What is the point?

[Nanon]

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What is the point of memorizing every freaking enzyme and reaction mechanism of TCA, glycolysis, and every other pathway they shove down our throats in biochem? Does anyone actually remember this stuff a nanosecond past the time they walk out of a test? I mean, yes. We need to know that these pathways exist, and why they're important. But I don't think that my life or anyone else's will depend on me knowing every stupid step and product of TCA by heart. There are books for that. I am a college student. I can look it up, if I need to, later in life. But I won't.

It just feels like a god-awful waste of time and brain space, and it's boring, too. I'm running out of patience. Please prove me wrong...

Nanon

 

[Street Philosopher]

there is no point. sorry.

 

[Nanon]

I thought so. 😡

 

[lady bug]

I feel the same way. Even though you may get bogged down in memorizing all this for the exam, what's really important is that you walk way with the 'big picture' and have a general understanding of the biochemistry as it actually relates to what takes place in living systems. Last week I was studying a chapter on hemoglobin/myoglobin and memorizing all this crap about the oxygenation/deoxygenation in its different conformational states....then I was shadowing a plastic surgeon and he pointed out a hemociderin acculumation in a patient and explained how it happened.....I thought that was pretty cool (not to sound arrogant or anything), but I was exited that I could actually see a purpose to what I was studying.

 

[DrM]

While it is doubtful that anybody actually remembers 'all' the details of a given pathway etc., Having studied it at least once allows for future recognition and subsequent quick revision. Furthermore many diseases and cures involve complex biochemical systems. Not having been fully exposed to biochemical pathways and nomenclature etc. could make medically related Journal reading and future research pretty darn tedious.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

I was just interviewing at Case and some of the first years were telling me about this video the second years made for them. They went around the teaching hospital with a video camera asking doctors random biochem questions, and none of them knew the answers. They also made a video of a bunch of their professors doin' the "WAAASSSAAAPPPP" thing. Damn, I want to go there.

 

[Resident Alien]

Sure was funny

 

[siempre595]

They just want to see if you CAN remember stuff. That's the only point. That, and you never know when you'll need to explain aldolase to a patient 30 years from now.....yea, right.

 

[Resident Alien]

well, there is such a thing as medical biochemistry....it helps you in some specialties of internal medicine. Dont bash it that bad....or you wont know what happens in alcaptonuria, lesh-nyhan syndrome, and maple-syrup urine disease.

😉

 

[Nanon]

Being the eternal optimist, I have had faith thus far that there is some purpose to every mind-numbing educational hoop I've jumped through... but for the last two weeks I've been memorizing enzymatic pathways - long ones. At least 25. They're all starting to blend together.

I understand the importance of being aware of these pathways and what they do. I'm a "big picture" kind of girl. I just get easily frustrated at memorizing minutia in an intellectual vacuum. I guess I better get used to it. 😉

Nanon

 

[mikecwru]

Originally posted by Doctor Octopus
I was just interviewing at Case and some of the first years were telling me about this video the second years made for them. They went around the teaching hospital with a video camera asking doctors random biochem questions, and none of them knew the answers. They also made a video of a bunch of their professors doin' the "WAAASSSAAAPPPP" thing. Damn, I want to go there.

If it's the one I remember---the one that was made when we were second years, they ask this older doctor about how many ATP you can get from glucose.

His response:

"How in the hell can you get ATP from glucose?"

mike

 

[Meridian]

i like memorizing.. i wish there was more stuff to memorize..

 

[Iffy premed]

Originally posted by mikecwru
If it's the one I remember---the one that was made when we were second years, they ask this older doctor about how many ATP you can get from glucose.

His response:

"How in the hell can you get ATP from glucose?"

mike

HAHAHA
I would love to have that doctor interview me, then I am sure there will be no hard, pricky research questions

 

[Adcadet]

no, the old guy is right. I see no way, at least in a human body, that you can get O,O-dinonyl-N-phenylnaphthylamidothiophosphate
from glucose.

(http://www.chemie.fu-berlin.de/cgi-bin/acronym?atp)

 

[PelicanMan]

I disagree. Now this may be just me, but a big part of biochemisty has to do with how it is taught. I had a really good biochemistry teacher for parts of the course.

If you understand the biochemical pathways, you see what would go wrong if there was a problem in a certain step in the process.

For me I like to understand on a molecular level why someone gets sick. That is why its important to understand biochemisty and the pathways.

For me its pretty interesting too, but I know that I am probably in the minority.

Everyone is going to have to take classes they don't like. But by doing that it helps you decide on what kind of career you want or what kind of doctor you want to be.

Look at things in a positive way.
I guess I'm in a really good mood, and can't wait to start medical school, and right now i'm out of school and bored.

Just the PelicanMans ideas