Really struggling...in need of advice!

[hopingtosavelives]

Hi everyone,

First post on here so not sure how people will respond. I'm a first year med student. Currently in my second semester. The first block back from winter break, I found out that my mom's cancer had returned. I'm living at home with my mom (to save $$$). This block happened to be the dreaded brain sciences + head/neck anatomy block. I HATE anatomy, but first semester had been doing about average. Long story short, I ended up getting a 50 on the anatomy portion of the exam.

We have one other anatomy exam this semester and it's is on limbs. I need to get at least a 90 on it to pass the course. I've already talked with a dean, the head of the course, etc. I was just wondering if anyone had tips on how to do the best I possibly can on this portion of anatomy? Any tips for mastering the brachial plexus or any other portion of limb anatomy? Seriously, any tips are welcome. I have a lot of trouble memorizing a bunch of names/facts at once. Any tricks on how to memorize things quickly without making 40000 anki flashcards and then not having enough time to actually memorize them?

My mom is currently undergoing chemo and I am her primary caretaker. I need to get a lot done in a short amount of time.

Thanks guys

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[Hangry]

Is a leave of absence a possibility? Sounds like a lot on your plate right now.

No sweet tricks about limb anatomy, sorry. Anatomy was by far my worst subject.

 

[Darth Doc]

I have a lot of trouble memorizing a bunch of names/facts at once. Any tricks on how to memorize things quickly without making 40000 anki flashcards and then not having enough time to actually memorize them?

Netter's flashcards are the best. Also, spend as much time in anatomy lab as you possibly can.

 

[pocillopora]

BRS anatomy for upper and lower limbs helped me immensely once I already had the basic spatial understanding muscles/nerves/arteries. I also found it helpful to make flashcards for the OAI (origins actions and insertions) as well as the innervations and irrigations of all of the muscles. I would say that these and frequenting the anatomy lab, as mentioned above, would be the most high yield things for you since your limited time.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Take of leave of absence. Going on with school at this point will he disastrous. Talk to your deans ASAP.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using SDN mobile

 

[J ROD]

Muscles in the forearm were hell to me. Good luck. I have no secret except hardworking to learn it all. And at an A level is very hard.

It might be wise to take a medical leave and repeat. Than try to explain why you failed a class. Nobody is going to really question your mom having cancer. Anytime you fail a class thats particularly bad

 

[Goro]

Very, very sorry to hear about your mom's illness.

Frankly, unless you've been an A student most of the time, I would stop engaging in the magic thinking of trying to hit the game winning home run, and simply do the best you can.

What I advise is to get your ducks in a run incase you fail your Anatomy course. Will you be able to remediate? Would it be better to simply take a LOA?

I hope that you are making use of your school's therapy or counseling center, because now having a double whammy of your mom, plus doing poorly in med school, you have more crap weighing you down, and you need all the help you can get with coping skills now.

Do let us know how things work out. My heart is with you.

Hi everyone,

First post on here so not sure how people will respond. I'm a first year med student. Currently in my second semester. The first block back from winter break, I found out that my mom's cancer had returned. I'm living at home with my mom (to save $$$). This block happened to be the dreaded brain sciences + head/neck anatomy block. I HATE anatomy, but first semester had been doing about average. Long story short, I ended up getting a 50 on the anatomy portion of the exam.

We have one other anatomy exam this semester and it's is on limbs. I need to get at least a 90 on it to pass the course. I've already talked with a dean, the head of the course, etc. I was just wondering if anyone had tips on how to do the best I possibly can on this portion of anatomy? Any tips for mastering the brachial plexus or any other portion of limb anatomy? Seriously, any tips are welcome. I have a lot of trouble memorizing a bunch of names/facts at once. Any tricks on how to memorize things quickly without making 40000 anki flashcards and then not having enough time to actually memorize them?

My mom is currently undergoing chemo and I am her primary caretaker. I need to get a lot done in a short amount of time.

Thanks guys

 

[mymembernames]

Doing practice questions after studying the material was helpful for me. You can try BRS or U of M anatomy site.

 

[AAATPase]

Pretty good for forearm. Hang in there.

