University of Oklahoma -- all peeps -- part 2

[Mr. Freeze]

But too be fair, even Chung himself didn't specifically recommend his own book. He recommended the same ones to us that ODon has this year.

I think what will become pretty obvious as, in particular for us MS2's, the process continues is that the knowledge is the knowledge. Without as much circular ambiguity, anatomy is anatomy and where you learn it is pretty irrelevant. Everyone has a different style. I learned quite a bit from checking out a techniques page for doing regional anesthesia blocks. I don't know if it helped come test block, but it helped some things come together for me personally. As did looking at a coloring book my dad got me at Ratcliffe's when I was like 8 (and ratcliffe's was in the library) and an old A&P book from OSU-OKC's EMS program.

For all the grumbling I probably do (and much more that I hear), I dare you to find someone more willing to do what it takes to help you to learn what he wants you to learn. I don't know of very many people that'll come down to the lab at whatever time is convenient for you and go over stuff ad nauseum. However, I did find this place on the Isle...which brought back traumatic feelings about the last block...

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[Jwax]

Tomasek is a really good lecturer, and yeah, embryo's a nice break from anatomy and biochem. It was one of my least hated classes for last fall.

Bad news is that the schedule you like isn't going to happen. In the fall, neuro and phys meet every day each for 2 hours, and this year, IHI meets every day. Of course if you homeschool, the official schedule's a non-issue.

How was lab today for the people in groups A and B?

I haven't finished catching up yet, but I did want to comment on this.

I was heartbroken by lab... my cadaver is highly, highly chemically over-treated and I couldn't dissect for longer than about 3 minutes before tears and snot were streaming down my face... I'm allergic to my cadaver. It was sooooo bad. I have no clue how to deal with this issue. I couldn't even get in there to just look for any longer than a couple of minutes before my eyes welled up. I'm going to dose up on Benedryll before lab Monday to see if that helps. Next try is to get some heavy duty googles (covering nose and eyes) to see if that will work. If not, I may have to try and switch bodies, which I really don't want to do. I really liked the family I met, and I don't want to switch to someone else's. I'm really down about this because I am one of those weirdo's that really does like anatomy. **Editting to add that while I really like anatomy, I strongly feel 3 hours of lab twice a week is waaaay too F***ing much. I did that last semester in undergrad and it made me homicidal. As much as I like the idea of being a surgeon, realistically I have learned in part from anatomy lab that standing and cutting someone for more than 1.5 hours is more than I can handle. Maybe it is less painful when you are operating on someone who is alive and isn't highly chemically treated...

Thus far, biochem is tedious (although I really like Leon) and embryo is terribly dull. I think if I were preggers, I might like embryo more but that's a loooong way down the road. I actually really enjoy PCM so far, too. Our clinician is great - I actually went to children's on sat. to follow her & her residents around for awhile. I like being in the hospital a whole lot more with a white coat , although it dawned on me on Saturday that soon these docs will actually expect me to know something...

 

[Jwax]

God I'm in a sh*tty mood today. I feel like drop-kicking a few puppies or stickin a f*ckin bunny in the garbage disposal.

On a lighter note, living at the university village, I get to see lots of the "who's f*cking who"...
eg...toga party last night, today I see a guy from my mod and another classmate leaving his apartment around 10am walking her to her car, doing the "ok b*tch it's time for you to go" shuffle....her hair all messed up and him dressed in the usual morning-after-dont-give-a-****-what-she-thinks outfit since I already tagged it.

So I walk outside and catch him on his way back to his apt and say "Hey! Found a friend huh? " He was kinda "umm...ahhh..ummm....yea"....I say "isn't that so-and so?"

oh well
Ya gotta love those "just add booze" chicks

Fabulous. You will be my source of gossip all year long. I like hearing everyone else's dirt. Points for describing your classmates as "just add booze" chicks.

I liked the toga party. I enjoyed getting to wear something revealing when introducing myself to Leon . I would definitely say that there are a lot of med students that look good in a toga.

 

[soonereng]

I would definitely say that there are a lot of med students that look good in a toga.

Glad I didn't go and blow that one for you....

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

But too be fair, even Chung himself didn't specifically recommend his own book. He recommended the same ones to us that ODon has this year.

I was told by some sources who seemed reasonably knowledgeable about the inside scoop that instructors cannot require you to buy a text that they're getting royalties on. Don't know if that's true, but it actually makes sense.
BTW, that's a great pic!

