What to do?

[orthoman5000]

Well here is my situation. I basically have to average an 87.5% on my head and neck written and practical, and get 87.5% (more or less depending on the head and neck results) of the total points possible for the Gross Anatomy NBME in order to pass the class with a D. The real kicker is that if I fail this one class I will also have to repeat Microanatomy which I think I got a D in (NBME isn't back yet, so I don't know the final grade). As you can't repeat two classes in the Summer I would have to repeat the whole first year again. I've had a hard time adjusting to medical school, had some personal problems, and not the best study methods last semester and it snowballed during the 2 anatomy classes and I ended up in this situation.

Basically my question is what have others found to be the best way to score the very highest possible on Anatomy exams. I'm starting to work on the mindmapping techniques I read about in the Success Types book and I'm going to work lots of old test questions (including the computer question bank that our course director wrote). I'm planning on doing an old question analysis like is written about in the Success Types book. My main question is how to best study for the practical exams, as it was one practical exam that is a large part of why I'm in this situation.

I'm not the most optimistic about this because I hear head and neck is the hardest section and I've got to make a grade about 28% higher than all I've done up to this point.

Wost case scenario is I repeat the year and get my stuff together and kick butt from here on out, but I don't want to be a year behind all the friends I've already made.

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[orthoman5000]

As a side note does anyone have any success stories of someone who had to repeat their first year, did really well from then on out, killed the boards and got into a competetive residency like orthopaedic surgery? Right now with my love of physiology and disdain for gross anatomy I'm thinking Internal Medicine or a subspecialty might be my calling anyway, but any encouragement would be helpful

BTW, at my school if you fail one class you have to repeat it and everything you make a D in also. Thats why failing one class would cause me to have to repeat two classes.

 

[LeslieKay]

Sorry, I don't have much advice for anatomy, except to draw out everything you can and repeat that over and over (i.e. cranial nerves, blood vessels). I did want to tell you that the dean of our medical school failed his first year and had to repeat it! So, as you can see, it didn't seem to affect his career at all.

 

[uffda]

what might help you get started is to analyze where you have trouble with anatomy - and then look for study aids for that area -
for example let's say there are 3 kinds of questions (you may identify more) :
1) identification
- Q: identify
A: name of structure pinned / at pointer

2) related information
- Q: insertion/origin/innervation/action
A: as appropriate

3) applying knowledge
- Q: pt has numbness & tingling on 3rd & 4th digit - what nerve would be involved? /
pt. cannot track with eye laterally - what nerve?
A: as appropriate

do you know which kinds of recall give you the most trouble?

 

[orthoman5000]

Well the good news is that I just found out that I did pass Microantomy with a 70.2% (69.5% is passing), so at least I still have a chance for promotion, just have to nail these gross anatomy tests.

 

[Gator05]

Orthoman5000,

i'm very curious about what's drawing you into orthopedics. The type of thinking needed in ortho seems pretty different from your interests in physiology; of course, this could have no bearing on your future specialty. Funny, though, at our school many of the ones who loved anatomy were also the ones who are keenly interested in surgery. Not a rule, mind you, but a trend.

Every now and then, I wonder how many med students try to find their specialty, or let their specialty find them?

Best of luck!

 

[Digginit]

Hey Orthoman....

Tank questions....Tank questions....Tank questions. That written exam last year (I'm in the class ahead of you) wasn't really so bad. The practical was tough, though. Know the inside of that head any way you can turn it. They'll get ya' pretty disoriented. It's one exam that I'd spend a lot of extra time in the lab for. Put everything you've got into it!

Good luck!

Lindsey

 

[orthoman5000]

Originally posted by Gator05
Orthoman5000,

i'm very curious about what's drawing you into orthopedics. The type of thinking needed in ortho seems pretty different from your interests in physiology; of course, this could have no bearing on your future specialty. Funny, though, at our school many of the ones who loved anatomy were also the ones who are keenly interested in surgery. Not a rule, mind you, but a trend.