 

[Stagg737]

Imo the best way to learn anatomy is to spend as much time seeing it in person as possible (aka in the lab). With everything you've got going on at home (very sorry to hear about it), that doesn't sound like something which you will be able to/want to do right now. I'm with other posters and think an LOA might be your best option for this term. Given the current situation, I don't think any residency programs (or your school) should hold it against you. Just my 2 cents though, so might not be true for residency programs.

 

[hopingtosavelives]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for your help and kind thoughts. As far as a LOA, the dean told me that would only be necessary if I were failing 2 classes (as then I would have to remediate the entire year). With me just failing this one block of anatomy, I will be able to retake the block over again in the summer if I end up failing the entire course overall. This is definitely not something I want to do, as I already have a research project set up and was hoping to get some MUCH NEEDED relaxation time in this summer and hopefully spend time with my mom. However, if I have to do it I will. I am not sure if residencies will be able to see this when I apply assuming I pass the block in the summer? Maybe someone knows the answer to that question.

The anatomy block (that I need a 90 on) starts immediately following our spring break. I'm planning on using break to pre-study and at least have a basic knowledge of all the structures (nerves, vessels, muscles etc.) so when I go into lab I can really focus on details. I know it's not going to be easy, but what other choice do I have.

My mother just finished her first round of chemo and is doing extremely well. Thank you again guys!

 

[Rekt]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for your help and kind thoughts. As far as a LOA, the dean told me that would only be necessary if I were failing 2 classes (as then I would have to remediate the entire year). With me just failing this one block of anatomy, I will be able to retake the block over again in the summer if I end up failing the entire course overall. This is definitely not something I want to do, as I already have a research project set up and was hoping to get some MUCH NEEDED relaxation time in this summer and hopefully spend time with my mom. However, if I have to do it I will. I am not sure if residencies will be able to see this when I apply assuming I pass the block in the summer? Maybe someone knows the answer to that question.

The anatomy block (that I need a 90 on) starts immediately following our spring break. I'm planning on using break to pre-study and at least have a basic knowledge of all the structures (nerves, vessels, muscles etc.) so when I go into lab I can really focus on details. I know it's not going to be easy, but what other choice do I have.

My mother just finished her first round of chemo and is doing extremely well. Thank you again guys!

Depends on your school. At my school, they see both grades, so they'll know you remediate. Some other schools completely take it off.
As far as your anatomy, our upper limb was paired with other stuff as well, so it was even more difficult. It was the hardest block by far, maybe your school will be different, but you're going to need to bust your ass.

 

[MedNation907]

Sorry to hear about your mom OP.

I just finished limbs this past block, and next is neuro -- so it looks like we have a flopped curriculum. My advice is to initially study from lecture notes/text books to get the basic layout of the plexus and relationships, but afterwards spend 3-4 hours per day in the lab for 2-3 days leading up to the practical. I would move from 1 cadaver to the next, by myself, and walk through the nerves of the brachial/lumbo-sacral plexus. Whenever I studied at home I would use Stony Brooks online resource --> http://www.thebodyonline.net/about_info.php which I think is awesome. I went from scoring in the 80s to mid 90%. Clocking ~8 hours in the lab total + stony brooks resource. Good Luck, I really think this will help!

 

[RocknRhoLim]

I'm really sorry to hear about your mom and I hope everything goes smoothly for her. In terms of anatomy, I was in a somewhat similar position but in my case, I hated it so much that I barely studied for the first 2 blocks and failed those exams. I had to do very well on the last 2 (head and neck and lower limb) in order to pass. What I did was learned the structures very well using the Thieme atlas and then spent a ton of time in the lab going through the structures. Each weekend I reviewed that week's structures on multiple bodies until I knew it cold. I tended to do better on the practicals so that was my focus. I used the Gray's anatomy question book to prep for the written portion. All of this took a lot of time so if I were you, unless you can dedicate a huge amount of time and basically live in the lab, definitely take a LOA. I wish you the best and let us know how things go for you.

 

[Moko]

Definitely a tough situation to be in.. sorry to hear about your mom..

I can't imagine stressing out about grades while taking care of the health of a loved one. If I was in your situation, I would take a leave of absence now, spend time with family, and use any extra time to work on a research project. Medical school will always be there when you're ready to give it 100% again.

