I know I shouldn't prestudy, but....

Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine
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gobigorgohome22 said:
Head and neck are usually taught together.
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Yes, I'm aware. But the way that website is set-up is very disorganized. All of the nerves, bones, and muscles are bundled together alphabetically without distinction.
 
Lies. Everyone says not to pre-study, but I SO disagree when it comes to anatomy. You can never have too much exposure to anatomy.

I recommend:

https://www.drawittoknowit.com/course/gross-anatomy

It is $15 for a month of access to excellent videos that walk you through drawing out structures. If you follow along and draw in a sketchbook that you can keep and refer back to, it will be an invaluable resource later. If you have the free time and want to do something, it is a fun way to do a first look at material that you will need to know later. And once you have drawn something out a time or two, you own it, for good. You won't forget it nearly as easily as just looking at pictures or 3-D models.

Don't avoid doing anything fun, or spending time with people you love, or anything that adds value to your life, just to prestudy. But.. if I could go back in time, I'd trade some of the time I spent looking at dumb stuff on the internet and worrying about things that were out of my control anyway on learning anatomy.

EDIT: Don't forget to cancel your subscription right away if you don't want to keep paying for it. At $15 for one month, it is a great deal if you use it. But if you aren't using it enough to get through all the videos in one month, paying for two or more starts to make it a lot less of a bargain.
 
Giovanotto said:
What is the best online resource for learning Anatomy?
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You should pre-study, but you shouldn't pre-study anatomy. The topic is too broad. Buy Physiology by Costanzo. Read the entire book and take notes. Learn the entire book (whether that means making flash cards with anki, or make a summary notes page, or however you learn). You need to know everything in it and it's not too large. This will help you immensely when you begin medical school. You don't "need" to pre-study but the more you do before starting, the easier medical school will be for you.
 
I also vote to not pre-study. Yes, more exposure = better retention but I feel you really need some context to think about the anatomy for med school, know whats important, whats "not", what you may see on an exam but isn't "fundamental knowledge" etc. The previous poster who suggested pre-studying was a nurse for years prior to med school so they already have a clinical context to think about the anatomy. When I started right out of undergrad I would have not been able to do any productive studying prior to starting just because I was ignorant. Plus the time off really is nice and you will have sufficient time to learn/honor anatomy when school starts.

PS- I'd bookmark that first link, it actually is really great. another good one is http://www.med.umich.edu/lrc/coursepages/m1/anatomy2010/html/courseinfo/mich_quiz_index.html. Read a chapter from BRS Anatomy and then go through those questions. That was my starting point for each block.
 
Would it sound even worse if I told you guys I'm abroad in Western Europe?
 
Giovanotto said:
Would it sound even worse if I told you guys I'm abroad in Western Europe?
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Yes. Much worse.

If you have the option between prestudying and catching up on internet drama, prestudy.
If your alternative to prestudy is to wander down the streets of a foreign land, taste local foods, butcher the local language, dip your feet into streams you may never cross again... then what the heck are you still doing on SDN? Go outside and play, kid!
 
Dude just relax, do not prestudy. Think about it, if you pre-studied for two months as hard as you possibly could you reallyyyy wouldn't be that much ahead than if you just enjoyed your summer. To be quite honest, you're probably going to end up hurting yourself, because you're going to be burning yourself out with a minimal return on the time you invested. Enjoy your free time man before school starts
 
Promethean said:
Yes. Much worse.

If you have the option between prestudying and catching up on internet drama, prestudy.
If your alternative to prestudy is to wander down the streets of a foreign land, taste local foods, butcher the local language, dip your feet into streams you may never cross again... then what the heck are you still doing on SDN? Go outside and play, kid!
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Admittedly, I will. The weather here has been terrible lately, and my girlfriend/friends have yet to reach me. But when they do, I should be doing the above bolded. I don't think I'd enjoy traveling solo, too lonely.
 
Pre-studying for anatomy would've been a huge waste of time for me. If you're set on doing it anyway, you could ask some current students for the class anatomy powerpoints they used. At least you could be sure most of it would be relevant.
 
