I Don't Envy Med 1's At All

[Llenroc]

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Some of my friends are saying stuff like, "I really miss gross anatomy... I wish I could go back and learn all the structures with Dr. ____ teaching it to me." Not me, though. I thought gross anatomy sucked. We had a 1 hour session the other day for our clinical skills course in the cadaver lab, and it reminded me how glad I am not be doing anatomy right now. That 1 hour was more than I could take.

I didn't like the cadavers. I didn't like being in the lab. I wasn't terribly interested in obscure body parts. I found the daily rote memorization of structures to be incredibly tedious. I didn't like smelling like **** after the labs each day. I didn't like my hair still smelling like **** 2 showers later... I didn't like the tests. I didn't like old man winter (our cadaver) making the odd appearance in my dreams (or nightmares) at night. This list could probably go on for a while.

Yeah, sucks to be you Med 1's. 😀

 

[vwhan]

Yeah, I don't envy the 2nd or 3rd years.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Some of my friends are saying stuff like, "I really miss gross anatomy... I wish I could go back and learn all the structures with Dr. ____ teaching it to me." Not me, though. I thought gross anatomy sucked. We had a 1 hour session the other day for our clinical skills course in the cadaver lab, and it reminded me how glad I am not be doing anatomy right now. That 1 hour was more than I could take.

I didn't like the cadavers. I didn't like being in the lab. I wasn't terribly interested in obscure body parts. I found the daily rote memorization of structures to be incredibly tedious. I didn't like smelling like **** after the labs each day. I didn't like my hair still smelling like **** 2 showers later... I didn't like the tests. I didn't like old man winter (our cadaver) making the odd appearance in my dreams (or nightmares) at night. This list could probably go on for a while.

Yeah, sucks to be you Med 1's. 😀

Creepy!

 

[StarboardMD]

...I don't envy me either... 🙄

-- a lowly MSI

 

[MarzMD]

...I don't envy me either... 🙄

-- a lowly MSI

so true

 

[Pontifex Maximus]

I don't feel for us either, but I actually like anatomy lab so far.

or envy. Because I'm an idiot.

 

[evade]

I don't envy the MS1s either. They totally changed around the schedule at my school, starting with their class, and if I'd had that schedule I would have screamed bloody murder. They've got these awful quizzes on Monday mornings that cover the prior week's material (ALL the material), so of course, they spend all weekend studying. I feel really bad for them.

 

[78222]

yup, sucks to be me.

/anatomy is my favorite
//biochem sucks
///phys is only slightly less boring than biochem

 

[Dr Who]

I totally detested gross lab. There is a certain med school that I know of who's students werent requiered to do dissections. Instead, they did their practical test on cadavers dissected by anatomy grad students and TA's. Man did we envy them. During lab hours we were always behind and had to stay after hours many a day just to finish dissections, hours that I could have used for study or dare I say it... sleep. I dont know if it was just me, but I learned more from the Netter, dissection manual and lecture notes than from actual dissecting.
The funny thing is that whenever someone asked a faculty member for the anatomy course (all PhD's) they would talk as if gross lab was THE most important course in first year. That nothing compares to the experience of dissecting an actual human cadaver. In the end I think that physiology and maybe biochem are more important courses than anatomy in regards to material relevant to what you will see in second year.

 

[78222]

I totally detested gross lab. There is a certain med school that I know of who's students werent requiered to do dissections. Instead, they did their practical test on cadavers dissected by anatomy grad students and TA's. Man did we envy them. During lab hours we were always behind and had to stay after hours many a day just to finish dissections, hours that I could have used for study or dare I say it... sleep. I dont know if it was just me, but I learned more from the Netter, dissection manual and lecture notes than from actual dissecting.

My group is going in Sunday to complete the dissections that we didn't finish this week. I am not looking forward to that.

I don't even know if I am getting anything out of the lab. My cadaver is pretty fat and its hard to find anything on ol "Dale".