Our dean often says that medicine is like air -- it will keep expanding and take up our whole life unless we remember to make room for ourselves and the things that are important to us. I would argue that now's the time for you to make room for yourself and your family. Just my thoughts, and good luck to you.

 

[W19]

Hi all,

Thanks so much for your help and kind thoughts. As far as a LOA, the dean told me that would only be necessary if I were failing 2 classes (as then I would have to remediate the entire year). With me just failing this one block of anatomy, I will be able to retake the block over again in the summer if I end up failing the entire course overall. This is definitely not something I want to do, as I already have a research project set up and was hoping to get some MUCH NEEDED relaxation time in this summer and hopefully spend time with my mom. However, if I have to do it I will. I am not sure if residencies will be able to see this when I apply assuming I pass the block in the summer? Maybe someone knows the answer to that question.

The anatomy block (that I need a 90 on) starts immediately following our spring break. I'm planning on using break to pre-study and at least have a basic knowledge of all the structures (nerves, vessels, muscles etc.) so when I go into lab I can really focus on details. I know it's not going to be easy, but what other choice do I have.

My mother just finished her first round of chemo and is doing extremely well. Thank you again guys!

You should ask your Dean because some schools do and other don't... For instance, at my school, there are two type of remediations... They give you a chance to remediate a block about a week after that block ends...and if you pass, it won't appear in your transcript and/or your dean letter. If you don't, you will have to retake the class during summer and that will appear on your transcript and your dean letter, and residencies will be able to see it.

 

[Krispy Kreme]

I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. I just came across with your thread now, but in case you are still in the anatomy block, I highly recommend watching Acland's video atlas. It has a bunch of short few minutes videos to go through muscles, nerves and arteries and veins. You can buy subscription for a specific topic (upper limb, etc). http://aclandanatomy.com/Multimedia.aspx?categoryid=39464 I hated anatomy but having great teammates really helped- as we dissect, we quiz each other on structures, and for me, repeating those impossible names over and over again with my teammates during the lab time helps a lot. I also found drawing structures and making my own charts helpful. Good luck!

 

[pizza4u]

Lots of good advice above! I learned the brachial plexus by drawing it out at least 3x every day. It was annoying and I hated it but it worked!

Best of luck to you! Wishing your mom well-- I bet she's glad to have you back home ).

 

[hopingtosavelives]

Update: the exam is this Thursday and I am feeling pretty good about things so far. Just got out of lab and reviewed pretty much all the high yield stuff we need to know. Usually I'm still completely lost in lab at this point but this time was different. I was able to ACTUALLY review things and make them stick and it's still pretty early in the game.

This coming week will be hell but hopefully I can pull that 90 off. I have to bring my mom to chemo the 2 days before the exam in the morning, but other than that I can really devote myself to the material. I'll update with my score and the outcome of this whole ordeal once I get there. Thanks so much for all the tips and help, I've definitely put them to good use.

 

[P0ke]

Lippincott's Q&A is really good. Also have a 3d atlas app open as you study so you can link what you learn to a picture.

 

[hopingtosavelives]

Update (again): took the exam and I think I may have scored that 90 on anatomy. HOWEVER....I totally bombed the supporting structures portion of the exam (ortho, rheumatology). I focused so heavily on anatomy and not nearly enough on that portion. I may have screwed myself further by doing this. If I didn't get a 90 AND I end up failing supporting structures, I will have to retake the entire semester.

If that's what I have to do I will do it. I know I gave it my all and nearly killed myself preparing for the exam, so that's all that really matters at this point. This entire experience has made me realize just how badly I want to be a doctor and it's for all the right reasons.

Update on my mom: she just completed her third round of chemo last week on the day of my exam. This past weekend was ROUGH, so I brought her into the hospital today to get a bag of fluid. Seems to have helped a bit, but she's still mostly bedridden (and for context she was previously running ~7 mi per day even though she also has multiple sclerosis). She's on cisplatin (IV) and temodar (oral, so it breaches the BBB) if anyone is interested.

I will definitely update you when I get the results along with my plans for remediation etc.

Good luck to all of you in the meantime.

