Netter's Cards High-Yield?

[skifast25]

Hi,

I will be matriculating into medical school soon but it has been a long time since undergrad. I am considering brushing up on some simple material and have bought a set of Netter's Cards.

Do you think it is worth for me to memorize every feature/structure on each of the cards? Do anatomy exams require students to know that level of detail?

Thanks!

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[Ismet]

Don't do this. Wait until anatomy. You don't need to know every detail in Netter's.

Vast majority of your classmates will never have had an anatomy class. Don't start burning yourself out before med school even starts....

 

[Ismet]

ALso moving to pre-allo

 

[Glandzburg]

Hi,

I will be matriculating into medical school soon but it has been a long time since undergrad. I am considering brushing up on some simple material and have bought a set of Netter's Cards.

Do you think it is worth for me to memorize every feature/structure on each of the cards? Do anatomy exams require students to know that level of detail?

Thanks!

Use the search bar to find out if you should pre-study or not...

Hint: No

 

[doapplicant2015]

Agree with above but you will know 95% of the structures on the cards during the course. Don't waste your time now

 

[WedgeDawg]

The level of detail required is high, but honestly, you should really wait until you take your medical school anatomy course to start studying. Things make a lot more sense when they're put into context.

 

[Glazedonutlove]

The level of detail required is high, but honestly, you should really wait until you take your medical school anatomy course to start studying. Things make a lot more sense when they're put into context.

woah when did you become a mod! what happened to the pre-optometry life

 

[mehc012]

The level of detail required is high, but honestly, you should really wait until you take your medical school anatomy course to start studying. Things make a lot more sense when they're put into context.

Anatomy really isn't that complicated or hard to understand. It's probably the poster child for 'self-studyable' courses...I don't know why everyone says you 'have to' wait until a formal class. Get a good textbook, read, memorize the 85 bajillion things, keep the whole, dynamic, system in mind even when you zoom in to the details. Don't just memorize the structures; memorize how they interact. Watch Acland's.

Do you have to do it ahead of time? Absolutely not. But I never understand the whole 'absolutely don't', as if doing so will hurt you in some way or be harder than doing it later.

 

[BluMist]

he had to drop out of med school and take the OAT in order to become a mod... #worth

woah when did you become a mod! what happened to the pre-optometry life

 

[WedgeDawg]

Anatomy really isn't that complicated or hard to understand. It's probably the poster child for 'self-studyable' courses...I don't know why everyone says you 'have to' wait until a formal class. Get a good textbook, read, memorize the 85 bajillion things, keep the whole, dynamic, system in mind even when you zoom in to the details. Don't just memorize the structures; memorize how they interact. Watch Acland's.

Do you have to do it ahead of time? Absolutely not. But I never understand the whole 'absolutely don't', as if doing so will hurt you in some way or be harder than doing it later.

Well, in terms of opportunity cost, you're not going to actually get a lot out of pre-studying anatomy for the time and effort invested. Different professors (and thus different tests) will emphasize different things. The boards will emphasize different things still. Plus, you'll be dissecting in lab and correlating that to what you've been learning in lecture, which makes for an entirely different experience than learning out of Netter's or something.

Theoretically, could you grab Netter's and memorize every page? Yes, but you would likely be building less-than-efficient framework in your mind than if you waited until you actually took the class. You would also probably exert a lot more effort than you had to to learn things, especially when you learned things that didn't really matter.

The "hurt you" would be that you could be spending your time doing so many other things that would benefit you immensely more. It's just not a good strategy.

 

[Mad Jack]

Hi,

I will be matriculating into medical school soon but it has been a long time since undergrad. I am considering brushing up on some simple material and have bought a set of Netter's Cards.

Do you think it is worth for me to memorize every feature/structure on each of the cards? Do anatomy exams require students to know that level of detail?

Thanks!

Please don't do this. It's a massive waste of some of the last free time you'll get just to learn some stuff you'll learn and then rapidly forget anyway.

 

[Amygfear]

I used these but didnt think it was that helpful

 

[Dr. Death]

Is the term "high-yield" high yield?

 

[Glandzburg]

Anatomy really isn't that complicated or hard to understand. It's probably the poster child for 'self-studyable' courses...I don't know why everyone says you 'have to' wait until a formal class. Get a good textbook, read, memorize the 85 bajillion things, keep the whole, dynamic, system in mind even when you zoom in to the details. Don't just memorize the structures; memorize how they interact. Watch Acland's.

Do you have to do it ahead of time? Absolutely not. But I never understand the whole 'absolutely don't', as if doing so will hurt you in some way or be harder than doing it later.