I was heartbroken by lab... my cadaver is highly, highly chemically over-treated and I couldn't dissect for longer than about 3 minutes before tears and snot were streaming down my face... I'm allergic to my cadaver.

I'd bet that will dissipate over the next couple of weeks - your cadaver may have been tightly wrapped. They're all pickled in phenol - they don't use formaldehyde anymore (thus, the rancid chubby cadavers at the end of the semester who smelled - well, rank). You can wear goggles - I wore soft contacts which is a no-no but I never had problems except for a little sting when I stuck my face in the cadaver. You'd have to wear a canister respirator to completely eliminate exposure, but covering your eyes may prevent the snot attacks, also. I'm just glad to hear that I'm not the only one who thought twice-a-week dissecting afternoons ranked right up there with having my toenails ripped out. You'll make it.

 

[Jwax]

Also wanted to vent a minor complaint about notegroups. I know we're just getting used to the system and all... BUT my notes that I typed up during class while surfing the internet (ie facebook, myspace, etc) were far more detailed than all of the notegroups posted thus far for biochem at least. Haven't viewed the others yet, but it seems ackward that mine should be better than the notegroups. I guess it just validates my belief that I really ought to attend biochem. The lack of powerpoint slides also validates this belief. Embryo has overkill w/slides posted & detailed syllabus & a nice little book... so that class is really not going to happen. Besides, I'm so very much uninterested in OB/GYN, which I think the class would be a wee bit more essential for.

I hope you're right, NTT, and the phenol effect diminishes over time. Otherwise, life is going to suck for the next 4.5 months... not that I was expecting it would be all that great in the first place .

 

[soonereng]

Also wanted to vent a minor complaint about notegroups. I know we're just getting used to the system and all... BUT my notes that I typed up during class while surfing the internet (ie facebook, myspace, etc) were far more detailed than all of the notegroups posted thus far for biochem at least.

Well, to be honest Jwax, the notes that you gave me for cell bio this past spring were so detailed I really wouldn't have had to go to class if Dr. O didn't give the quizzes. You take extremely detailed notes.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

With all due respect to NTT, I feel the need to clarify his most recent post. He said the smell will "dissipate". I don't know that it does that as much you just absorb it into your pores and inhale it in little chunks, "tidal quanta" if you will, and then translocate it throughout BSEB and all points beyond...it's more of an active process, dependent on bipedal carrier megamolecules.

I think this will be a lot like quitting smoking; you don't realize how bad you reeked until you quit...

My advice is, when your lips go numb, scoot back a little. That and keep your mouth shut on cranium day.

 

[Non-TradTulsa]

He said the smell will "dissipate". I don't know that it does that as much you just absorb it into your pores and inhale it in little chunks, "tidal quanta" if you will, and then translocate it throughout BSEB and all points beyond...it's more of an active process, dependent on bipedal carrier megamolecules.

LMAO!!! I was afraid I'd be accused of scaring the newbies too much. Soonereng can tell ya - when I visited their mod, I decided to lay some truth on 'em. Judging from the looks I got, you just have to experience MS-I for yourself, no matter what anybody says. But, yes, I've washed my old lab coat half a dozen times and I still have a little cadaver reminder in the recesses of my closet.

I didn't want to tell Jwax that, last year, I bought a new shower curtain liner that put off a formaldehyde odor for a month - normally it's not that bad of a smell off something new and clean, but I had to suppress dry heaves every morning for weeks. Pavolvian something or other, no doubt...

 

[Amxcvbcv]

Also wanted to vent a minor complaint about notegroups. I know we're just getting used to the system and all... BUT my notes that I typed up during class while surfing the internet (ie facebook, myspace, etc) were far more detailed than all of the notegroups posted thus far for biochem at least. Haven't viewed the others yet, but it seems ackward that mine should be better than the notegroups. I guess it just validates my belief that I really ought to attend biochem. The lack of powerpoint slides also validates this belief. Embryo has overkill w/slides posted & detailed syllabus & a nice little book... so that class is really not going to happen. Besides, I'm so very much uninterested in OB/GYN, which I think the class would be a wee bit more essential for.

I hope you're right, NTT, and the phenol effect diminishes over time. Otherwise, life is going to suck for the next 4.5 months... not that I was expecting it would be all that great in the first place .