 

[Dr Who]

Oh man, a fat cadaver I feel for you.
One group in our class had an obese cadaver. I mean 6 inches of abdominal fat obese. On top of that the cadaver was the smelliest of all. So when it came to scraping the back fat it was bad, the abdominal fat was worse still. I wont even get into the buttocks. On top of that for some unknown reason it started to decompose. So you can imagine having to scrape more than 4 inches of nasty, smelly human fat from someone's buttocks and you get a feel for their situation. It got so bad that more than midway into the course the instructors decided to get rid of the cadaver and asign the group members to other groups. My point is that it can be worse.

 

[NonTradMed]

Hm, so far, gross anatomy hasn't been that bad. I don't smell after the lab, maybe the nitrile gloves really do work. And we aren't graded for our labs. In fact, we dont' have to do anything for it. The labs are there to help us identify and get a feel for the body parts. Of course, they try to shame us into attending, telling us we wouldn't want to let our teams down by not showing up, but I remember people telling me once things gets busy, people will skip the lab portion (as well as the lectures). No one's grade is hurt, and if we can't find some structure, we just ask the TA or prof to find it for us. I use the labs as a way to verify the important points of the lab. Howeve, it would suck to be graded on it and have to finish it to pass.

I guess each school is different.

 

[trapperjohn]

Some of my friends are saying stuff like, "I really miss gross anatomy... I wish I could go back and learn all the structures with Dr. ____ teaching it to me." Not me, though. I thought gross anatomy sucked. We had a 1 hour session the other day for our clinical skills course in the cadaver lab, and it reminded me how glad I am not be doing anatomy right now. That 1 hour was more than I could take.

I didn't like the cadavers. I didn't like being in the lab. I wasn't terribly interested in obscure body parts. I found the daily rote memorization of structures to be incredibly tedious. I didn't like smelling like **** after the labs each day. I didn't like my hair still smelling like **** 2 showers later... I didn't like the tests. I didn't like old man winter (our cadaver) making the odd appearance in my dreams (or nightmares) at night. This list could probably go on for a while.

Yeah, sucks to be you Med 1's. 😀

i'm incredibly glad to be an M1. the thought of anatomy lab, the musculoskeletal system, organs, and all that root memorization with clinical correlations is what kept me motivated through 4 years of mindless highschool followed by 4 years of dreadful undergrad basic sciences. plus i finally get to cut and dissect! you nonsurgery types are pretty lame. thats the best part of medicine; directly dealing with and learning about the human body. all the politics and a*s kissing of third and fourth year is what will really suck.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

I totally detested gross lab. There is a certain med school that I know of who's students werent requiered to do dissections. Instead, they did their practical test on cadavers dissected by anatomy grad students and TA's. Man did we envy them. During lab hours we were always behind and had to stay after hours many a day just to finish dissections, hours that I could have used for study or dare I say it... sleep. I dont know if it was just me, but I learned more from the Netter, dissection manual and lecture notes than from actual dissecting.
The funny thing is that whenever someone asked a faculty member for the anatomy course (all PhD's) they would talk as if gross lab was THE most important course in first year. That nothing compares to the experience of dissecting an actual human cadaver. In the end I think that physiology and maybe biochem are more important courses than anatomy in regards to material relevant to what you will see in second year.

I have personally learned more about anatomy from the OR than from a semester with those stinking bodies. it's just not the same when you see it on a real person.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

i'm incredibly glad to be an M1. the thought of anatomy lab, the musculoskeletal system, organs, and all that root memorization with clinical correlations is what kept me motivated through 4 years of mindless highschool followed by 4 years of dreadful undergrad basic sciences. plus i finally get to cut and dissect! you nonsurgery types are pretty lame. thats the best part of medicine; directly dealing with and learning about the human body. all the politics and a*s kissing of third and fourth year is what will really suck.

haha, just wait till you get into your surgery rotation before you start calling nonsurgery people lame.

 

[WhatUpDoc!]

I'm actually headed to the lab in a few minutes to go over some things. Right now, getting to cut, reflect, blunt dissect, saw, and chisel my way through a cadaver is one of the most fascinating things I have done in my life. How dare anyone not envy us

 

[78222]

I'm actually headed to the lab in a few minutes to go over some things. Right now, getting to cut, reflect, blunt dissect, saw, and chisel my way through a cadaver is one of the most fascinating things I have done in my life. How dare anyone not envy us

I'm going tommorrow, need to catch up - we didnt finish on Friday.

today it's me, Netters, and my good friend Grays.

