Hi Friends, 

I wanted to share a great article written by Med School Bootcamp because I know Anatomy can be a pretty intimidating class. 

Enjoy - 

You need to start by first asking yourself the question “why do I need to know anatomy?” Anatomy is not like any other subject you’ll take in medical school. It involves learning new terminology to refer to specific structures within the human body - and not just knowing the names of things, but understanding what they do. In its essence, learning anatomy is like learning a new language and you have to treat it as such. That bring me to my first tip which is: 

Treat anatomy as a new language

You have to treat learning anatomy as if you are learning a new language, like Spanish or French. When you think about how you will be using anatomy in a clinical setting, you will need to understand it to be able to communicate with other health professionals. The only way to become better at this is to practice speaking in anatomical terminology and become fluent in it. 

How do we learn languages? As children, we learn our native language through hearing words, repeating them, and then giving them meaning, NOT by trying to memorize names of things on a piece of paper. With anatomy, we need to flip this, we need to learn what something is called and then incorporate it into our vocabulary when we are in the lab or clinical setting. If you were learning italian, you wouldn't try to memorize an entire italian book. You would learn it through practicing communicating with other people. This brings me to my second tip which is to…  

Study in small groups

The most effective use of your time is to learn the basics of anatomy individually and then practice communicating it to others by studying in small groups. Find a small study group of no more than 2-4 people and meet in the lab once a week to “talk anatomy”. Create a list of objectives for the chapters your group will be covering, and take turns explaining those concepts to the group. For example, “Sarah, can you please explain the celiac trunk, its branching, and the general structures it supplies?” This way Sarah can practice communicating her understanding to the others, while the rest of the group can check their understanding and also provide feedback in real time if Sarah is misunderstanding anything. While describing the structures, make sure Sarah can also identify them on a cadaver! This brings us to our final tip…

Practice with the REAL thing

Now comes the hard part, making sure you can identify structures on cadaveric specimens. The best way to prepare yourself for your next practical exam is to practice on the REAL thing. You’ll want to make sure that you’re practicing on a real cadaver and using real cadaveric images to study, not just learning from your slides/note or you will be unpleasantly surprised on the day of the exam. 

Sometimes it can be hard to find time to make it to the lab, and during the week leading up to the exam, everyone’s in the lab cramming for it at the last minute. One alternative is to use online resources to help you prepare, and one of the best online resources for learning cadaveric anatomy is anatomybootcamp.com. We’ve got thousands of practice questions testing both identification and application style concepts on REAL cadaveric images, and with our 24-hour tutor support service, you’ll have all your questions answered when you need them!

These are the methods I used while I was getting my masters in clinical anatomy. They help me not only understand human anatomy but also effectively communicate it so I could go on to teach thousands of healthcare professionals over the years. Try them out this semester - I’m positive they will help you just as much as they’ve helped me!

Happy Anatomy!

Bootcamp.com

@wearebootcamp

This post was highly requested so even though I'm a little nervous to share here we go...However, please remember that what works for me may not work for you. You should never compare your progress to someone else's. That being said, I am going to share what I have been doing throughout my second year of medical school that I think helped me pass my first CBSE.

1. Anki. I know it's not for everyone but honestly I was shocked by how helpful it ended up being. I was seriously doubting Anki in the weeks leading up to the CBSE. But when it came time for the exam, I found myself thinking "this is an Anki card" SO many times. To be honest, I didn't always remember the answer...but still it helped a ton. That's all I will say for now but be on the lookout for an Anki focused post this week.

2. Do 5 random practice questions per 100 Anki cards. For me, this means I'm around 40 questions a day! I'm personally using Amboss right now (saving UWorld for dedicated). So every time I get through 100 Anki cards, I pause to do 5 random Amboss questions. I started doing this a week before the CBSE so I don't know how much it helped for that but I think it'll make a difference for my second one. Disclaimer: sometimes you will get 0/5 right lol.

3. Make an Anki card for each missed Amboss question. You don't have to be strict about this but if you miss a question because you didn't know a fact, make a card out of it!!!

