SuzieQ3417 said:
First...what do we wear the first day? The memo says to wear a t-shirt from you undergrad, whereas the professionalism letter says to dress business casual. 😕
I noticed the SAME thing! I was like, what the hell? I don't have any business casual Michigan clothing. I think there was a failure to communicate somewhere along the line.
🙂 I think you should plan on wearing something nice. According to the second-years that taught us during PSP, Maryland is really, really big on professionalism. This means dressing nicely for class (e.g. NOT wearing sweats, pajamas, or similar clothing, even though it was ok in college). For those of us who've had jobs in the past, this won't be such an adjustment. But the fresh-out-of-undergrad contingent is gonna have some growing pains with this one (and the 8am starts, probably
🙂 )
SuzieQ3417 said:
Second...any ideas on which textbooks are the best? Or does it even make a difference? Basically, I couldn't pick a book out simply by reading their descriptions. I'd prefer to just get the cheapest if they're all the same, but if anyone has any recommendations I'd love to hear them.
I asked the same thing during PSP. The general consensus is - DO NOT BUY TEXTBOOKS NOW. Wait until class starts and you get your "big sib." Apparently, they may pass some books down to you, or at least let you know what worked for them. You WILL have to get an anatomy atlas, but from my experience, choosing an atlas is like picking your furniture or bedspread - it's a very personalized thing.
🙂 During the summer, most people chose Netter's, myself included. I'm not sure what everyone's reasoning was, but I chose it because it has big labels, the colors are great, and it just looks pretty. However, other people prefered the books that had the REAL dissections (instead of color plates, they are photos of actual prosections). Rohen's is like this, and there's another one that just came out that was really cool, but I didn't see it on the book list. One of the anatomy professors had a copy, you could ask him about it. Anyway, the obvious pro to having this book is that it is what it's *supposed* to look like in the body. Your cadaver, however, will look nothing like the beautiful prosection. No, your cadaver will more closely resemble the chicken carcass at the local deli than anything in these textbooks. But one of the second-years said that he learned better from seeing the real-life photos than he did from studying Netter's. It's really a matter of personal preference. I did fine with Netter's...I found the real-life photos too confusing because the labels were so small and the colors were all the same. There's only so much greyish-pink you can look at before you start wishing the thoracic duct was *actually* green.
One other thing - no matter which atlas you get, BUY THE FRICKIN FLASHCARDS!!! They were SUCH a big help, especially for the forearm (which I really didn't study for, since I still don't know the difference between a pronator and a supinator muscle, or which one flexes my 3rd and 4th digits.)
And you WILL need a book for embryo. Embryo is horrible. It's like they WANT you to freak out because you can't remember Meiosis I from Meiosis II, and while we're at it, who really cares at what day the notochord forms? The second-years told us to buy Langman's. They didn't have it in the bookstore this summer, but I found it on Amazon for relatively cheap. But, once again, wait until the semester starts, because maybe you can get it from your big sib.
SuzieQ3417 said:
I also have no clue what do to about the vaccination form. I have the dates somewhere, but I'm not flying back to MO to have some doctor sign off on them. Does that mean I have to pay the fee to have them test me? <sigh>
I still have NOT filled out this stupid form. I guess I should look at it a little closer. I like the insurance coverage that I have now...I'm thinking of sticking with it.