 

[etudiante04]

Wow, my class has another month to go before we start gross anatomy. I don't know what to expect!!

 

[psipsina]

At my school the only part of our grade that has to do with lab other than being able to do well on the practical is if we finish our dissections. All this means is that you have to come well prepared and stay a little extra every now and again to finish. It would really suck if your dissections were graded like at some schools. I really like lab, its cool to see all the abnormalities everyone is finding. I wish it just didn't smell quite so bad, it doesn't really bug me but my poor husband is pretty repulsed when I get home at the end of my day.

 

[funshine]

oh man, I'm also headed to anatomy lab to review my bones and muscle origin/attmt sites. and radiographs..and cross sections, and spinal cord prosections, and everything else we haven't done. right now I'm just staring at my netter's and trying to retain as much info as possible. yup, we med students live scintillating lives indeed.

i don't mind anatomy lab too, too much. it's just when we have it FIRST thing in the morning that the smell really makes me want to puke. Also, it's starting to have this psychological effect on me where I can no longer look at the cross sections in netter's without smelling formaldehyde. 8 more weeks of this

is anyone else having fun with the brachial plexus?

 

[71263]

Yeah, I don't envy the 2nd or 3rd years.

I DO, however, envy the M4s. 🙁

Only 2 more years. 2 more long, hellish years...

 

[Doctor Bagel]

...I don't envy me either... 🙄

-- a lowly MSI

Me, too. I freaking hate anatomy becuase of the the endless rote memorization. The cadaver part doesn't bother me, and the smell doesn't bother me. It's just the seemingly inifinite amount of detail that we have to learn in a pretty short period of time. I also haven't found a studying groove where I can tie everything together, and I'm frankly not that interested. I view it as just one of many hurdles to get through.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

is anyone else having fun with the brachial plexus?

Yep, that's what we're on right now. I went to sleep last night thinking about it and woke up this morning reviewing it in my head. It's a nightmare. 🙂

Editing to add that we are not graded on our labs, either, but we dissect in shifts (4 people dissect one lab session, and the other four dissect the next lab session). Consequently, you kind of screw the other group if you don't finish or don't do a good enough job that you can teach them the structures. In our total point structure, 30 points out of like 700 come from lab attendance and participation. My guess is that pretty much everybody gets those full parts because I don't think the instructors know our names or anything like that.

Opinions of a "lame nonsurgery type" who has actually started anatomy. It might be best for one to save their opinions about it until you're actually there.

 

[swpm]

I don't envy the MS1s either. They totally changed around the schedule at my school, starting with their class, and if I'd had that schedule I would have screamed bloody murder. They've got these awful quizzes on Monday mornings that cover the prior week's material (ALL the material), so of course, they spend all weekend studying. I feel really bad for them.

Haha, wait 'til you're a resident. Work, sleep, eat (irregularly), read (or not, if you want to gamble with passing your boards).

It's hard to believe early on, but the med school years are just gently breaking you in for the real work to come ...

 

[Rugby MD]

I loved anatomy lab. We worked in groups of 6 but only 2 dissected per day. then one day off then the 2 had to teach the remaining 4 what they dissected- and then those four would take a quiz on what they were taught. We did this from september to may. the cadavers got pretty stinky in may... Although the actual dissection was long and exhausting, I had such a good time with my lab partner and our group, that I actually looked forward to the teaching sessions. I'm gonna miss Jerry. But not smelling like him!

 

[MarzMD]

oh man, I'm also headed to anatomy lab to review my bones and muscle origin/attmt sites. and radiographs..and cross sections, and spinal cord prosections, and everything else we haven't done. right now I'm just staring at my netter's and trying to retain as much info as possible. yup, we med students live scintillating lives indeed.

i don't mind anatomy lab too, too much. it's just when we have it FIRST thing in the morning that the smell really makes me want to puke. Also, it's starting to have this psychological effect on me where I can no longer look at the cross sections in netter's without smelling formaldehyde. 8 more weeks of this

is anyone else having fun with the brachial plexus?