You can pre-study if you wish, I didn't, I bought my textbooks and 'perused" them out of interest, but never sat down and memorized anything, I just tried to gain some exposure. M1 and M2 will give you plenty of time learn what you need in the basic sciences.

to whoever said M3 and M4 will teach you everything you need to know. Well I must have missed something because M1 and M2 taught me all about all of the basic science I need to know to apply it and be successful as an M3 and M4. I'll agree M3 and M4 are more practical but it doesn't make it anymore useful then M1 and M2 imo.
 
padfoot777 said:
Dude just relax, do not prestudy. Think about it, if you pre-studied for two months as hard as you possibly could you reallyyyy wouldn't be that much ahead than if you just enjoyed your summer. To be quite honest, you're probably going to end up hurting yourself, because you're going to be burning yourself out with a minimal return on the time you invested. Enjoy your free time man before school starts
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This is beyond stupid. How much can you get done in the 4.5months before medical school? Answer: much more than you can accomplish in 4.5months in medical school. The OP would benefit immensely from putting in just 4-6hrs/day (especially if he has nothing else to do) into learning Physiology by Costanzo. How much ahead would he "reallyyyy" be? He'd be ~675hrs (4.5 months; and a whole course ahead). He'd have a much better grasp on physiology, which is basically the foundation of everything else, than someone trying to learn the same material while also learning Anatomy, MicroBio, Histology, Biochem, etc.. Some curricula may vary in the way they present information but you'll still need to know the physio.

Studying Gross Anatomy would be a waste of time because it's too broad and you don't know what your professor will emphasize. Every page of Netter has like 40 tags and Moores Clinical is basically the same deal.

However, if you can, you should study physio. You don't need to and you'll be able to pass and all that jazz, but if you want to make your life much easier, learn the previously mentioned book. And it's possible for some people to travel the world, party hard, start a romance with some Colombian/Hungarian woman, etc., and still manage to master ONE book in 4.5 months. Again, you don't have to but I wish someone had told me about it before I started.
 
GaiusOctavius said:
This is beyond stupid. How much can you get done in the 4.5months before medical school? Answer: much more than you can accomplish in 4.5months in medical school. The OP would benefit immensely from putting in just 4-6hrs/day...
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As someone finishing up their second year, if someone had given me this advice and I followed it, I'd be tempted to hunt them down and physically assault them now that I know better. Of course I can only speak for myself here...
 
Mr. Vandemar said:
As someone finishing up their second year, if someone had given me this advice and I followed it, I'd be tempted to hunt them down and physically assault them now that I know better. Of course I can only speak for myself here...
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Why do you feel this way?
 
Not sure how I would have pre-studied but it might be worthwhile reaching out to MS1s or the anatomy professors at your program and asking, if you could go over anything beforehand, what would be best. That way you might get more specific advice for your class.

In my experience, doing well in anatomy came down to understanding how to study for it and what would be tested. At least in my experience, anatomy was too broad to just study it all and know it, often times I'd try and I'd fall behind. However, we had access to old exams, and those made it clear that the same things about each topic came up every year and if you knew how the material would be tested and what was emphasized under each topic, you could focus on those and study more efficiently.
I'm not sure how helpful it would be to blindly start studying anatomy the summer beforehand without knowing the specifics for your class. You might end up learning a lot, but it may not be emphasized or that helpful in your class exams. Which is why I would suggest reaching out to an MS1 or MS2 who has done the course, or even a professor.

Also, if your school tests you with an NBME shelf at the end, you could maybe study from some board review type materials.

Lastly, and this is the most important thing. Just make sure you don't burn yourself out, enjoy your break now, and just be ready to hit the ground running when your classes start. Best of luck!
 
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This guy represents why medicine is the way it is. The type of people it attracts. The culture in medical school. The miserable training process. Etc.

Do not feel bad about wanting to pre-study. A lot of your future classmates are thinking the same thing, and I bet many of them do pre-study. Telling medical school-type people to relax is akin to telling a circus monkey to not eat bananas.