That is not at all the point. By pre-studying, you are wasting the last months of your life before you are a medical student. It's very hard to realize the true value of these months until you are thrown into the fire of medical school. I would pay a decent amount of money to have another month of summer. This is a public service announcement to anyone starting medical school next fall: for the love of all things sacred, relax as much as you possibly can before you start. If you are smart enough to get into medical school, you are smart enough to learn all the material during the actual course.

Pre-studying is a topic that comes up every week in pre-allo, and I think it's because too many pre-meds don't know how to just chill the F out for a while. It's a glorious feeling and should not be taken for granted.

Call me a drama queen, whatever, but it's the truth.

/rant

 

[mehc012]

That is not at all the point. By pre-studying, you are wasting the last months of your life before you are a medical student. It's very hard to realize the true value of these months until you are thrown into the fire of medical school. I would pay a decent amount of money to have another month of summer. This is a public service announcement to anyone starting medical school next fall: for the love of all things sacred, relax as much as you possibly can before you start. If you are smart enough to get into medical school, you are smart enough to learn all the material during the actual course.

Pre-studying is a topic that comes up every week in pre-allo, and I think it's because too many pre-meds don't know how to just chill the F out for a while. It's a glorious feeling and should not be taken for granted.

Call me a drama queen, whatever, but it's the truth.

/rant

That'd be fine if that's what was said. I avoid that pointless debate because my opinion is guaranteed invalid for another few years.

What was said was that they should wait because things would make more sense put into context. While I understand that Anatomy, like all subjects, is best learned by making sure you get concepts as well as memorizing minutiae, there is nothing particularly complicated about learning anatomy. It's not like you need a prof to put things into context for you. Honestly, it just ends up being self-taught more than most other subjects. So fine...say what you want about prestudying as a whole. But let's not pretend that Anatomy is some conceptually difficult subject that can't be self-learned.

 

[WedgeDawg]

That'd be fine if that's what was said. I avoid that pointless debate because my opinion is guaranteed invalid for another few years.

What was said was that they should wait because things would make more sense put into context. While I understand that Anatomy, like all subjects, is best learned by making sure you get concepts as well as memorizing minutiae, there is nothing particularly complicated about learning anatomy. It's not like you need a prof to put things into context for you. Honestly, it just ends up being self-taught more than most other subjects. So fine...say what you want about prestudying as a whole. But let's not pretend that Anatomy is some conceptually difficult subject that can't be self-learned.

Sorry, I guess I wasn't entirely clear - I was arguing that pre-learning anatomy wasn't 1) an efficient use of time if your goal is to actually learn anatomy in medical school and 2) not the best thing you could be doing with the time you have left before medical school. Did not at all mean to imply that it is impossible to self learn, though I do stand by my statement that it's easier to learn when in context (and therefore doing so is a more efficient use of your time).

 

[mehc012]

Sorry, I guess I wasn't entirely clear - I was arguing that pre-learning anatomy wasn't 1) an efficient use of time if your goal is to actually learn anatomy in medical school and 2) not the best thing you could be doing with the time you have left before medical school. Did not at all mean to imply that it is impossible to self learn, though I do stand by my statement that it's easier to learn when in context (and therefore doing so is a more efficient use of your time).

Ah, gotcha. In that case, I will again defer discussion until I finish M1.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Ah, gotcha. In that case, I will again defer discussion until I finish M1.

If you really want to martyr yourself for science, you could try pre-studying with Netter's and see how that influences your performance during medical school anatomy. Not that I recommend doing that at all lol

 

[Glazedonutlove]

Ah, gotcha. In that case, I will again defer discussion until I finish M1.

no wait till attending

 

[mehc012]

If you really want to martyr yourself for science, you could try pre-studying with Netter's and see how that influences your performance during medical school anatomy. Not that I recommend doing that at all lol

Haha, if I hadn't already taken a pretty good Anatomy course, I might just How about I spend that summer in Central America seeing cool stuff and getting solidly fluent in medical Spanish...sounds more fun (and actually more useful!)

Not trying to be a martyr or anything, I've just seen enough people completely change attitude and tune on everything once they enter med school that I'm not going to bother jumping into this debate until I've seen what M1 is like.

no wait till attending

Nah, by then I'll have blocked out memories of M1/M2 and I'll be an even worse perspective!

 

[Glandzburg]

That'd be fine if that's what was said. I avoid that pointless debate because my opinion is guaranteed invalid for another few years.

What was said was that they should wait because things would make more sense put into context. While I understand that Anatomy, like all subjects, is best learned by making sure you get concepts as well as memorizing minutiae, there is nothing particularly complicated about learning anatomy. It's not like you need a prof to put things into context for you. Honestly, it just ends up being self-taught more than most other subjects. So fine...say what you want about prestudying as a whole. But let's not pretend that Anatomy is some conceptually difficult subject that can't be self-learned.

My apologies, I misread your post as one that was supporting OP's decision to pre-study.