 

[hopingtosavelives]

Yet another update: I PASSED ANATOMY! I got a 94% on the exam (and a 100% on the written portion). Just wanted to say thank you again for all the help and support.

 

[Goro]

Yet another update: I PASSED ANATOMY! I got a 94% on the exam (and a 100% on the written portion). Just wanted to say thank you again for all the help and support.

 

[NEVERSURRENDERMD]

Hi everyone,

First post on here so not sure how people will respond. I'm a first year med student. Currently in my second semester. The first block back from winter break, I found out that my mom's cancer had returned. I'm living at home with my mom (to save $$$). This block happened to be the dreaded brain sciences + head/neck anatomy block. I HATE anatomy, but first semester had been doing about average. Long story short, I ended up getting a 50 on the anatomy portion of the exam.

We have one other anatomy exam this semester and it's is on limbs. I need to get at least a 90 on it to pass the course. I've already talked with a dean, the head of the course, etc. I was just wondering if anyone had tips on how to do the best I possibly can on this portion of anatomy? Any tips for mastering the brachial plexus or any other portion of limb anatomy? Seriously, any tips are welcome. I have a lot of trouble memorizing a bunch of names/facts at once. Any tricks on how to memorize things quickly without making 40000 anki flashcards and then not having enough time to actually memorize them?

My mom is currently undergoing chemo and I am her primary caretaker. I need to get a lot done in a short amount of time.

Thanks guys

I'm sorry to hear about your mother, honey, but you're a grown up now. What's more, you're attempting to be a DOCTOR. There is a certain level of detachment that is required of us, and unfortunately for you, you're having to learn that as a first year. If you need to make at least a 90 on your anatomy score and you have trouble memorizing things, there are more mnemonic devices that you can google than I can count that will help you with simple rote memorization. I, personally, like anatomy, so it was always a mystery to me when a classmate complained of "hating" anatomy (I was thinking, why the heck do you want to be a doctor, then???), but I understand that we all have our weaknesses and strengths. I want you to make it through this class with a pass, so I want you to spend every waking hour, even if it means you have 24 of them per day, drilling your anatomy, and especially your brachials if that is an especially difficult area for you. See if you can find a friend or classmate who will help you and drill you for you. Believe it or not, all of your classmates aren't out to get you, especially as a first year (once you're in your clinicals, different story, haha). You can do this, though. It is simply repetition. Nothing else. There's no secret to it. I once took part in a study on memory, and it concluded that what most people claimed to have in terms of eidetic memory was simply repetition. And the old estimate of 3 times is usually only good if you're already familiar with the topic. If you're attempting to memorize something as complicated as the human (or any vertebral) anatomy, it's going to take quite a few more times than 3 exposures to the information. So do it over and over and over, until it's something you talk about with a 3 year old, as if it were their abc's. I promise you, you'll get that 90 if you do that. As far as dealing with this at the same time as your mother having cancer (believe me when I tell you that I have nothing but sympathy for you, because I'm a cancer survivor, myself ... I had leukemia, but I'm still going, thanks to the many medical doctors and medical scientists who have given their time and often most of their lives to the devotion of learning about the human body, so much so that I decided it was the very least I could do to return the favor, even though I am already in my late 40's and have had a full and separate career and life), I believe she would want you to forget about her troubles and put all of your energy into becoming a doctor, and the best doctor that you can be. Again, I'm very sorry to hear about her cancer, but I believe you, I and all of the rest of us who have taken it upon ourselves to carry the title "physician" owe it to not only ourselves, and our families, but all of our future patients, to be the very best physicians we can be, for one day, it may be their lives we hold in our hands. Good luck and I'll be rooting for you during the exam!

 

[NEVERSURRENDERMD]

Yet another update: I PASSED ANATOMY! I got a 94% on the exam (and a 100% on the written portion). Just wanted to say thank you again for all the help and support.

I'm so glad to see this!!! I just wrote a rather lengthy post to you, and as it turns out, you've already taken the exam and passed the course! I'm very happy for you, and glad to hear that your mother is doing well!!!

 

[Psai]

congrats, med school is tough and you're dealing with some stuff
we're all gonna make it