That said, Anatomy is one of the lowest-yield areas to pre-study. It is low yield for the boards. You're expected to memorize far fewer structures than what's presented in an Atlas.

When I started medical school, I expected to be walloped by Anatomy. Some sections are hard, but I was in aggregate underwhelmed by it... especially given how much it was hyped on SDN (like so many other things). If you have a good visual-based memory, there is really no need to pre-study. If you don't have a good memory, there is no need to clutter your brain with useless info that may not be tested by your school.
 
GaiusOctavius said:
This is beyond stupid. How much can you get done in the 4.5months before medical school? Answer: much more than you can accomplish in 4.5months in medical school. The OP would benefit immensely from putting in just 4-6hrs/day (especially if he has nothing else to do) into learning Physiology by Costanzo. How much ahead would he "reallyyyy" be? He'd be ~675hrs (4.5 months; and a whole course ahead). He'd have a much better grasp on physiology, which is basically the foundation of everything else, than someone trying to learn the same material while also learning Anatomy, MicroBio, Histology, Biochem, etc.. Some curricula may vary in the way they present information but you'll still need to know the physio.

Studying Gross Anatomy would be a waste of time because it's too broad and you don't know what your professor will emphasize. Every page of Netter has like 40 tags and Moores Clinical is basically the same deal.

However, if you can, you should study physio. You don't need to and you'll be able to pass and all that jazz, but if you want to make your life much easier, learn the previously mentioned book. And it's possible for some people to travel the world, party hard, start a romance with some Colombian/Hungarian woman, etc., and still manage to master ONE book in 4.5 months. Again, you don't have to but I wish someone had told me about it before I started.
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Lol at putting in 4-6 hours a day into prestudying. That is more than many during their m1 year....

There simply isn't a need to prestudy. M1 is the easiest year by a large margin, just get used to actually learning what you are supposed to in the time frame you are given
 
TBV said:
Cause he would have wasted his time off on the easiest part of med school
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It's possible to enjoy time off and learn one topic/book. Physiology by Costanzo is good because it focuses on the main topics he'll likely need to know regardless of which program he matriculates at. It's not some enormous undertaking that may or may not prove relevant. It's pretty straight forward and will help him build a solid base. Theres no dichotomy here. It's not: be ****-faced every minute of the day for the next 4 months or spend every minute studying. He can easily travel, go out, etc. and build a solid foundation in one important topic.

sliceofbread136 said:
Lol at putting in 4-6 hours a day into prestudying. That is more than many during their m1 year....

There simply isn't a need to prestudy. M1 is the easiest year by a large margin, just get used to actually learning what you are supposed to in the time frame you are given
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Yeah, okay Will Hunting... You're right, no one studies in medical school. You already know everything or you glance over it before the exam and you're golden. Sarcasm aside, M1 is very doable but learning the material very well takes time for most people. If you have a solid base from undergrad or a masters program, it's much easier to master. If you don't, reviewing physiology before you start helps. If you just want an average understanding of the material, that's fine, don't bother. But it seems he wants to learn material before he starts, and it baffles me that every time this question is prosed, the OP gets shut down and given incorrect advice that it's "bad" to learn...


EDIT: And now that I think about it, you can probably get through the whole book in less than 80hrs. That includes reading and taking notes on it. In 4 months, thats less than an hour/day. In 2 months, it's less than 2 hrs/day. If you don't learn well through reading, it might not be a good ROI though.
 
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Honestly, it just comes down to if OP wants a (very) slight advantage over his classmates during M1, or does he want to brush off school for the last few months and focus on everything outside of school while he still can. I wouldn't look down on him if he did pre-study because hey he may not get burnt out when he's in the thick of things during the school year. But when he's neck deep in exams right before christmas break and doesn't have any gas left in the tank, he might be wondering if that pre-studying was really worth it...
 
