So I Failed My First Exams...Miserably : (

[JeanieZ]

I got a 48 on my Anatomy Practical, a 55 on my written Anatomy test, a 65 in another class (not THAT bad, I guess), and 76 on my other.

I feel miserable right now. Anatomy has been really hard for me. It just never sinks in with me. I'm just lost in this sea of abduction/hip flexion/medial rotation...and for some of them, I just don't see how they all fit together. I remember origin-insertion long enough to know that I forgot it the next day. I've thought about drawing each muscle in the body and looking at them one at a time. Quizzing myself what lies on this side or that. I just that taking soooo long. Maybe not possible.

The class I got a 65 on...well, I thought I was doing really well on that one. Maybe in the 80 range. 😱

Help! I went into the anatomy lab, probably 4 times for 4+ hours each to study outside of class (about once a week). I draw things out. It just has not clicked. It's also the little things, like does this artery run with this nerve here....

I feel horribly lost, and I think I've lost it. My class average was somewhere around 80 for the practical and 74 for the anatomy written.

I never saw this happening when I started all of this... 🙁

I'm really stressed out. God, I've never wanted a C so bad in my life! Even a D would be more than fine. God, I need a 68. I don't even know if that is possible now 🙁

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[Psycho Doctor]

I got a 48 on my Anatomy Practical, a 55 on my written Anatomy test, a 65 in another class (not THAT bad, I guess), and 76 on my other.

I feel miserable right now. Anatomy has been really hard for me. It just never sinks in with me. I'm just lost in this sea of abduction/hip flexion/medial rotation...and for some of them, I just don't see how they all fit together. I remember origin-insertion long enough to know that I forgot it the next day. I've thought about drawing each muscle in the body and looking at them one at a time. Quizzing myself what lies on this side or that. I just that taking soooo long. Maybe not possible.

The class I got a 65 on...well, I thought I was doing really well on that one. Maybe in the 80 range. 😱

Help! I went into the anatomy lab, probably 4 times for 4+ hours each to study outside of class (about once a week). I draw things out. It just has not clicked. It's also the little things, like does this artery run with this never here....

I feel horribly lost, and I think I've lost it. My class average was somewhere around 80 for the practical and 74 for the anatomy written.

I never saw this happening when I started all of this... 🙁

I'm really stressed out. God, I've never wanted a C so bad in my life!

wow! I'm really so sorry. Go talk to your professors and see what went wrong. perhaps you need to find a different way to study. Also talk to your classmates that did really well.

Oh and thanks for scaring the heck out of me since i'm having my first exam next week. Now i'm worried.

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
When my class took Gross Anatomy, nearly 75% of the class failed the first exams (written and practical). In the end, only a couple of people actually failed the course. Don't beat up on yourself but find out what you can do to get some help. It is not uncommon for many folks in medical school to fail a test on the first go.

Have a chat with your professor. See if you can get some tutoring one on one with an upperclassman. The important thing is not to panic but to figure out what went wrong and make some adjustments.

Good luck!
njbmd 🙂

 

[erin682]

I bombed my first 2 anatomy exams last year. You need to contact your profs and tell them that your struggling but that you are really trying. Even if they don't have anything to help you if it comes to promotion or not then you show that you have tried to get help.

Next you need to find an anatomy tutor. Anatomy is not that hard you just need to learn how YOU need to learn it. I spent forever trying to learn the way other people told me I should and didn't learn it well until I figured out my own way. You may be the type that needs to spend tons more time in the lab b/c you learn it best seeing it 3-D. On the other hand you may be the type that needs to spend most of your time memorizing the didactic information by notes and referencing Netter's and then going in the lab to put the pieces together. Or you may be somewhere in between.

I was the extreme of needing to spend most of my time studying the didactic. I kept having people making me feel bad that I wasn't spending my time in the lab but I simply couldn't learn the names without seeing them written down and described first.

Don't Panic. And don't give up. Lots of successful students and doctors sucked it up in there first anatomy exams. And other exams for that matter.

Lots of luck to you.

 

[cchoukal]

I failed my first medical school exam (after graduating college magna and getting an MS). I was obviously disheartened, but your character is made up of not what happens to you, but how you handle it. Studying MORE is not going to help; you'll need to find a different way to study. For me, I came from the social sciences where, for the most part, themes, concepts, ideas, and nuance were really important and, for me, really easy to grasp. In med school, it's the exact opposite: themes and ideas are out the window and you really just need to memorize a bunch of crap. I stopped reading to understand and started just making lists, tables, cross-referenced charts, etc., to really nail all the bull****. I started summarizing all my lecture notes in Word and Excel so I could easily manipulate the info into a form that was easier to memorize (again, lists, charts, etc.). For anatomy. It's easy to make lists of many, many things, and for me this was the key to the test. Also, Step I board review books are a great way to study for exams.