At any rate, my rant was not meant to be directed specifically at you, but rather at other users that may consider asking this same question in 3 days (nearly guaranteed), in hopes that they may stumble upon my plea. It's like people don't see the search bar...

 

[Glazedonutlove]

Haha, if I hadn't already taken a pretty good Anatomy course, I might just How about I spend that summer in Central America seeing cool stuff and getting solidly fluent in medical Spanish...sounds more fun (and actually more useful!)

Not trying to be a martyr or anything, I've just seen enough people completely change attitude and tune on everything once they enter med school that I'm not going to bother jumping into this debate until I've seen what M1 is like.

Nah, by then I'll have blocked out memories of M1/M2 and I'll be an even worse perspective!

I'm saving up for travel next summer too, so so excited. And I think people said before undergrad anatomy was helpful for like day 1 of med school anatomy.. guess we'll see next year

 

[Glandzburg]

What if we made a pre-med "FAQ" thread that provides succinct answers (and links to some of the best previous supporting threads) to these questions that come up every freakin week. For example:

Should I go to the Carribean?
Answer: no
(link to thread 1) (link to thread 2) (link to thread 537)

Should I pre-study?
Answer: no
(link 1) (link 2)

Etc...

Perhaps it would help nip some of these redundant threads before they are made. @WedgeDawg ? Anyone?

 

[WedgeDawg]

Great idea! I was actually thinking of making a thread that compiles useful threads or posts into a FAQ, but that project is going to have to wait until after Friday.

shoot me a PM if you want to run it

 

[Lawpy]

What if we made a pre-med "FAQ" thread that provides succinct answers (and links to some of the best previous supporting threads) to these questions that come up every freakin week. For example:

Should I go to the Carribean?
Answer: no
(link to thread 1) (link to thread 2) (link to thread 537)

Should I pre-study?
Answer: no
(link 1) (link 2)

Etc...

Perhaps it would help nip some of these redundant threads before they are made. @WedgeDawg ? Anyone?

Great idea! I was actually thinking of making a thread that compiles useful threads or posts into a FAQ, but that project is going to have to wait until after Friday.

shoot me a PM if you want to run it

Interesting proposition. It should hopefully declutter preallo.

 

[mehc012]

What if we made a pre-med "FAQ" thread that provides succinct answers (and links to some of the best previous supporting threads) to these questions that come up every freakin week. For example:

Should I go to the Carribean?
Answer: no
(link to thread 1) (link to thread 2) (link to thread 537)

Should I pre-study?
Answer: no
(link 1) (link 2)

Etc...

Perhaps it would help nip some of these redundant threads before they are made. @WedgeDawg ? Anyone?

People don't even read the threads they post in, they're certainly not going to read the FAQs closely enough to pay attention.
Besides, everyone is a special snowflake, so of course the 'standard' answer won't suffice for their particular, special, situation.

 

[mcatjelly]

People don't even read the threads they post in, they're certainly not going to read the FAQs closely enough to pay attention.
Besides, everyone is a special snowflake, so of course the 'standard' answer won't suffice for their particular, special, situation.

This is true, but I will say that the amount of really basic MCAT questions decreased significantly after I created the MCAT 2015 FAQ over at /r/MCAT.

 

[Fastrada]

Hi,

I will be matriculating into medical school soon but it has been a long time since undergrad. I am considering brushing up on some simple material and have bought a set of Netter's Cards.

Do you think it is worth for me to memorize every feature/structure on each of the cards? Do anatomy exams require students to know that level of detail?

Thanks!

I've been making my way through http://terrehaute.medicine.iu.edu/courses/first-year/biochemistry/bichemestry-lectures/ because biochemistry is much more learnable on your own (and before people comment on how you shouldn't pre-study- my train to and from work is 2hrs each way and I need to entertain myself. Plus I legitimately enjoy reading this stuff)

 

[skifast25]

Everyone -- thank you for the responses!

 

[mehc012]

This is true, but I will say that the amount of really basic MCAT questions decreased significantly after I created the MCAT 2015 FAQ over at /r/MCAT.

Nice! I made the mistake of making a FAQ for a complicated thing (Anki), so instead I just started getting people who skipped all of the basic info and just PM me asking me to make them individual, personalized Anki setups.

 

[mehc012]

I've been making my way through http://terrehaute.medicine.iu.edu/courses/first-year/biochemistry/bichemestry-lectures/ because biochemistry is much more learnable on your own (and before people comment on how you shouldn't pre-study- my train to and from work is 2hrs each way and I need to entertain myself. Plus I legitimately enjoy reading this stuff)

It's funny how affinities differ...I can't imagine anything more self-studyable than Anatomy, and biochem is pretty far up my "need external structure/motivation" list.