Yeah, I don't mean to bash anyone. Read whatever you want. I most definitely would've forgotten everything from that book by the time physiology rolled around, which is almost entirely during M2 in my curriculum. Also physiology was among the least labor intensive parts of school for me. I'm assuming the OP wants to pre-study in order to do well in school, and to hit the ground running with an above average foundation -- I don't think reading Costanzo will accomplish that.
 
And really OP no one can tell you what's right for you. You know yourself better than we do. But we are simply saying that M1 is TOTALLY manageable without pre-studying.
 
docbsb2015 said:
Honestly, it just comes down to if OP wants a (very) slight advantage over his classmates during M1, or does he want to brush off school for the last few months and focus on everything outside of school while he still can. I wouldn't look down on him if he did pre-study because hey he may not get burnt out when he's in the thick of things during the school year. But when he's neck deep in exams right before christmas break and doesn't have any gas left in the tank, he might be wondering if that pre-studying was really worth it...
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lol, okay... as long as you "wouldn't look down on him." Not everyone learns to get an "advantage" over classmates. Some genuinely want to learn the material. And not everyone forgets what they learn. It's more enjoyable, to me at least, to learn a topic thoroughly without the added pressure of other classes or an exam on the horizon. In fact, I'd guess you probably don't remember much of what you learn because you're cramming it along with all the other material you're trying to cover. If you took your time before starting and really learned Physio, it might makes things less stressful when you're "neck-deep in exams." People in my program who did a medical masters programs are less stressed than ones who came straight out of undergrad and majored in political science. Why? because they already covered most of the material of M1 year... This is their second time going through it. The hardest part of studying before you start medical school is knowing what to study. Taking down Physiology by Costanzo is really manageable. It's not necessary and maybe he won't retain much, but for people who want to put in a few hours each day before they matriculate, this is a good place to start.
 
GaiusOctavius said:
lol, okay... as long as you "wouldn't look down on him." Not everyone learns to get an "advantage" over classmates. Some genuinely want to learn the material. And not everyone forgets what they learn. It's more enjoyable, to me at least, to learn a topic thoroughly without the added pressure of other classes or an exam on the horizon. In fact, I'd guess you probably don't remember much of what you learn because you're cramming it along with all the other material you're trying to cover. If you took your time before starting and really learned Physio, it might makes things less stressful when you're "neck-deep in exams." People in my program who did a medical masters programs are less stressed than ones who came straight out of undergrad and majored in political science. Why? because they already covered most of the material of M1 year... This is their second time going through it. The hardest part of studying before you start medical school is knowing what to study. Taking down Physiology by Costanzo is really manageable. It's not necessary and maybe he won't retain much, but for people who want to put in a few hours each day before they matriculate, this is a good place to start.
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And? Doing a structured program is very different from the meandering, disorganized sort of studying he'll be doing. Besides, a certain amount of stress first year is probably a good thing; ime many of those who were "less stressed" first year hit a wall second year when their advantage disappeared.
 
sliceofbread136 said:
Lol at putting in 4-6 hours a day into prestudying. That is more than many during their m1 year....

There simply isn't a need to prestudy. M1 is the easiest year by a large margin, just get used to actually learning what you are supposed to in the time frame you are given
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I wish that was me haha. Just to show that experiences may vary, I found M1 to be the hardest year. You're just starting at square one with nothing to build on, and I had no idea how to study or adapt to it. The material may be simpler, but the big change in learning to study like a med student and keep up was what made it incredibly hard. I def felt more comfortable M2, and M3 has been better cause I'm seeing the same info. come up again and again now.

I doubt pre-studying anatomy will help, unless OP knows what his classes will focus on, but I sometimes wonder if pre-studying board materials or some physio might have made the transition that much smoother....but it's hard to say, maybe it would not have helped and I still would have struggled AND felt like I wasted my vacation time.

As an alternative suggestion, rather than pre-study. You might benefit more from doing some research on "how" people study at your school, how you learn best, the best resources for each M1 topic, what will be available to you as a student, what's expected of you. That way, the first week your classes start, you'll have some ideas on where to start and can try to hit the ground running.
 