Anyway, it all worked out: I graduated AOA with a step I of 248 and matched into my first choice in a moderately competitive field, so it turns out you can fail your first exam and, if you get your $hit together and change what you're doing, you can too. Good luck!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I failed my first medical school exam (after graduating college magna and getting an MS). I was obviously disheartened, but your character is made up of not what happens to you, but how you handle it. Studying MORE is not going to help; you'll need to find a different way to study. For me, I came from the social sciences where, for the most part, themes, concepts, ideas, and nuance were really important and, for me, really easy to grasp. In med school, it's the exact opposite: themes and ideas are out the window and you really just need to memorize a bunch of crap. I stopped reading to understand and started just making lists, tables, cross-referenced charts, etc., to really nail all the bull****. I started summarizing all my lecture notes in Word and Excel so I could easily manipulate the info into a form that was easier to memorize (again, lists, charts, etc.). For anatomy. It's easy to make lists of many, many things, and for me this was the key to the test. Also, Step I board review books are a great way to study for exams.

Anyway, it all worked out: I graduated AOA with a step I of 248 and matched into my first choice in a moderately competitive field, so it turns out you can fail your first exam and, if you get your $hit together and change what you're doing, you can too. Good luck!

all these stories are scaring me. If all these bright people can do so well in undergrad and grad and then fail anatomy or other med school courses, i'm afraid i'll never make it.

 

[Megalofyia]

all these stories are scaring me. If all these bright people can do so well in undergrad and grad and then fail anatomy or other med school courses, i'm afraid i'll never make it.

It can work the other way too.

 

[Lemont]

I don't mean to be rude, but if you are studying as hard as you claim you are and still failing this badly then maybe you should reconsider if medicine is the right career for you. Before anybody jumps in and starts attacking me for saying so, it is often wise to reassess whether you can actually handle the amount of material. Not only as a medical student, but more importantly as a future physcian you will be responsible for processing huge volumes of material on top of being sleep deprived. The crucial difference being that now the ability to do so only impacts your test scores, but in the future it will impact on a person's life.

 

[Friendly]

I don't mean to be rude, but if you are studying as hard as you claim you are and still failing this badly then maybe you should reconsider if medicine is the right career for you. Before anybody jumps in and starts attacking me for saying so, it is often wise to reassess whether you can actually handle the amount of material. Not only as a medical student, but more importantly as a future physcian you will be responsible for processing huge volumes of material on top of being sleep deprived. The crucial difference being that now the ability to do so only impacts your test scores, but in the future it will impact on a person's life.

Please……don’t be so dramatic. Clinical medicine is not as black-and-white are you're portraying it (unless you’re a surgeon). Maybe you could practice a little more empathy and a little less of the judgmental attitude? If you can't say anything helpful, maybe you should keep quiet.

 

[Lemont]

Please……don’t be so dramatic. Clinical medicine is not as black-and-white are you're portraying it (unless you’re a surgeon). Maybe you could practice a little more empathy and a little less of the judgmental attitude?

Look, I didn't tell the OP to drop out of med school. I advised him to reassess his ability to handle the material.

If you can't say anything helpful, maybe you should keep quiet.

What I have advised may be the most helpful thing that has been said thus far. Maybe it is you who should be less narrow-minded about what good advice consists of.

 

[batman123]

Listen,

As an MS3 now, I can tell you that no one important really cares about the grades from the first two years. They really only matter if you're dead-set on getting AOA early, or if you feel that you're failing. Don't worry about the #s, just try to learn the material as well as you can to build a solid foundation for the boards and for your clinical years.

Don't get discouraged so soon. It's only the first exam. IF you continue to work the way you say you are, you'll definitely be fine.

 

[Wednesday]

Look, I didn't tell the OP to drop out of med school. I advised him to reassess his ability to handle the material.

What I have advised may be the most helpful thing that has been said thus far. Maybe it is you who should be less narrow-minded about what good advice consists of.

Its ONE set of tests. There are many, many, many more to come. Since the OP is obviously questioning his/her abilities, I agree with the above poster that what you said is not at all helpful.