The Brachial Plexus isnt bad at all. What I hate is the forearm and hand. Now those are some confusing areas. Everything just starts sounding the same. I tried to attach a file called "learn the Brachial Plexus in 5 minutes" but I guess it is too large for SDN. Oh well, it is a really helpful file too.

 

[evade]

Haha, wait 'til you're a resident. Work, sleep, eat (irregularly), read (or not, if you want to gamble with passing your boards).

It's hard to believe early on, but the med school years are just gently breaking you in for the real work to come ...

Hey, never said I couldn't handle it. I already sleep, eat, and study irregularly (it's taking a toll on my health, sad to say). I'm just saying that 3 hours of quizzes every Monday morning is a pretty unnecessary insult on top of an already arduous process.

 

[funshine]

The Brachial Plexus isnt bad at all. What I hate is the forearm and hand. Now those are some confusing areas. Everything just starts sounding the same. I tried to attach a file called "learn the Brachial Plexus in 5 minutes" but I guess it is too large for SDN. Oh well, it is a really helpful file too.

i googled it and found it. Thanks! I don't think it'll take me just 5 minutes to learn it, but it is a helpful way to diagram everything. We'll be doing the forearm on Monday....ahh, things to look forward to.

I think splitting up the responsibility in your anatomy group is a really good idea, but my teammates are so laidback and flippant about everything, I don't know how they'd react to some rules. honestly, I wouldn't mind anatomy if my group was more prepared. I don't think anyone previews the stuff, so we just stand there like *****s and wait for the TA to get to us and basically keep asking him questions until he does most of our dissection for us. I'm going to try and take charge next week though...

 

[psipsina]

For those of y'all who are strugglin with the forearm, during my undergrad dissection my lab partner and I ended up drawing all the origins and insertions on our arms with different colored sharpies so you could see their relationships etc . . .it really worked cause it was with you for a few days (with some touch ups of course) so whenever your standin in a line or waiting for class to start or whatever you can study it and learn it cold.

 

[SitraAchra]

Some of my friends are saying stuff like, "I really miss gross anatomy... I wish I could go back and learn all the structures with Dr. ____ teaching it to me." Not me, though. I thought gross anatomy sucked. We had a 1 hour session the other day for our clinical skills course in the cadaver lab, and it reminded me how glad I am not be doing anatomy right now. That 1 hour was more than I could take.

I didn't like the cadavers. I didn't like being in the lab. I wasn't terribly interested in obscure body parts. I found the daily rote memorization of structures to be incredibly tedious. I didn't like smelling like **** after the labs each day. I didn't like my hair still smelling like **** 2 showers later... I didn't like the tests. I didn't like old man winter (our cadaver) making the odd appearance in my dreams (or nightmares) at night. This list could probably go on for a while.

Yeah, sucks to be you Med 1's. 😀

I'm an MS1 and MY cadaver is named old man winter!!! haha that's really funny. We named him that because both his fists are [or were...since friday we pried them open and broke some fingers]..well they were clenched like the grip of death, or old man winter.

 

[Megalofyia]

i googled it and found it. Thanks! I don't think it'll take me just 5 minutes to learn it, but it is a helpful way to diagram everything. We'll be doing the forearm on Monday....ahh, things to look forward to.

Actually if you draw it like 3 or 4 times the way they tell you to in that file you'll have a good chance of having it mostly memorized if not entirely memorized. (This from a person with essentially no memory skills.)

A year later and the brachial plexus is one of the few things in anatomy I still remember and can draw.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Actually if you draw it like 3 or 4 times the way they tell you to in that file you'll have a good chance of having it mostly memorized if not entirely memorized. (This from a person with essentially no memory skills.)

A year later and the brachial plexus is one of the few things in anatomy I still remember and can draw.

I have heard that and will designate drawing the brachial plexus multiple times as my goal for the day. I've got it about 75% memorized.

So I'm not happy about hearing the forearm is harder. We're starting that tomorrow, and that will be on our mini exam on Friday. 😱

 

[MarzMD]

I have heard that and will designate drawing the brachial plexus multiple times as my goal for the day. I've got it about 75% memorized.

So I'm not happy about hearing the forearm is harder. We're starting that tomorrow, and that will be on our mini exam on Friday. 😱

Forearm alone isnt bad per se....forearm + hand just gets really annoying.

