What I Wish Others Had Told Me

On the eve of our first day of classes, I thought I would bestow some of my limited wisdom upon incoming first semesters. In a previous entry I recall that I advised that you should never fall behind on your lectures. I think this is still sound advice. As one approaches a mini, it feels as though everything falls apart. Lectures will be added after noon, you will be in the anatomy group that has to dissect just before the exam, practicals will sneak up on you (particularly histology lab), your electricity will be running low and your water payment will be due. The other piece of advice I have previously suggested is that on either Saturday or Sunday it is important to review all the material covered in that week.


Mini 1

Your focus should be: Biochemistry and Histology

The first exam for first semester students (Mini 1) is packed with biochemistry and histology. These should be your primary focus. In my opinion, the biochemistry and the histology material for the first exam are the hardest you will face in the semester. Scoring well on biochemistry and histology on mini 1 puts you in good shape to have straight A’s or at least assuring a passing grade. Failing the biochemistry (below MPS) on the biochemistry for Mini 1 drastically hinders your ability to pass the semester. I should say, it is NOT impossible or even unlikely but it is difficult to dig yourself out of a hole that was worth so much of your final grade (35%). Furthermore, mini 2 and mini 3 carry a combined 30 % of your total grade and cannot completely make up for bad scores on mini 1. Finally the CUMULATIVE final is worth (35%) and by most people’s accounts (including my own), the final will only hurt your grade as it is nearly impossible to cover and learn all the material you learned in the entire semesters in the 3 or 4 days they allot to studying for the final. Also, don’t forget the other 4 classes you are studying for.

Histology is next in importance. Once again in my opinion, it is the most difficult of the material for the semester. The reason Histology is not as important as biochemistry on mini 1 is because all mini’s basically carry equal weight. Also in the long run Histology also has a laboratory component which is a grade booster with adequate study.

Anatomy is only worth 10% of your total anatomy grade. Also, anatomy, like histology, has a laboratory component to your grade, as well as an attendance component for your final grade. In my opinion it is important to do well on the practicals and as best as possible on the minis but the crux of your focus should not be anatomy.

Physiology is not tested on mini 1.


Mini 2

The focus on mini 2 is a tricky business because it obviously depends on your strengths and weaknesses from Mini 1. Almost certainly the majority of individuals will be concerned about their biochemistry grade, as they should be. If your Biochemistry grade was below MPS or just above MPS, this is YOUR ONLY opportunity to really improve your biochemistry grade. Mini 2 biochemistry is worth 20% of your grade, while mini 3 is only 5%. Also, in my opinion, I believe the material covered in mini 2 is the easiest of material covered in the semester (metabolism, hemoglobin, plasma proteins, clotting cascade, genetics). Your aim should be in the seventies on this mini, especially if you fell below MPS on mini 1.

Once again I think the focus should be on histology as well. The material for the second and third mini are equally difficult but the material for the second mini is taught by Dr. Yin who asks questions that are very straightforward (NOT EASY). You must know her material, but if you know it, she does not write questions meant to confuse you or test miniscule concepts. She asks a lot of first order and big picture items.

Once again I don’t think anatomy should be your main focus. Evaluate your individual situation including your lab grades to determine how much focus YOU need to spend on anatomy. My personal situation was that I devoted the least amount of time to anatomy and DPS.

Physiology is quite important on this mini for several reasons. For one, it is worth 25% of your grade. The material taught in mini 2 for physiology is important to form a solid foundation for the material in mini 3. Believe it or not a lot of the concepts you learn in cardiovascular physiology is consistent with pulmonary physiology covered in mini 3. I think Physiology is important in this mini. My advice is to give Biochemistry and Histology your focus. But if you did really poorly in biochemistry in mini 1 your focus should be biochemistry, as it is the class most people fail. Also there is plenty of room for improvement in Physiology as mini 3 the exam is worth 45% and the final is 25% I believe. In other words, the majority of your grade is still out.


Mini 3

Without a doubt your focus on mini 3 should be on Physiology. 45% of your grade is just much too important to make it second in importance. Also, biochemistry on mini 3 is only 5%.

If your biochemistry grade continues to suffer, the 5% of biochemistry for mini 3 can be extremely deceiving. Most people, I know who failed biochemistry, did so by 1, 2, or 3 %. Right away, it becomes obvious what a difference these 5% can make. Make biochemistry a major focus if you are in this situation.


Final

I am one of those who tried to cover all the material in depth for each class. It is not possible. Focus on high-yield material, focus on material you previously had trouble with. Focus on those classes you are most in danger of failing, or those you are closest to the next letter grade. Plan on having 3 or 4 days of study time, and therefore plan on covering all the material covered in the semester for 2 classes in one day. My schedule looked like the one below.

Day 1: Neuroscience (turned out to be only 1 or 2 questions) and Physiology

Day 2: Histology and Embryology

Day 3: Biochemistry and Anatomy

And DPS the day of the exam.

I must admit, I could not accomplish that schedule in the end I was only able to study for Biochemistry, Histology, minimally for embryology and I did not cover any anatomy or physiology. I felt confident in my knowledge in physiology as I did fairly well on mini 2 and mini 3 and the bulk of the material was on mini 3 and I had just learned it.

At the end of the day, my advice above is just that what I believe and what worked for me. I hope it helps those 1st semesters who read it or if not at least my hope is that it will stimulate you to think about what you need to do focus on for you to maintain the grades you want.

Have a great semester and good luck,
Michael

Back on the Island (Safe but not yet Sound)

As I had predicted a week ago. Leaving home today for the start of a new semester was much more difficult than it was last time. It felt as though there was a gloomy conclusion at every step of my vacation. The last time I would see my parents, sister, pets, family and friends (though I still did not get to see all of them… Sorry Alex and Judy) and even minute things like the last time I would see my hometown of Miami for four months.

I have come to the realization that I do not hate Dominica as much as it may seem, instead, I hate what comes with it. Although I am actually excited about a new semester, I know that with it comes never-ending studying and once it begins all we could do is hold on.

I realized once I arrived in Puerto Rico that I did not do almost any of the things I was supposed to do in Miami. Yeah, I did the necessary grocery shopping and it will arrive here in a few weeks via a barrel, but I wanted to exchange my Vonage V-phone which had been acting up toward the latter months of first semester, I wanted to purchase a backup laptop, and get a haircut. Also, I have an uncle who is very ill in the hospital and I wish I could stay behind and at least serve as company (since we have not learned anything about the pancreas just yet) for my family members. Nonetheless, I did a lot of what I missed I saw a movie at an actual “movie theater,” imagine that. I made compulsory food purchases such as chocolate milk, Reese’s peanut butter cups, crema de leche, coldstone strawberry cake, and a dairy queen’s caramel sundae. I was able to stabilize my saltwater and freshwater aquariums for my mom and sister who are taking care of them for me. I went to see my little cousin’s (max and missy’s) soccer game where he scored the winning goal to advance to the finals. I spent a nice day at the beach with my dad, sister and his dog, Bella. Come to think of it, I did a lot on my short vacation.

I have been home about 3 hours and have already set up my notebooks, cleaned my room, unpacked and am ready to begin the semester. From here till Monday when school starts we will register for classes and enjoy each other’s company. To all of you back home, thanks for going out of your way to make my stay that much more enjoyable and the journey back to Dominica that much harder to bare. I had a great time. See you in 4 months! August 25th is only 109 days away (yes, I counted)!

Until next time,
Mike