OP- I agree that you need to figure out a new way to study. Studying MORE isn't always the key. Finding a tutor (at our school AOA provides free tutors, maybe you can find something like that) is a great idea. Maybe a study group or just another person you can study with would be a good idea. The other good thing about finding another person, is that you can comiserate with them because it's likely you are not the only person to have had this problem. I second talking to the instructors early rather than later--they can sometimes be very helpful. Just try not to let it shake your confidence too much, instead use it as moivation to change what you are doing and come back that much stronger.

BTW there are a lot of threads with advice about how to go about changing how you study. Try doing a search.

Good luck and hang in there!

 

[Blade28]

Anatomy's tough for everyone. I remember the first few lectures completely blowing everyone away in terms of breadth and depth of required knowledge.

We had anatomy lab (cadaver lab) twice a week, I believe, for around 2-4 hours each time. We also had an anatomy lecture prior to this twice a week. A bunch of us met once or twice a week (always on Sundays, and sometimes on one of the other weekdays) to go over the cadavers again during a study group - this really helped. There's a big difference between simply memorizing everything in Netter, and being able to find and identify the structures on the cadaver.

Unfortunately, short of the few useful mnemonics, you really have to just hit the books and study the cadavers to get the hang of anatomy.

 

[automaton]

to the OP: 4 days 4+ hrs is a good start, but what you need to pass anatomy is sheer will. during the 1-2 days prior, you should not leave the anatomy lab until you have memorized it all. go to different cadavers and quiz yourself. set up review sessions with your friends. ask your anatomy professors to go over some material with you in the anatomy lab. repeat things an ungodly number of times and yet be efficient. don't waste hours drawing things out unless it really helps you - for me it would just waste time i could have spent with repetition.

you can't just put in a few hours and then throw up your hands and say "oh well, i tried." no one will care about how hard you worked, it's all about results. and what gets you results is your will to achieve your goals, no matter how much it takes. i know a friend that spent about a day and a half straight at school busting his balls in the anatomy lab to get all the material in his head. medicine is not a 9-5 job. it's good to learn from early on that you need to do whatever it takes, even if that means not getting enough food or sleep for a few days.

get help from anyone you can. ask your friends how they study. ask the anatomy professor what you can do to change your study method. it's just sheer will. attack the problem with everything you got - recruit your friends and professors, try different things, put in more hours, and don't accept failure as a possibility. without being overly dramatic... i mean you don't have to do ALL of those things, but just do what it takes to get the results you want. that's the kind of attitude it takes if you're struggling.

to psycho doctor: strap on a pair, what's with all the weak crap

 

[beanbean]

Sorry to hear you are having a rough time adjusting...

Some thoughts:

I think the musculoskeletal section of anatomy was the toughest to learn. There are some many details (origins/insertions, blood supply, innervation) to remember and it can really be tough to keep it all striaght. For me and many of my friends anatomy got easier as the year progressed.

Talk to the professors and any MS2, MS3, MS4 students you know to get some tips on how to study.

Try studying with some other students and quizzing each other in the lab.

Use review books and Step 1 study guides!

Remember that you are not the only one having this problem. There are many competent students who have a rough time adjusting to med school exams. The key is to figure out where you are going wrong and fix it fast.

 

[stoic]

I don't mean to be rude, but if you are studying as hard as you claim you are and still failing this badly then maybe you should reconsider if medicine is the right career for you. Before anybody jumps in and starts attacking me for saying so, it is often wise to reassess whether you can actually handle the amount of material. Not only as a medical student, but more importantly as a future physcian you will be responsible for processing huge volumes of material on top of being sleep deprived. The crucial difference being that now the ability to do so only impacts your test scores, but in the future it will impact on a person's life.

blow. it. out. your. ass.

the first two years have nothing to do with how smart you are. they have everything to do with how well you memorize piles and piles of factoids.


to the OP. most of the class did poorly on our first CTB exam (myself included). they adcoms are good at selecting people for med school. and they selected you. you can handle it. go talk with your profs and start fiddling with how you study. i had to switch from long, intense study sessions in the week before an exam (what worked in undergrad) to shorter memorizations sessions everyday, no matter what. our next round of tests are coming up on monday and tuesday... i feel more prepared....

anyway lemont i hope you get a stub your toe and get a canker sore. pretty much everyone here could give you a list a mile long of people who's "intelligence" doesn't match up with an couple of their exams scores.

 

[Old_Mil]

I got a 48 on my Anatomy Practical, a 55 on my written Anatomy test, a 65 in another class (not THAT bad, I guess), and 76 on my other.

I have my first Anatomy test on Monday.

What I've been trying to do is learn it like a map. At first, it was really hard for me. But I'm pretty good with maps. I'm getting to the point where I can visualize what does what, and figure out innervation and blood supply by knowing the routes of the major arteries and nerves like I would know the route of an interstate and the exits off it.