Every now and then, I wonder how many med students try to find their specialty, or let their specialty find them?

Best of luck!

Well, my interest in orthopedics comes from my background as a college track and field athlete and my interest in sports medicine. I also find the concept of surgery interesting and like the thought of getting to do all that sawing, chiseling, and cutting. Thus the handle "Orthoman5000" comes from before I started medical school. Now that I'm here I'm finding that maybe I don't want to be a surgeon as much as I'd previously thought. Thats why I said that Internal Medicine or an Internal Medicine subspeciality might be more my calling anyway. Those would both be more in line with my preference for physiology over anatomy.

So right now, I'm not really claiming I want to be an orthopaedic surgeon. I just used it as an example of a competetive specialty when asking if it's possible for someone who had to repeat their first year to get into one. I'd like to keep myself as competetive as possible (given the circumstances) just in case I do find that I really love a "competitive" specialty when I do experience them during my 3rd year rotations.

 

[orthoman5000]

Originally posted by Digginit
Hey Orthoman....

Tank questions....Tank questions....Tank questions. That written exam last year (I'm in the class ahead of you) wasn't really so bad. The practical was tough, though. Know the inside of that head any way you can turn it. They'll get ya' pretty disoriented. It's one exam that I'd spend a lot of extra time in the lab for. Put everything you've got into it!

Good luck!

Lindsey

I used the Tank questions quite a bit for the first test and did O.K. on it (it was tests 2 and 3 that killed me). So my plan is to work them until I know them inside and out, along with the old test questions from the book your class sold us. It is the practical that scares me though.

 

[AznTrojan]

thank god for me.. anatomy is over..

although i didn't do well at all in practicals.. i aced all the written gross anatomy exams.. i've always believed it's not necessarily the content but rather the testing methods that screwed me over... e.g. who the hell is ever going to see an upside down inverted kidney and ask what's touching this part of the kidney?? (sick gross antomy professor i tell ya).. heck. we had surgeons take the same test.. and they were pissed with our gross anatomy staff for giving us stupid crap like that.. but i digress..

the main thing that helped me was to spend LOTS of time in the anatomy lab.. and look at other cadavers/pro-sections.. and study w/ others that can pimp questions at you..

good luck to u

 

[Cody1MD]

Ortho:

Aside from the mandatory anatomy labs i went to, especially head and neck, I went back to the lab only once to do a final review. I used "Color Atlas of Anatomy" by Rohen and Yokochi. I used it while I dissected and was the only review book for my gross practile I used outside of lab. It has wonderful pictures and there is no other book out there that can match this one. But you still have to have a good foundation of anatomy, which "Clinically Oriented Anatomy" by Moore and Dalley provided. I hope this info helps u out, and best of luck.

I did very well in my practiles by using this metod.


=)

 

[darkmatter]

Try investing some time discussing lectures with someone who knows the material.

 

[Papa Boz]

Orthoman,

Congrats on microanatomy - one down... I was the drawing type in anatomy, and that worked great for me. Countless hours on the boards located in our gross labs were perfect for confirming that I understood what was going on (from board to body, board to body, etc...). I'd start there. Second, I've personally stolen many a lucky exam point from doing old test questions - but found they were worthless if I had no foundation for what they were asking (thus to the board first, then questions second). Cody1MD is right on with the Rohen atlas - it's awesome for seeing good anatomy from good dissections when the gross lab is closed (for a price). I used it mostly for preparing my dissections (to see what my hack job was supposed to look like), and for review on the last few days when the gross lab was closed as they prepared the practical. It's one of those things that is comforting to have, but not absolutely necessary. I'd caution against trying any entirely different study techniques (i.e. mind mapping), as it might take you too long to get in the groove of a new method of learning.

I feel pretty confident with this advice as a ANA grad student and gross tutor prior to med school - this seems to work well for people. That being said, I'm sure there are many other techniques that are equally effective. Find the one that works for you, but don't dwell too long on finding it.

Best of luck!