 

[MarzMD]

Post 1000!!!!! Okay, back to learning about cartilage and bone.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Forearm alone isnt bad per se....forearm + hand just gets really annoying.

Cool. Our exam just covers forearm. 🙂 Hand is saved for Wednesday.

 

[71263]

Forearm alone isnt bad per se....forearm + hand just gets really annoying.

Man, just you wait till you get to pelvis/perineum.

Lumbar plexus + Sacral plexus =

 

[evade]

For those of y'all who are strugglin with the forearm, during my undergrad dissection my lab partner and I ended up drawing all the origins and insertions on our arms with different colored sharpies so you could see their relationships etc . . .it really worked cause it was with you for a few days (with some touch ups of course) so whenever your standin in a line or waiting for class to start or whatever you can study it and learn it cold.

I totally did this with the hand, too! It worked well, even if it looks silly.

 

[Megalofyia]

I thought the forearm was much better than the upper arm because the names of muscles made a lot more sense. Also you could block our a group of muscles and say "these are all inervated by... " just based on their location. What I didn't like about the hand was that the skin was STUCK on ... and it was really hard to make it look pretty.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I don't envy Med 1, 2, 3, or 4. THe only envy I have is of the penis type.

 

[Church]

I for one would FAR rather spend 3 hours in gross lab than 3 hours in lecture. At least in lab I know what I need to know for the test. Lecture, it's not so clear.

Of course, having a cadaver that doesn't smell nearly as bad as some of the others helps. Gawd, if I had one of the ones my study partner and I looked at today...😱

 

[funshine]

For those of y'all who are strugglin with the forearm, during my undergrad dissection my lab partner and I ended up drawing all the origins and insertions on our arms with different colored sharpies so you could see their relationships etc . . .it really worked cause it was with you for a few days (with some touch ups of course) so whenever your standin in a line or waiting for class to start or whatever you can study it and learn it cold.

i know good anatomy students are supposed to know their origins and insertions cold, but at my school, we're not actually quizzed on that per se, we're just supposed to *use* our knowledge of origin/insertion points to *arrive* at the muscle's action.

But personally, I find it easier to just match muscle with action and have a vague idea of the attmt points. I *think* I can match most muscles to origin/insertion pts based on name, but I can't come with all the names myself.

So this is a very long way of asking, am I going to fail anatomy? I guess I'll have to prepare more for the practical. so far, it's been really hard to get myself into the anatomy lab. My group is equally unwilling to go into lab; we're always the first ones out, sometimes the dissections aren't even really completed.

I keep making excuses to just study my atlas.

 

[funshine]

I for one would FAR rather spend 3 hours in gross lab than 3 hours in lecture. At least in lab I know what I need to know for the test. Lecture, it's not so clear.

Of course, having a cadaver that doesn't smell nearly as bad as some of the others helps. Gawd, if I had one of the ones my study partner and I looked at today...😱

well, our cadaver is actually rather skinny so no disgusting fat to take off, but he is totally saturated in formaldehyde, and everytime we turn him over, we get this huge whiff of it--not to mention we get soaked in formadehyde-- and it's all we can do not to puke all over each other.

plus all the cadavers are starting to decompose and smell rancid...

yeah, if there are any MS-2s who avoided going intolab but still passed anatomy, please let me know!!!!!!

 

[Church]

I go in about 3 hours on Sunday, an hour in the mornings before classes start, and if I feel like it, a bit afterwards. Seems excessive, I admit, but I got a C on the first test and might be overcompensating 🙂 Also, we only have gross for one semester, bo we're covering more ground this fall than people who get to suffer for 2 semesters. Gawd only knows what the cadavers would smell like after an extra 4 or 5 months 😱

 

[funshine]

I go in about 3 hours on Sunday, an hour in the mornings before classes start, and if I feel like it, a bit afterwards. Seems excessive, I admit, but I got a C on the first test and might be overcompensating 🙂 Also, we only have gross for one semester, bo we're covering more ground this fall than people who get to suffer for 2 semesters. Gawd only knows what the cadavers would smell like after an extra 4 or 5 months 😱

a few questions if you don't mind:

1.) are you going into lab alone in the morning? if so, kudos...that takes willpower.
2.) how early do you start class? We start at 8am, and I'm already waking up at 6am just to get to class on time (well, and to pre-study the lectures), so I wonder how early I'd haveto wake up for extra lab-time!