Another thing that has really helped me is the interactive layer-by-layer dissection software that lets you see the stuff in 3D and play around with it on the computer.

Good luck...to all of us. 🙁

 

[tupac_don]

I have my first Anatomy test on Monday.

What I've been trying to do is learn it like a map. At first, it was really hard for me. But I'm pretty good with maps. I'm getting to the point where I can visualize what does what, and figure out innervation and blood supply by knowing the routes of the major arteries and nerves like I would know the route of an interstate and the exits off it.

Another thing that has really helped me is the interactive layer-by-layer dissection software that lets you see the stuff in 3D and play around with it on the computer.

Good luck...to all of us. 🙁

Funny, that's exactly how I think of anatomy like a map and I too am good with maps. I guess great minds think alike!

 

[skypilot]

Great ideas above. I used Netter Flashcards, the CD rom that came with Moore and the BRS Anatomy book. I didn't read Moore at all.

Remember that "repetition is the mother of retention." Make lists and review them over and over again.

Consider a tutor as well.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

BRS Gross Anatomy + Netters atlas = better grades.

throw everything else in the trash.

 

[OSUdoc08]

BRS Gross Anatomy + Netters atlas = better grades.

throw everything else in the trash.

You forgot one. Rohen's Color Atlas of anatomy.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I got a 48 on my Anatomy Practical, a 55 on my written Anatomy test, a 65 in another class (not THAT bad, I guess), and 76 on my other.

I feel miserable right now. Anatomy has been really hard for me. It just never sinks in with me. I'm just lost in this sea of abduction/hip flexion/medial rotation...and for some of them, I just don't see how they all fit together. I remember origin-insertion long enough to know that I forgot it the next day. I've thought about drawing each muscle in the body and looking at them one at a time. Quizzing myself what lies on this side or that. I just that taking soooo long. Maybe not possible.

The class I got a 65 on...well, I thought I was doing really well on that one. Maybe in the 80 range. 😱

Help! I went into the anatomy lab, probably 4 times for 4+ hours each to study outside of class (about once a week). I draw things out. It just has not clicked. It's also the little things, like does this artery run with this nerve here....

I feel horribly lost, and I think I've lost it. My class average was somewhere around 80 for the practical and 74 for the anatomy written.

I never saw this happening when I started all of this... 🙁

I'm really stressed out. God, I've never wanted a C so bad in my life! Even a D would be more than fine. God, I need a 68. I don't even know if that is possible now 🙁

Plenty of people fail the first exams and pass the class. At my school, all of the first tests were the most difficult, with a decrease in difficulty as the semester went on.

 

[JDWflash44]

In undergrad I was an exercise physiology major had a course/lab called clinical kinesiology and musculoskeletal assessment lab. We had to learn origin/insertion/action/innervation of all the muscles as well as all the tendons and ligaments in the body and we had a great textbook for the muscles called "Muscles Testing and Function" by Kendall, McCreary and Provance. If muscles are your problem, you might want to check it out, it really helped me.

Jim

 

[GonnaBeAnMD]

Go to this thread for some words of encouragement from the nice people of SDN. It really helped me get my chin back up just two weeks when I was in your shoes (failing my first exam)http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=225938

 

[thackl]

You forgot one. Rohen's Color Atlas of anatomy.

This will work.

My order of priority for the written:
1. Class scribes
2. BRS
3. U-Mich practice Q's

For the lab:
1. List of structures provided
2. Netter
3. U-Mich practice Q's

 

[Tiki]

I failed my first anatomy test and I still ended up with a high pass in the class. Don't worry, but do talk with your professor. When I talked to my professor, he told me that the reason why students fail the first test almost never has to do with not spending enough time studying, but because they are not studying the material efficiently.

Good luck, and don't give up!! The first couple of months of med school are really hard, but it does get easier!

 

[JeanieZ]

Guys, I really, REALLY want to thank you!

I know I can do this. It's just that I didn't. I didn't go about things the right way, and it has costed me. I just have to make 80+s from here on out, or I'm a gonner. Now that's motivation!

I think I'm going to start using that academic flashcards program. Go over the lecture notes each day, make new cards, and review them before I go to bed / in transition between subjects. I'm thinking Rohen's might be useful, too. And seeing and spending a lot of time with multiple bodies. My cadaver was a very large male. Everything was very pronounced in him and easy to find. I spent some time with other bodies; obviously not enough.

And yes, thanks even to Lamont. I think it's important that you do question whether you're capable of doing this stuff and more importantly, if you're in the right place. And if the answer to the second question is yes and you're already in med school, well, there's all the motivation you need.