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Señor S said:
And? Doing a structured program is very different from the meandering, disorganized sort of studying he'll be doing. Besides, a certain amount of stress first year is probably a good thing; ime many of those who were "less stressed" first year hit a wall second year when their advantage disappeared.
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I actually noticed this as well and with one guy in particular. He went from finishing first on exams and bragging about his exams to being back of the pack.
 
Señor S said:
And? Doing a structured program is very different from the meandering, disorganized sort of studying he'll be doing. Besides, a certain amount of stress first year is probably a good thing; ime many of those who were "less stressed" first year hit a wall second year when their advantage disappeared.
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And learning from a well written/structured book is much easier and more efficient than getting a cliff notes version of the book from faculty. It's not meandering if you learn medical physiology from a high-yield book. Stress is good? lol. okay. You drank the same "kool-aid" as the other outspoken SDNers. Want to spend 3hrs per day learning physio from the same author who wrote the BRS Physio book, which has an A+ rating in First Aid??? "impossible... simply can't be done.. you will literally forget everything you read the moment you start medical school. Human beings can't retain information for more than a month... you will have to give up ALL other pursuits in your life... you will mourn this decision on your death bed...if you study before you start medical school, you will fail out second year...learning is bad....learning will hurt you in the long-run!!!!!"

Solid critical thinking skills. Any advice directing students not to learn is ABSURD. The truth is, it's a well organized resource and if you don't have a great foundation, it will help.
 
GaiusOctavius said:
And learning from a well written/structured book is much easier and more efficient than getting a cliff notes version of the book from faculty. It's not meandering if you learn medical physiology from a high-yield book. Stress is good? lol. okay. You drank the same "kool-aid" as the other outspoken SDNers. Want to spend 3hrs per day learning physio from the same author who wrote the BRS Physio book, which has an A+ rating in First Aid??? "impossible... simply can't be done.. you will literally forget everything you read the moment you start medical school. Human beings can't retain information for more than a month... you will have to give up ALL other pursuits in your life... you will mourn this decision on your death bed...if you study before you start medical school, you will fail out second year...learning is bad....learning will hurt you in the long-run!!!!!"

Solid critical thinking skills. Any advice directing students not to learn is ABSURD. The truth is, it's a well organized resource and if you don't have a great foundation, it will help.
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Ok...

Look, he's not going to patiently work through some huge textbook just for the sake of a marginal and probably illusory "advantage" over his classmates. Maybe he should, but he won't; he'll get a few pages or perhaps a few chapters in, get bored and stop. He certainly won't learn everything in the book as you suggested, nor is it, as you even more absurdly wrote, necessary that he do so. Stop exaggerating and perpetuating these ridiculous myths about medical school.

If you (American) guys want to get an actual advantage over your classmates, here's the thing to do: learn Spanish. This will come in handy third year and it's something you can realistically accomplish (or make progress towards) over the course of a summer. A few grand on some immersion program in South America is money very well spent. And who knows, maybe while you're down there maybe you can find a nice señorita to teach you a few things about life and love, lessons not found in any book but which by the sound of it many of you need desperately.
 
Didn't read any posts ITT LOL

Anatomy is too broad. You won't even know where to start. I'll bet you'll try to memorize things that won't even matter. And you will regret it.

Don't ****ing do it.
 
Señor S said:
Ok...

Look, he's not going to patiently work through some huge textbook just for the sake of a marginal and probably illusory "advantage" over his classmates. Maybe he should, but he won't; he'll get a few pages or perhaps a few chapters in, get bored and stop. He certainly won't learn everything in the book as you suggested, nor is it, as you even more absurdly wrote, necessary that he do so. Stop exaggerating and perpetuating these ridiculous myths about medical school.