4. Outside Resources. I've mostly given up on lectures and I do most of my learning from Sketchy, Boards and Beyond, and Pathoma. However, I know people that mostly use lectures who also passed the CBSE. Remember, everyone is difference. 

5. First Aid. I used to take notes on my iPad while watching outside resources but it took way too long. Instead, I read/highlight first aid throughout the video and make notes when needed.

6. Don't just aim to pass exams. Yes, C's get MDs and trust me I love that for us. But, the more you learn the material for your class exams, the better you will know it for the CBSE and eventually Step.

7. If it's in BB/First Aid, learn it. There have been times when our class doesn't cover a specific topic and so I've skipped that BB video or First Aid page. But I've realized that if it's in Boards and Beyond/First Aid then you need to know it so you might as well learn it during the relevant block. Only exception is embryology because it scares me.

8. Okay just to plug Anki again, do NOT let your bugs and drugs slip away. 

9. Remember drug mechanisms. I think most of the drug questions on the CBSE asked for the mechanism of action rather than the drug name. I definitely need to get better at this. 

10. Most Importantly: sleep 8 hours a night, go out with your friends, don't take school too seriously, find happiness outside of school, don't judge your worth by a test score.

xoxo and Happy Studying

If you've been following me for a while you know that I love to share new resources that I think could be helpful during the pre-med/medical school years! 

So, of course, I am so excited to introduce Qalbaq!! Qalbaq was created by a physician and an affordable, accessible way to network, get your questions answered and feel more secure about your career choices. On Qalbaq.com you can book sessions with one of their many consultants for a little Q&A session, a mock interview or assessment prep. Also - fun fact, I'm on their website as a consultant so you can also book a session with me (Please do that would be so fun)!

Yesterday I got a question about how to prep for an interview on short notice. THIS IS HOW FRIENDS! You can book a slot and do a mock interview ASAP so that you feel ready on interview day. Truly this is the perfect timing for this resource and I'm so happy I get to share it with you all!

One of the most difficult things about going into medicine is knowing how to navigate the truly insane standardized tests, applications, etc. Not everyone grows up in a family of doctors or lives in a big city with plenty of networking opportunities so I love the fact that this resource allows anyone to connect with physicians, medical students, employers, etc. A lot of getting into medical school is jumping through hoops and honestly those hoops can be so confusing if you don't have experience in the process. 

I'll always be here to help via insta stories, Q&As, and posts but I highly recommend you check out this resource for some one-on-one time with someone who knows the process. 

Hi friends

I’ve had a couple of people ask me what to do and how to feel better if you haven’t gotten an interview cycle so I wanted to make a post on the topic. First off, I want to just say this sucks and I’m sorry. Truly, it does not feel good, which brings me to my first piece of advice. 

Give yourself space for your feelings. You are allowed to feel shitty even if people are telling you to stay positive.

Now on how to not feel shitty… Plan something to look forward to each week. Good tip in general but extra important when you are anxious about applications.

Set a limit on how often you can check your email. If you open your email every 2 minutes you will lose your mind. I let myself check every hour which is probably too much but it’s what worked for me.

STAY OFF SDN AND REDDITT

If you do want to feel productive, you can write some letters of interest or update letters. Honestly, I only did this for a school after I was waitlisted so I’m not sure what the success rate really is. However, if you have something new (new job, new paper, new volunteering thing, etc) to tell them, definitely send the letter!!

Talk to someone who gets it. Hopefully everyone in your life is being supportive, but sometimes it really helps to talk to someone who went through the application cycle because they actually get it.

Know that there is 100% nothing wrong with you or your application. You did your best and I am so proud of you.

Xoxo

Hi Friends! After a lovely one week break, I am back at school for my fourth and final block of my pre-clinical years!! Yes, that sentence terrifies me, but this block is like 5 months long and contains most of the organ systems so we still have a long way to go. We started off the block with Dermatology and MSK (jury's out how I feel about them but I don't love it so far).