember, a lot of schools don't even offer human A+P! Some take it, some don't. If you take it, you won't be put at an advantage in your application. If you don't take it, you won't be put at a disadvantage either.

Bottom line: it doesn't matter if you take the 1 semester class, the 2 semester class, or none at all.

 

[MossPoh]

I wouldn't even worry about it. Nothing on the MCAT is so challenging that it takes extra time to comprehend. It is just a relief to see something you are familiar with. It can hurt you though. I was a german lit major and had a real interest in german cinema. One of my MCAT exams actually had an article on film in the DDR and it killed me how wrong it was. The outside knowledge can wreck you sometimes.