Don't underestimate the importance of embryo. It will make anatomy much easier, particularly when you get into organogenesis. Embryological origins and maldevelopment issues are also high yield for Step 1. Sometimes it's more important to know how something got to where it is than what it is.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Don't underestimate the importance of embryo. It will make anatomy much easier, particularly when you get into organogenesis. Embryological origins and maldevelopment issues are also high yield for Step 1. Sometimes it's more important to know how something got to where it is than what it is.

This is true. It's not apparent the first test block, but you'll get it with the second and third test block. Embryo's designed to be reinforcing of anatomy topics -- it's just they have to get all the basics out of the way at first. Also, while it's nowhere near as big of a time commitment as the other classes, it can be a real struggle if you totally blow it off (assuming you don't know it already). I know a few people who barely passed.

I've got to admit that embryo was the scare the cr@p out of me class last fall. The first part of the material just did not come easily for me, so I had to work on it. I remember sitting outside the BSEB last fall studying embryo about a week or so before the test block. This guy at the table by me was totally shocked -- he just didn't expect anybody to actually study it.

As for biochem, most of the professors after Leon supply powerpoints.

 

[soonereng]

As for biochem, most of the professors after Leon supply powerpoints.

Speaking of which, I think I made the right decision in staying home for Leon today. I covered both purine and pyrimidine chapters in Lippincott's AND Harper's reviews in 1.5 hr. Plus now, I can listen to Leon at 1.5-2x on the mp3 to speed it up to more my pace to see if he covered anything else that I haven't learned already, like cGMP and Viagra mechanisms.

I'm liking this homeschooling: much more efficient for me. Now if I just didn't have to go to anatomy lecture...

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Speaking of which, I think I made the right decision in staying home for Leon today. I covered both purine and pyrimidine chapters in Lippincott's AND Harper's reviews in 1.5 hr. Plus now, I can listen to Leon at 1.5-2x on the mp3 to speed it up to more my pace to see if he covered anything else that I haven't learned already, like cGMP and Viagra mechanisms.

I'm liking this homeschooling: much more efficient for me. Now if I just didn't have to go to anatomy lecture...

The force is strong with this one...

 

[Jwax]

Well, to be honest Jwax, the notes that you gave me for cell bio this past spring were so detailed I really wouldn't have had to go to class if Dr. O didn't give the quizzes. You take extremely detailed notes.

Oh... sorry about that! I really have always assumed that everyone else liked their notes like that. Hmm just me then. I guess I'll be the one pissing everyone off after I do notegroups b/c I'll write down every flippin word they say. I am mid-replaying the lecture from anatomy today on the CNS (good call on this being the first WTF lecture, dr. bagel) because O don was talking so damn fast and I didn't understand the majority of it. Then the kid who posted the notes mentioned he thought he got everything important on his notes and again, my notes are more detailed... I apparently have issues. Oh, well. It's the whole "Do whatever works for you" mantra, although it may mean more class attendance than originally desired/intended.

My whole point on coming on right now was to make fun of myself. While re-watching today's anatomy lecture, I am still laughing out loud at the jokes O'don made (ie: I'm going to write a letter [long pause]. Dear Mom....)

Then I thought I'd also add that I'm already developing medical student syndrome. My right knee was hurting so bad this weekend (I got a patella-femoral syndrome diagnosis a few years ago). I could almost not walk on it and I couldn't extend my leg all the way (had to keep maybe 25-30 degree angle). Finally threw a heating pad on it for a few hours and it let up on Sunday. Today, my left shoulder joint is aching. I started thinking, hmm my joints hurt and NSAIDs help... maybe I have gout? Then I ruled it out because it didn't start with my great toe.

Also, thanks for the advice on embryo. Yes, I will also be one of the people who needs to study it a week before TB b/c it isn't just common sense to me either. I just strongly feel there is little to no need to attend class. Maybe I will try better this wednesday to actually listen and follow along in the mod.

Oh, and the cadaver didn't make me cry today. I took 3 benedryll an hour before lab and it just stung my eyes a little. So, either we've absorbed enough of her already, the drugs helped, or I just wasn't dissecting enough.. but I didn't die today.

 

[Jwax]

Well, to be honest Jwax, the notes that you gave me for cell bio this past spring were so detailed I really wouldn't have had to go to class if Dr. O didn't give the quizzes. You take extremely detailed notes.

