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Anatomy Advice


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Long story short: I couldn't get into the EMT-Basic summer program at my local community college. To remain productive this summer I am considering taking anatomy at the university I attend. 

 

My question is: How do you guys suggest that I study for this course? Please be specific. I hear flashcards are a must. Anything else? Also, have you guys found any particular youtube channels that may be useful for this subject?

 

Thank you

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memorize and regurgitate, write them down, repeat. this is helpful as some names are long or spelling is tricky. 

 

use the models and point out each anatomical part, instead of using the images. This will prove useful during practicals

 

watch youtube videos for basic understanding before you go into details.

 

work with classmates as you can often test each other and compensate for one another's weaknesses. 

 

Just a brainstorm of some of the things i did, hope this helps :)

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My A&P I professor repeated  "repetition is the mother of retention. Follow my advice and you cannot go wrong" during the entire semester.

  • DO NOT TAKE NOTES DURING CLASS, just pay attention 
  • Didn't take notes? That's okay, you payed attention while you recorded the lecture
  • Go home, listen to the lecture, take notes simultaneously, include pictures from google
  • Read, re-read, and re-read those notes
  • Flash cards (I only used them for the medical terminology portion of the class)
  • Attend open labs to avoid crowded lab space which gives you more time to really dive into the cat :P
  • I never used YouTube videos for A&P I...should've used it for A&P II because it was more physiology.
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I skipped 80 percent of my lectures and just went to lab and still got an A in the class. I did however  complete a year of General Biology and  course in Microbiology. But when I did go to class  I would just print the lecture slides and highlight anything in large font or bold lettering that came out the Professors mouth during lecture and if you want you could record the lectures as well.

 

 

Definitely try your hardest to understand all the names of the bone markings, muscles, tendons, ligaments, eye anatomy, nerves while in the lab.But do not get discouraged when you forget them an hour after you leave the lab because the initial learning is the hardest part and where most of the work is done, relearning them becomes much easier the 2nd and 3rd time. For me this included getting my hands on and touching all the models as well as looking at pictures and videos of anatomical models online when I was away from school.

 

write down all the clues your professor or TA gives you about ways to remember specific things located on the anatomical models usually they give you a printed list of names of anatomical body parts to remember.

 

Look for the Samuel Chen youtube videos he goes over a lot of the bone markings, muscles and tendons that you will need to remember. My school had anatomy and physiology taught as separate courses instead of combining both A&P into two courses . Anatomy is pretty much study study study, where physiology was more paying attention to key concepts and mechanisms and applying that knowledge to test problems.

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Unpopular/Controversial opinion: Don't go to class.

 

I saved so much time by avoiding commuting and sitting in lectures... It's not for everyone, but if you are self-driven this method can be very prosperous. In my last years in college I only showed up to take exams and I found myself better prepared than my peers. 

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It's interesting reading these responses. They are all different and likely reflect -- to at least some degree -- the learning preferences of the individual posting the comments.

 

The grain of commonality is that there is lots of material and stuff to memorize. Not only did I have to learn what everything was, but I had to pick it out in a soup of mangled tissues. I also had to know "what nerve ennervates this structure" and so forth. 

 

Because so much of it involved locating things in three dimensions, and because so much of our cadaver was hacked away as we went, I found that a combination of techniques was required. In my case, I used lots of plastic models, the Adam software tool (probably better tools now), drawing diagrams, and lecturing over and over to myself. What works best for you is yet to be found out. Be willing to experiment.

 

By the way, I would never miss a lecture for anything. If nothing else, it tells you what the instructor thinks is important for you to know.

 

See what works for you and make adjustments as you go.

 

Good luck!

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Find a partner to study with and quiz each other with the models without any type of word bank over and over again. My community college's library would allow us to borrow the models outside of lab, which really helped. I never missed a day of lecture or lab in A&P. I wrote notes during lecture, then went back and listened to the lectures again later that day and rewrote all my notes in a separate notebook. Flashcards help. You need to study enough to the point that you can teach someone A&P before the end of the semester. Don't just study 1 part of anatomy, then dump the material and study for the next part... It'll come back to bite you later. 

 

Also, Essential Anatomy 5 for the iPhone/iPad was reduced to $1 today (normal $25). I had an app similar to this on my iPad during A&P and it helped.

 

A&P was the class that I learned new studying habits in. It was when I transitioned into a straight-A student. I devoted a lot of time to A&P, it isn't like your typical class. It's not that hard, but it requires a lot of time memorizing the material. Studying the models in person or in a 3D app was much more beneficial to me than using the pictures in the books.

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A&P was the class that I learned new studying habits in. It was when I transitioned into a straight-A student. I devoted a lot of time to A&P, it isn't like your typical class. It's not that hard, but it requires a lot of time memorizing the material. Studying the models in person or in a 3D app was much more beneficial to me than using the pictures in the books.

 

This is also true for me. Not straight-A , but boy did it disciplined me when it came to studying.

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I wish I had taken anatomy before any other class. I learned how to learn in anatomy. Repetition is the key to retention, but so is quizzing yourself. Lectures were boring to me. Anyone can point to one part of the body and say it's name. I still attended lectures, nonetheless. The best thing to do is to find a study buddy. Make some friends. Then study on your own. And finally, have your friends TEST you on the material.

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