Hey everyone - I thought I'd start giving you a heads up as to what to expect the first few weeks of school. Hopefully this will make the transition easier and prepare you a little better. I'll update this as I think of anything new (and as I have time), and let me know if you have any questions.
First of all - books and supplies. This will be a large expense the first semester, but the next semester you'll only have a few to buy and you can probably get away with something under $200 - $300.
Gross Anatomy Supplies - you'll need disposable gloves, and old set of clothes, old pair of shoes, and a dissecting kit. There is a bookstore, Gray's, that will send you a packet of information with what I will be posting here, as well as an order form for gloves/scrubs/dissecting kits. I skipped all of that - I picked up gloves and shoes from Costco for $15 each, and had an old pair of scrubs from the hospital. They also recommend a lab coat, but even though the lab is a bit on the cool side, I would pass. The dissecting kits you can buy from the HSC bookstore on Floyd St. or from Gray's. My lab partners and I decided to buy a few sets and just split them. Worked in theory but failed in practice. What ended up happening is that I basically paid an amount equal to a dissector kit to comp my 3 lab mates for the ones they bought, but I didn't have my own.
Spend the $15 and have your own - you'll pass the supplies around plenty anyway, but at least you'll have enough scalpels.
Also, pick up an extra Netter's or Gray's Anatomy for the lab. That you will want to split with your lab mates and you won't want to bring in your personal edition to the lab as it will get slimy fast.
Other books -
Gross notes will be available within the first week or so of class. This is a set of notes compiled by previous classes, and includes not only the material you will cover (sometimes in more efficient means than the regular text), but also included a CD with many older first year tests (for every class). The tests are not exactly representative of what you'll see on the current tests as the past ones are 5+ years old, but they're good to test yourself and get a general feel for what to expect. Gross Notes is expensive at about $130, but it will be more than worth it.
Also for Gross Anatomy, you'll want either a combination of a Netter's and either Essential Clinical Anatomy (ECA) by Moore, or Clinically Oriented Anatomy (COA) by Moore; ECA is a condensed version of the latter - or you'll want a Grant's Atlas/Anatomy. I used Netter's/COA and I found them to be very good. COA comes with a CD that has clinically oriented test problems, some of which may show up in similar form on the tests. In addition to these, you will have to purchase a Dissector Manual from the copy center in the Dental School written by the course director, Nettleton. It is an unbound set of notes to guide you through the lab (also one you'll want to purchase with your lab mates for an extra). Although made specifically for the lab, don't underestimate its worth for the class as it has a number of good guidelines for learning various pieces (such as lymphatic drainage and Autonomic Nervous systems).
For Embryo, the official book was Developing Human by Moore (I guess the guy does a lot of books?), which was decent. There is also a supplement in Gross Notes in similar format for what was present for Gross Anatomy. Past years' classes used Langman's Medical Embryology. I also purchased this, and it had some good info, but overall I found it lacking compared to Developing Human.
Histology - the class book was Histology: A Text and Atlas by Ross. This book was also good, and had a bit of cellular biology/physiology which I've occasionally referenced this semester. In addition, you will have to pick up a lab manual, also in the copy center.
Neuro - you will need Neuroanatomy by Sidman & Sidman and Human Brain in Dissection by Montemurro. There will be a similar set of notes to purchase from the copy center.
All of these are in addition to the notes you will have to print out for each day's lectures.
Also, you'll have two additional classes - Intro to Clinical Medicine (ICM), and Interdiscipinary Clinical Cases (or something along those lines, ICC at any rate). ICC requires a small set of case notes you can purhase from the copy center. ICM requires lecture notes you'll print off, and they recommend Bate's Guide to Physical Examination. The latter is probably of limited use to you right now, and many people skip it. I picked it up, and found it has a good deal of informtion for performing the basic physical exams you'll be doing our first year. I have heard it comes into use to a greater degree when you're actually on your clerkships later. We'll see.
Those are your basic books required for your first semester's class. I'll add any if I can think of them.
The classes you'll start off with are going to be Histology and Gross Anatomy (ICC and ICM are all year long, but they aren't as regular as the previously mentioned two classes, so I'll leave them out). Orientation week for your class is August 10-14th, and classes formerly start on the 17th. Your first round of tests (Black Monday) is scheduled for September 12-16 (it's actually just one day - the 16th, I think).
You'll have a smaller 20 question test for Histo 2 weeks into the class (I think). Don't freak out about it - it's pretty easy and includes a class-wide practical that is put up on the projector (all subsequent practicals will be through microscopes).
Black Monday is kind of rough as you'll have written tests for Histo as well as for Gross, and practicals for each. It's a long day. My advice for this is to study up for the Gross Anatomy practical, look at many different bodies to see how the anatomy can change, and also look at the bodies in slightly different positions/orientations. And spend lots of time in the lab. My routine eventually became, beginning two weeks before the test, spending about 2 hours each day in the lab in addition to any lectures/regular lab time to go over past lab material, work out anything you don't understand with friends, and check out other bodies. Repetition is helpful here - go over the structures in the lab until you are sick of it and you can do it in your sleep.
The advantage to Black Monday is we (by that time, second years) will coordinate a BBQ outside in the courtyard for your class when you're done. We should have hamburgers, hotdogs, and beer if it works out for you as it did for us.
I'll have to take a break from typing, but I'll add more later.
One last thing before I sign off - if you're taking student loans to help pay for things like books, your loans may not come until the first or second week of school.
It may help to save a few hundred ahead of time (or have a credit card) to pay for your books/supplies until loans come in so you have the books to begin class.
