Physio troubles...had no college physics

[closertofine]

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OK, I know I posted earlier about my being generally lost...but now at least I feel a little more comfortable with most of the classes (although still way behind in reading and learning, of course!)...except physio, which still makes very little sense to me.

I think I'm completely out of my league in this class because I haven't had physics since 11th grade in high school (and even then, it was a really bad class, and I just crammed for the AP exam and got college credit, which my med school also counted!). I'm wishing I'd taken a college class too...since apparently my very sketchy self-taught "physics-for-the-MCAT" is not going to do it here...but of course I can't go back in time.

So I've contacted a tutor for the class, but it will be a little while before he can meet with me...and I know that I can't expect a tutor to teach me everything. I guess for now, I can focus on trying to learn some of the basic equations that I somehow missed out on earlier (e.g. the Nernst equation!)...

But other than that, I think I'm going to keep falling behind...I go back and read the notes and slides from lecture, but still can't seem to get the gist of things. And I have no idea where to start when it comes to doing the study questions...we're allowed to talk about them with classmates, but I wouldn't expect a classmate to teach me everything either!

So, any ideas? Am I the 1% or something of students who somehow slipped by the ad-coms and made it into med school by accident? 😕 I know a lot of people may feel that way, but most everybody I talk to seems to have a much stronger science background than I do. Argh, my lazy, slacker ways during undergrad and high school are catching up with me!! 😡 Anybody?

 

[lilmo]

here's what i think about the nernst equation: 👎

i'm completely lost in physio too. it seems to halfway make sense in class, but on my own i'm lost. help!

 

[DrMom]

Are either of you using Costanzo's text? (the stars one) It is an excellent quick read.

 

[Bevo]

i had a horrible physics past and did well in physio. I used the costanzo book (stars physiology) and just kept on reading it.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/te...userid=VQ8oKYz9Xc&isbn=0721695493&TXT=Y&itm=2
ISBN: 0721695493

just don't feel like you're working up hill against people with a stronger background. Unless they have taken physio before then they're pretty much sitting in the same boat as you. Learning it for the first time.

Plus, once you get past this initial crap, physio becomes more interesting.

 

[closertofine]

Thanks, good to know I'm not the only one at least. 😳 I do have the Constanzo text (got it for free with AMA membership), but I've looked through the chapters given as recommended reading for this part of the course, and they are nothing like what we're doing in class.

I think I do actually get some of the very general concepts...in class, though, there are calculations upon calculations, with a lot of equations thrown in that I was probably supposed to know before coming here 🙁 . I think they just assume that you know the basics already...I overheard another first-year saying that he thought this course was pretty well taught, but that it would definitely be a horrible introduction to the subject!

Hmmm, I will at least look at Constanzo again to see if maybe I missed something...but my classmates seemed to agree that it isn't very helpful for what we're covering right now.

I do hope that physio is different later on...especially since we'll apparently have even more of it 🙁 . Nobody told me that we'd have to do physics in med school! (OK, maybe the MCAT and the ad-coms required it, but still...) Just kidding...kind of...

 

[DrMom]

Costanzo will at least give you a good basis...she didn't cover everything that my class did either, but her book still is helpful overall. Ask the instructor what book might help you out.

 

[closertofine]

Thanks, DrMom...I'll ask my professor what book he'd suggest. I looked at Constanzo again, and at least for some of the topics we've covered in class, I feel pretty comfortable with the material. So I guess that's a good sign...I think I do kind of get the basics, but still somehow have major trouble when it comes to problem sets or calculations...I'm thinking maybe I developed a "math phobia" sometime within the last several years! 😛 My brain kind of zones out when I see equations...and I tend to skip to the nearest text!

This trouble with physio could give me trouble with other classes, too, if I'm not careful...I'm not used to not "getting" class material (in undergrad, things seemed more clear), so now I think I've gotten kind of hung up on going over and over the stuff I don't get. I haven't studied at all for any other classes today, when I had a lot to do...any ideas on when to put the physio aside for another day and move on? 😕

 

[njbmd]

OK, I know I posted earlier about my being generally lost...but now at least I feel a little more comfortable with most of the classes (although still way behind in reading and learning, of course!)...except physio, which still makes very little sense to me.

I think I'm completely out of my league in this class because I haven't had physics since 11th grade in high school (and even then, it was a really bad class, and I just crammed for the AP exam and got college credit, which my med school also counted!). I'm wishing I'd taken a college class too...since apparently my very sketchy self-taught "physics-for-the-MCAT" is not going to do it here...but of course I can't go back in time.

So I've contacted a tutor for the class, but it will be a little while before he can meet with me...and I know that I can't expect a tutor to teach me everything. I guess for now, I can focus on trying to learn some of the basic equations that I somehow missed out on earlier (e.g. the Nernst equation!)...

But other than that, I think I'm going to keep falling behind...I go back and read the notes and slides from lecture, but still can't seem to get the gist of things. And I have no idea where to start when it comes to doing the study questions...we're allowed to talk about them with classmates, but I wouldn't expect a classmate to teach me everything either!

So, any ideas? Am I the 1% or something of students who somehow slipped by the ad-coms and made it into med school by accident? 😕 I know a lot of people may feel that way, but most everybody I talk to seems to have a much stronger science background than I do. Argh, my lazy, slacker ways during undergrad and high school are catching up with me!! 😡 Anybody?

Hi there,

Get a copy of Guyton and start reading. Physiology is about understanding and applying concepts. Take a chart from the book and outline the significance of it on a white board. Find a study mate who has pretty good understanding and lecture each other. Physio is best done when you can discuss the physical consequences of something that you are reading.

There is also a Physiology Coloring book that is pretty good too. If you take the time to color the charts, you kind of learn the concepts too. It's sneaky but effective.

Finally, go to your professor's office hours. Even if you think that you understand something, go anyway and check your understanding. You don't need to have a physics background to understand medical school physiology. If you passed AP physics, you have enough background so don't talk yourself out of doing well in this class. Physio is not a read and memorize course so don't approach it from that standpoint.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

 

[closertofine]

Thanks, njbmd...I will try those ideas. Also, something that I'm just starting to realize is that I think I have the wrong idea when it comes to what to do during lectures. During college, there were no note-taking services, so I'd always spend lectures trying to scribble down what the profs were saying so I could look back on it later.

And I've been doing the same thing in my med school classes even though we have note-taking...but on Friday, I got too frustrated with trying to copy the notes and complicated diagrams from my anatomy lecture and just sat back and listened. And even though I'm not a very auditory learner at all, I feel like I got a much better sense of things because I wasn't occupied with writing it all down.

So maybe this would apply to physio as well...I think maybe I should rely on the note-taking service for notes and spend the lectures trying to absorb the material that is being presented...what a novel idea, huh? Oh well, you live, you learn...maybe this will help me out some, though...what do you think?