Now that I've spent an addition 1.5 hours / 2 hours going back over today's insane CNS lecture, I just wanted to let you know that my notes are 14 pages long for both of today's lectures... and I have gone back to edit the vert. lecture (I couldn't type as fast as Vogel switched slides).

So, if you need better details from the CNS lecture and don't want to read the book, I'm your gal.

 

[soonereng]

Now that I've spent an addition 1.5 hours / 2 hours going back over today's insane CNS lecture, I just wanted to let you know that my notes are 14 pages long for both of today's lectures... and I have gone back to edit the vert. lecture (I couldn't type as fast as Vogel switched slides).

So, if you need better details from the CNS lecture and don't want to read the book, I'm your gal.

Awesome. Yeah, I had to go back and watch that lecture again too. I'm going to try to read Moore's to see if it is making sense now. If that doesn't work I'll give your notes a try.

Oh and I thought O'Don was funny yesterday too.

 

[soonereng]

Oh... sorry about that! I really have always assumed that everyone else liked their notes like that.

Nothing to be sorry about. I liked having notes that were that detailed. I just don't typically make mine quite that detailed. That's why I wanted to be a taper for my mod, but someone else beat me to it.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Nothing to be sorry about. I liked having notes that were that detailed. I just don't typically make mine quite that detailed. That's why I wanted to be a taper for my mod, but someone else beat me to it.

I guess you guys haven't reached that point yet, but most people start selling off their notegroups. You'll figure out who's willing to do it and how much to pay them. So while being a taper's better, you can still get out of notegroups for a little bit of money.

 

[SoonerGeek]

Jwax, if you don't care for the notes and are writing your own anyway, you could stand to turn a tidy profit by offering your services. In fact most people would prefer your detailed notes I think. Just a thought... I know one fellow last year made pretty good money doing it that way.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Go me -- I just made a D on our first POPS quiz. The story of my med school life is if it doesn't happen during exam block, I suck at it.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Go me -- I just made a D on our first POPS quiz. The story of my med school life is if it doesn't happen during exam block, I suck at it.

Um, yeah. So my life is the opposite. I'll trade ya!

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Um, yeah. So my life is the opposite. I'll trade ya!

Nah, I think I'll stick with sucking on the 1.5% of the class. Hmm, maybe I should study for the next one.

 

[Jwax]

Jwax, if you don't care for the notes and are writing your own anyway, you could stand to turn a tidy profit by offering your services. In fact most people would prefer your detailed notes I think. Just a thought... I know one fellow last year made pretty good money doing it that way.

You know... I didn't even think about until Dr. bagel started mentioning the selling the notegroups. Right now, I've just been offering my notes to my modmates & anatomy lab partners. I think that this would be an excellent idea, since I'm pretty much going to do it anyways. I just might result in my being forced to attend classes I don't want to go to (uh hem... embryo / hb). Good thought! I think I'll try to capitlize. God knows we need the money with a wedding coming up . Weddings = expensive. My wonderful vet gave me some wise words today, "Money can't buy you happiness... but you can rent it."

So... how much do I ask for to do notegroups? Second years have some advice here?

 

[oudoc08]

People were charging between 25 and 50 dollars per hour of notegroup when I was MS1/MS2. I'd say most were around 35 or so on average. You could stand to make a pretty chunk of change if you didn't mind doing them.

Please do everyone a favor though if you do. I don't know how you take notes, but people will grow to hate those individuals who submit 10 page notegroups for each hour.

A good goal to shoot for, IMO is an average of 3-4 pages per hour of lecture.
Some can be done in 2 pages, some take a few more, but there were people in our class who literally did 15 pages per hour. That's alot of tree to shuffle through come block time.
Also, don't repeat the syllabus verbatim, it's irritating to read the exact same thing twice.
Include the juicy "these will be on the test" tidbits, as well as things which clarify the syllabus, just don't repeat the syllabus.
(My humble .02 from the past)
Good luck to all the new MS1's.

 

[oudoc08]

.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

Oudoc's notegroup comments are pretty much spot on.

Jwax, if you want to take on a commercial notegroups thing (which can be a good money maker), you can just post your offering price on Hippo. However, you've got to know when to say no and not to overextend yourself. We had a guy last year who took on way too many note assignments, and it wound up being sort of a mess. Actually I think he could have lost some money on the deal because he got tons of fines for turning in the notes late.