I'm going to do this. I was a history student going into this, and I can just spout off dates, places, and people like it's nothing. That was easier for me because there were cause/effects, theories, stories, and congruence to it all. Anatomy has been just a lot harder b/c there is no plot. Well, there is, but I've found when you let that distract you, you end up losing a lot of time when it seems all that you need to do is memorize.

I used BRS, but not until the end. Wish I had done it earlier.

Anyway, thanks again! I waited to reply for a while because these things tend to die off after you make that initial reply.

Add more if you want, though. 🙂

 

[skypilot]

Even if you fail anatomy you are not a goner. Most schools give you a chance to remediate one or two courses during the summer. 🙂

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I may be saying the same thing by noon. I feel like I'm well prepared, but apparently in med school, that doesn't seem to matter, 🙁

 

[ms1finally]

Good luck PD. You'll be fine. Remember, P=MD

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Good luck PD. You'll be fine. Remember, P=MD

ha yea, i keep trying to think that. and thanks!

ok i guess i better go grab something to eat and some coffee to get thru this exam

 

[Paws]

One thing I definitely struggled with in med school is the drop in my grades. I had been getting really high scores - that I worked my butt off for - in my ugrad and post bacc courses, but then here I was working what I thought was twice as hard and getting grades like you mentioned. I would get 65 on the written anatmoy exams and then maybe an 85 on the practicals. I am a visual person! So that would average out to about 75. To be getting a 75 after killing myself studing all the time was awful but my upperclassmen friends would say: "whoa! just be thrilled you're passing!"

I couldn't find the comfort in that. But now I understand when people say, forget the numbers and focus on the learning. The distance between 70% and 90% is pretty full of all sorts of people. If honors is the thin cream at the top, then we are all in the soup below that.

It's demoralizing and a real blow to your ego, I know. But so many older practicing physicians tell me the same thing. It's just a process to go through and just remember your focus: to be a good clinical practitioner. Let the numbers go and focus on the material. But, welcome to the club!

👍

 

[amyliz]

BRS Gross Anatomy + Netters atlas = better grades.

throw everything else in the trash.

I find Netter's a good supplement to lecture notes since what the professors show in class comes from Netter plates...but I just got a Grant's atlas and so far I've found it to be WAY more helpful, since it has really detailed pictures along with good explanation, which Netter doesn't have at all.

 

[PiccoloPlaya]

Rohen Atlas has actual cadaver pictures on it, which will help tremendously on the practical exam. For the actual course, I like the newest version of the BRS Anatomy. Do this - study the Netter, and then try to draw the parts of the body you're focusing on without looking at an atlas. You'll quickly realize how LITTLE you know. Go back and study the Netter. Then after you finish memorizing the Netter and going over it in lab, study the Rohen. It is a lot of work, but the lab will be a piece of cake after that.

 

[DocMizzle]

I don't know if anyone has said it yet (I didn't read thru all the posts) but with anatomy, it is especially helpful if you can teach the material to somebody. Grab a partner, go to the lab, and quiz each other on structures and relationships until you are comfortable. Then grab someone else and teach them what you learned. By this point, the material should stick.

 

[lotanna]

You never really appreciate success unless you accept failure by that I mean understanding that failure is also an option, albeit an option u dont want. If anything, it makes you throw everything in and come out knowing that regardless of the outcome, u did your best. Its not about AOA, or high pass, I dunno why folks keep throwing that in, its about doing well enough, well enough being subjective and relative to your own situation.
Remember everyone studies different, I actually made it thru Anatomy without looking at Netter a lot, spent more time with Rohen and Clinicall Anatomy made ridiculously simple. I had a great lab partner in a friend of mine who kept me accountable for my work, we met up in lab everyday and would drill each other. We had a regular anatomy tutor from schl which was free but once we found out that the grad assistants were offering paid tutoring, we hired the best one, because she worked in the lab and knew not only what everything was, but how it has been pinned over the years.
You mentioned being a history major maybe you can even create stories in your head of stuff, thats where clinical anatomy made ridiculously simple might help. Maybe instead of memorizing each part, break it down by sections even within regions so that it makes sense to you.
If you can get a hold of old exams, then do that, see what the prof sees as being important even before you start studying for that section. If you start noticing a trend in the way questions are asked, then you figured it out right there. If they stick to lectures and u all have a scribe system then by all means get the scribes. You might have to experiment a lil to figure it out but check all options.
I'm glad I got anatomy out the way by far one of the most challenging classes I've come across.