Should I take Anatomy & Physiology?

[eyelash4]

I am currently a junior bio. major at the undergraduate level. I have not taken A & P and am wondering if this would be a serious detriment to me performing well in my first year in optometry school. My sister is a second year med student and she said a lot of med students she knows never took A & P as an undergraduate and did ok with it in med school. I wonder if the same would apply to optometry school. Since it is difficult for me to schedule in A&P for my senior year, would an animal physiology course be an ok substitute for it or shouldn't I worry about it. I have taken Bio I,II,biochem, microbio.. genetics, gen.chem I,II, org. chemI,II, Physics I,II

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[pre_opt_sku]

I am currently a junior bio. major at the undergraduate level. I have not taken A & P and am wondering if this would be a serious detriment to me performing well in my first year in optometry school. My sister is a second year med student and she said a lot of med students she knows never took A & P as an undergraduate and did ok with it in med school. I wonder if the same would apply to optometry school. Since it is difficult for me to schedule in A&P for my senior year, would an animal physiology course be an ok substitute for it or shouldn't I worry about it. I have taken Bio I,II,biochem, microbio.. genetics, gen.chem I,II, org. chemI,II, Physics I,II

I can't really answer your question since I haven't started opt school yet, but some of the schools have anatomy and physiology as pre-reqs. So look into which schools you want to apply to because some of them need those courses.

 

[optopt]

I am currently a junior bio. major at the undergraduate level. I have not taken A & P and am wondering if this would be a serious detriment to me performing well in my first year in optometry school. My sister is a second year med student and she said a lot of med students she knows never took A & P as an undergraduate and did ok with it in med school. I wonder if the same would apply to optometry school. Since it is difficult for me to schedule in A&P for my senior year, would an animal physiology course be an ok substitute for it or shouldn't I worry about it. I have taken Bio I,II,biochem, microbio.. genetics, gen.chem I,II, org. chemI,II, Physics I,II

i still took anatomy and physiology even though i had an animal physiology course (upper level). and i do believe that some schools would rather have you take anatomy and physiology as two separated classes instead of one combined class.

 

[eyelash4]

i still took anatomy and physiology even though i had an animal physiology course (upper level). and i do believe that some schools would rather have you take anatomy and physiology as two separated classes instead of one combined class.

At my college the only way it is offered is as a 2 semester course combining anat. and physiology each of those semesters. I am aware that some of the opt. schools require 1-2 semesters of it, but for others it is a recommended course. If med schools don't take undergrad courses in it as an absolute req., I'm wondering why opt. schools do? If there is anyone who has gone through the first year of optometry school without having taken A & P as an undergrad., I sure would like for them to respond.

 

[rpames]

I did take A & P and found it very useful. It is not needed, but it would help you out. I would check with those who have taken the A&P at your school with that prof and ask if they found it to be a good class. If it in not a good course, don't bother.

 

[Tom_Stickel]

I am currently a junior bio. major at the undergraduate level. I have not taken A & P and am wondering if this would be a serious detriment to me performing well in my first year in optometry school. My sister is a second year med student and she said a lot of med students she knows never took A & P as an undergraduate and did ok with it in med school. I wonder if the same would apply to optometry school. Since it is difficult for me to schedule in A&P for my senior year, would an animal physiology course be an ok substitute for it or shouldn't I worry about it. I have taken Bio I,II,biochem, microbio.. genetics, gen.chem I,II, org. chemI,II, Physics I,II

I took A&P in college, and it was a very good decision for me. It's not vital, but it will help. Unless you are very very busy in college, 1st year of optometry school will be busier. You'll probably take around 20 credit hours and have 2-4 lab sessions per week. If you have a good A&P background, it will make anatomy and physiology much easier as well as pharmacology later. This will be handy when you have an A&P test on the same day as your geometric optics test and the day after your biochem test.

Repeating the material will also give you a better overall grasp of the subject, which can help if you're interested in pursuing a more primary care/ocular disease oriented career path.

My two cents,

Tom Stickel
Indiana U. 2001

 

[Hines302]

I am a senior that will be entering opt school next year. I have had both those courses. For some schools, usually for the ones affiliated with major universities, they are a pre-req.

I am even taking a Cadaver Lab right now... just so I have a really good understanding of Anatomy and the Human Body. I heard at some schools anatomy is a pretty intense.

Do any opt schools out there use Cadavers to help teach anatomy in the first year?

 

[Ryan_eyeball]

I am currently a junior bio. major at the undergraduate level. I have not taken A & P and am wondering if this would be a serious detriment to me performing well in my first year in optometry school. My sister is a second year med student and she said a lot of med students she knows never took A & P as an undergraduate and did ok with it in med school. I wonder if the same would apply to optometry school. Since it is difficult for me to schedule in A&P for my senior year, would an animal physiology course be an ok substitute for it or shouldn't I worry about it. I have taken Bio I,II,biochem, microbio.. genetics, gen.chem I,II, org. chemI,II, Physics I,II

I went to Kansas State Univ. for undergraduate, and they have an 8 credit Human A & P (yes that's a one semester course). To say the least that's its intense. You have lecture everyday of the week and two four hour labs a week with four cadavers to work with. Optometry A & P was so easy that i hardly even went to class for it, and just mostly showed up at the tests. It helped a lot on part one of boards too. I think in the human biology section it has 180 questions and I only missed i think 10 questions total.

Just my two cents

 

[Canadian26]

It cant hurt to have it, you do P and A first year in most opt school and it obviously helps if you have the background. I dont have either right now, im in my 3rd year of undergrad so I'll prolly do them next year. If you have the time, maybe pick it up in spring/summer if its offered just for the background.

 

[meb302]

I am currently a junior bio. major at the undergraduate level. I have not taken A & P and am wondering if this would be a serious detriment to me performing well in my first year in optometry school. My sister is a second year med student and she said a lot of med students she knows never took A & P as an undergraduate and did ok with it in med school. I wonder if the same would apply to optometry school. Since it is difficult for me to schedule in A&P for my senior year, would an animal physiology course be an ok substitute for it or shouldn't I worry about it. I have taken Bio I,II,biochem, microbio.. genetics, gen.chem I,II, org. chemI,II, Physics I,II

If you have time to take anatomy, I would definately recommend it! However, if you decide against it, I think you'll be just fine. I never took an anatomy class, and while I had to learn a lot, I did just fine. It also depends on where you chose to go to school. At Ohio State, anatomy is taught by Dr. Earley, and man that is one tough class! I would dare say his class may be the most intense anatomy class at any optometry school! Of course my opinion is biased. Back to the point, I would actually recommend taking a Histology course if you have time. As I took Histo, I feel very prepared for class. Histology is something very different than the usual class, so taking it before hand would be helpful. Just my two cents!

 

[meb302]

I am a senior that will be entering opt school next year. I have had both those courses. For some schools, usually for the ones affiliated with major universities, they are a pre-req.

I am even taking a Cadaver Lab right now... just so I have a really good understanding of Anatomy and the Human Body. I heard at some schools anatomy is a pretty intense.

Do any opt schools out there use Cadavers to help teach anatomy in the first year?

You heard right! You'll see next year with Dr. Earley.... That guy can talk so fast, it's really incredible...