 

[Jwax]

Please do everyone a favor though if you do. I don't know how you take notes, but people will grow to hate those individuals who submit 10 page notegroups for each hour.

A good goal to shoot for, IMO is an average of 3-4 pages per hour of lecture.
Some can be done in 2 pages, some take a few more, but there were people in our class who literally did 15 pages per hour. That's alot of tree to shuffle through come block time.

Thanks for the advice.

I wish you'd read the other comments above about how I write ridiculously detailed notes... My notes from anatomy's 2 lectures on monday about the vertebrae and the nervous systems ended out at 18 pages long after re-viewing the lectures again (2 hours for the one hour of the CNS lecture) followed by reviewing the relavent material from Moore's. Although, I think my average note length may be more like 5-7 pages.

So.....

Should I reconsider the offer to do the notegroups so I don't piss everyone who wants/expects 3-4 pages of notes?

In my world, you just can't get anything out of 4 pages of notes. You might as well just read the syllabus or the powerpoint slides instead of notegroups.

 

[Mr. Freeze]

Oudoc's notegroup comments are pretty much spot on.

Jwax, if you want to take on a commercial notegroups thing (which can be a good money maker), you can just post your offering price on Hippo. However, you've got to know when to say no and not to overextend yourself. We had a guy last year who took on way too many note assignments, and it wound up being sort of a mess. Actually I think he could have lost some money on the deal because he got tons of fines for turning in the notes late.

I'm not much of an economist, but I think if you are over-extended from demand, you aren't charging enough. Therefore, Wax, I'd start out high enough you don't have much business. Then you can adjust 'til you feel the workload is fair. Then raise it when everyone sees how cool your notes are. But yeah, too much detail is almost as bad as not enough.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

I'm not much of an economist, but I think if you are over-extended from demand, you aren't charging enough. Therefore, Wax, I'd start out high enough you don't have much business. Then you can adjust 'til you feel the workload is fair. Then raise it when everyone sees how cool your notes are. But yeah, too much detail is almost as bad as not enough.

True, our notegroup overextended guy undercut pretty much everybody, so he got all the jobs.

My thought about notegroups are that I like them to supplement the syllabus and powerpoints, not replace them, so I want to know what the professor emphasized, any hints about what would or wouldn't be on the test and a general picture of what was covered in the lecture. I'm with oudoc in that 4 pages seems to be around the perfect notegroup size for me. Word for word verbatim notegroups drive me especially batty, but then I'm lazy.

 

[oudoc08]

I think my average note length may be more like 5-7 pages.

That's probably tolerable if you write a good notegroup, just try to pare out the stuff that's in the syllabus, and write in a quickly readable shorthand.

Also, material written in paragraph form tends to add alot of unnecessary fluff and is a good way to unnecessarily lengthen a notegroup.

Also, remember that while explaining difficult topics is important, overly explaining those that are obviously not is a waste of paper, and will be viewed as being pandering and overly wordy. You don't want to be one of those people that are viewed as liking to hear yourself talk (or write). Just remember your classmates are all pretty smart and most were probably, like you, irritated at the pace and redundancy of undergrad course work. They will appreciate the finely tuned brevity of a quality notegroup.

If you write notegroups as a part-time job, and do a good job at it, your class will appreciate it very much. There are always those people who write great notegroups, those that write overly long notegroups and those that write a 1/2 page that basically says hi and bye. My advice is after you've written a few, to ask other people outside of your mod for suggestions for improvements (the discussion board is a good place and people tend to be a bit more honest on a discussion board).

all the best

 

[Jwax]

You don't want to be one of those people that are viewed as liking to hear yourself talk (or write).

How did you know?

Yeah, I'm kinda wordy....

Anyways, thanks all of you for the advice!!!! I've offered my services. We'll see what happens.

 

[njbmd]

This thread now has 981 posts and I will close at 1,000 posts. One of you regular posters needs to start a Part III thread as this one will be closed at 1,000.

 

[soonereng]

This thread now has 981 posts and I will close at 1,000 posts. One of you regular posters needs to start a Part III thread as this one will be closed at 1,000.

So, DB you going to start a new thread?

 

[Doctor Bagel]

So, DB you going to start a new thread?

I'll do it if nobody else does. Ah, heck I'll go do it now. It'd be a shame if the thread got locked before we got a new thread.

 

[njbmd]

New Thread up so post there: University of Oklahoma Part 3

This one is closed.