If you (American) guys want to get an actual advantage over your classmates, here's the thing to do: learn Spanish. This will come in handy third year and it's something you can realistically accomplish (or make progress towards) over the course of a summer. A few grand on some immersion program in South America is money very well spent. And who knows, maybe while you're down there maybe you can find a nice señorita to teach you a few things about life and love, lessons not found in any book but which by the sound of it many of you need desperately.
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lol... Coming from someone who speaks spanish and german fluently, it takes more than a summer to learn a language. It's not a huge book. Trying to learn anatomy without any direction would be a waste of time. Learning physio, using Physiology by Costanzo is very doable and relevant. I never said it was necessary but it would probably help. I'm not going to debate whether one should study for medical school. it's ridiculous. go ahead and bog down the thread with counterproductive "tips."
 
GaiusOctavius said:
Yeah, okay Will Hunting... You're right, no one studies in medical school. You already know everything or you glance over it before the exam and you're golden. Sarcasm aside, M1 is very doable but learning the material very well takes time for most people. If you have a solid base from undergrad or a masters program, it's much easier to master. If you don't, reviewing physiology before you start helps. If you just want an average understanding of the material, that's fine, don't bother. But it seems he wants to learn material before he starts, and it baffles me that every time this question is prosed, the OP gets shut down and given incorrect advice that it's "bad" to learn...
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Maybe you should have used that 4-6 hours a day to improve your reading comprehension skills instead of pre-studying physio. I didn't say easy, just much easier than other years. If you can't handle that level of material within the allotted time how are you going to learn ms3 material when you are putting in 80 hour weeks in the hospital? You might as well just get used to it at the start.

Add to that the low yield of studying material outside of the context of medical, you end up with just a general waste of time. You're better off relaxing and beginning the long, long journey of medical school with a fresh mind that is ready to learn.

Edit: Just saw the (Accepted) under medical student. Not even worth discussing this with you as you have exactly 0 perspective
 
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zeppelinpage4 said:
I wish that was me haha. Just to show that experiences may vary, I found M1 to be the hardest year. You're just starting at square one with nothing to build on, and I had no idea how to study or adapt to it. The material may be simpler, but the big change in learning to study like a med student and keep up was what made it incredibly hard. I def felt more comfortable M2, and M3 has been better cause I'm seeing the same info. come up again and again now.

I doubt pre-studying anatomy will help, unless OP knows what his classes will focus on, but I sometimes wonder if pre-studying board materials or some physio might have made the transition that much smoother....but it's hard to say, maybe it would not have helped and I still would have struggled AND felt like I wasted my vacation time.

As an alternative suggestion, rather than pre-study. You might benefit more from doing some research on "how" people study at your school, how you learn best, the best resources for each M1 topic, what will be available to you as a student, what's expected of you. That way, the first week your classes start, you'll have some ideas on where to start and can try to hit the ground running.
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You know why it was the hardest year for you? Because you didn't yet know how to deal with that level of material yet. Imagine if you pre-studied and then had to adapt during ms2, you would have been much worse off.
 
GaiusOctavius said:
lol... Coming from someone who speaks spanish and german fluently, it takes more than a summer to learn a language. It's not a huge book. Trying to learn anatomy without any direction would be a waste of time. Learning physio, using Physiology by Costanzo is very doable and relevant. I never said it was necessary but it would probably help. I'm not going to debate whether one should study for medical school. it's ridiculous. go ahead and bog down the thread with counterproductive "tips."
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Why do you keep referring to the book like this? Autism or are you some hired shill for the textbook companies?
 
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sliceofbread136 said:
You know why it was the hardest year for you? Because you didn't yet know how to deal with that level of material yet. Imagine if you pre-studied and then had to adapt during ms2, you would have been much worse off.
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I believe you're correct there, though it's hard to say how it exactly would have turned out. But regardless, I do agree, it's hard to pre-study for something if you don't know how to deal with that level of material and any pre-studying most likely will be inefficient and not that helpful when classes start.
That is why I suggested it may be better for OP to spend their summer reaching out to med students at his/her school and getting info. on how to efficiently study and get some ideas of what that first block will be like, so OP can adapt more easily.
Talking to other med students and getting some ideas to study shouldn't burn out OP and it may make him/her feel better going in.
 
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