3.) what percentage was that first test worth? (we have quizzes next week but our first practical and written exam isn't until the end of september). I'm sorta expecting to fail the first quiz and hopefully that'll put me into panic mode which is when I function best.

4.) good luck!!!!

 

[Megalofyia]

yeah, if there are any MS-2s who avoided going intolab but still passed anatomy, please let me know!!!!!!

One of my classmates spent something like a grand total of 4 hours in the lab for the whole class and passed. However he wasn't too popular with his anatomy group as he didnt do any of the disection work.

 

[Ambs]

a few questions if you don't mind:

1.) are you going into lab alone in the morning? if so, kudos...that takes willpower.
2.) how early do you start class? We start at 8am, and I'm already waking up at 6am just to get to class on time (well, and to pre-study the lectures), so I wonder how early I'd haveto wake up for extra lab-time!

3.) what percentage was that first test worth? (we have quizzes next week but our first practical and written exam isn't until the end of september). I'm sorta expecting to fail the first quiz and hopefully that'll put me into panic mode which is when I function best.

4.) good luck!!!!

Don't expect to fail because you're NOT going to fail. Study/stare at Netter- don't just memorize it - actually look at the RELATIONSHIPS between structures. See if your professors hold review sessions in the lab and if so, go to them. During your study, go to different bodies to compare structures and find someone (one person) to study with in lab (quizzing each other, teaching each other, etc).

 

[Megalofyia]

I go in about 3 hours on Sunday, an hour in the mornings before classes start, and if I feel like it, a bit afterwards. Seems excessive, I admit, but I got a C on the first test and might be overcompensating 🙂 Also, we only have gross for one semester, bo we're covering more ground this fall than people who get to suffer for 2 semesters. Gawd only knows what the cadavers would smell like after an extra 4 or 5 months 😱

Luckily as you disect the body and get rid of the fat the body starts to smell less.

Are you a fan of Red vs Blue?

 

[Church]

a few questions if you don't mind:

1.) are you going into lab alone in the morning? if so, kudos...that takes willpower.
2.) how early do you start class? We start at 8am, and I'm already waking up at 6am just to get to class on time (well, and to pre-study the lectures), so I wonder how early I'd haveto wake up for extra lab-time!

3.) what percentage was that first test worth? (we have quizzes next week but our first practical and written exam isn't until the end of september). I'm sorta expecting to fail the first quiz and hopefully that'll put me into panic mode which is when I function best.

Don't mind at all, it helps me put off studying for the 1st gross test by a few more minutes 🙂

1) Absolutely. I have a friend from undergrad who shows up about 30 minutes before class, but mostly by myself. Not because I need that, jsut no one else gets up early.

2)I get up at 5AM and get into the gross lab around 6:30 (workout comes first). Class starts at 8AM. Not a huge problem, but then I'm a morning person.

3)Our first exam was cell bio, and I think it was about 5-7% of our overall grade, not counting finals. I was sweating it, but had a good study partner who brought my attention to my weak areas so I knew where to focus my efforts. Also, for perspective: At our school, the Internal Medicine rotation alone is worth more credit than the whole first year. So, realistically, surviving the first year is good enough 🙂

4) Thanks 🙂 Good luck to you too!

 

[Church]

Luckily as you disect the body and get rid of the fat the body starts to smell less.

Are you a fan of Red vs Blue?

I agree with you on the first part, but at this point, looking at some of the cadavers, they're looking like chopped-up roast beef, making it trickier as time goes on to identify things. Going in early every morning helps some as I can still tell whats what because it only changes so much from day to day. The "Once-a-week" types are sucking wind. Hard.


And yes, I LOVE to watch Red vs Blue. 😀 Got it on my Ipod for emergency purposes when study is breaking my will to live 🙂 I was watching season one again (in student center, not class) and laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes, and my classmates thought I was nuts. Not saying that they're wrong, mind you...

 

[tulane06]

I don't envy Med 1, 2, 3, or 4. THe only envy I have is of the penis type.

Brilliant