Year 2 Classes: HSF Series- HSF-1
In General: This is your first encounter with a course series that is high in medically-relevant content paired with the typical rigor of medical school. It is a step up from Biochemistry from the previous fall semester, and it is going to require you to once again evaluate your studying techniques. In fact, you will likely have to adopt several different techniques to adjust to each subject covered in the series. This semester is considered one of the most challenging out of the entirety of the program. The good news is that if you have made it this far, chances are you will do just fine. I have two pieces of advice for this course: be adaptable and take care of yourself. There will be many moments where you feel overwhelmed – that’s nothing new. Or that you don’t have enough time, which is a valid feeling. This course is a mental challenge that will require you to answer this question: How will you rise to the occasion? There’s a lot that goes into the mentality of being a medical student, and I cover that in a few of my other posts and more soon. Before we get started here, I do want to emphasize that these opinions and experiences with the class are completely my own and don’t reflect a student-wide consensus nor official SOM policy. I offer these posts to students as a form of first-hand insight and personal advice because I know how daunting things seem. All that being said, let’s begin!
Histology (2023 Instructor: Dr. W. Morrow): Disclaimer: Dr. Morrow has since retired from his position as a histology professor- I can only speak to my experience with this subject as he taught it. I believe Dr. M. Cole is teaching it now, but I imagine the content isn’t much different. A very straightforward course – what you see is what you get. Almost all of the content of HSF I histology can be mastered through memorization methods. I usually despise flashcard apps including Quizlet and Anki; however, I did use Anki for histology and it worked. In my mind, I classify histology as “content-based” rather than “concept-based,” meaning I feel that the material is better learned with repetitive exposure to the facts, instead of analyzing my way through a concept. It is really a lot of definitions and structural descriptions. I liked Dr. Morrow’s lectures because he always found ways to throw in some jokes when the content can be dry at times. This class seems to take a backseat when it runs with the other classes, but it’s important that you make a little bit of time for it frequently. Even 30 minutes a day will serve you much better than cramming the day before the test. One thing of note is that he will test over content in the book that is not covered in the lecture. They are what students call “Histo boxes,” which are colored boxes dispersed through the Chapters that often tell you disease etiology (like Myasthenia Gravis, for example). There are often 2-5 questions per exam over this additional material, but the good news is they often overlap with diseases covered in other class.
Histology Lab (Instructor: Dr. W. Morrow): This lab coincides with the material covered in the Histology lecture. There were a total of 5 labs that each took about an hour, more or less. They are very simple and Dr. Morrow posts video-recorded overviews of the structures you will be expected to know on the lab exam at the end of HSF-I. One thing I wish that I did is create Anki cards after each lab with the pictures of the slides for identification instead of waiting to do it before the exam. The exam is 25 questions, short answer (one or two words per slide). You will get 1 minute at each station to identify the structure in the preset slide. It sounds daunting but it is very manageable as long as you properly review beforehand.
Embryology (Instructor: Dr. M. Cole): Embryo is often challenging to students because its the first encounter with this subject material within the program’s curriculum. It can feel abstract at times which is why I consider this class to be concept-based. Sure, it still requires commitment to memorizing facts but I was able to reason my way through most of the content. I studied by making my own practice questions and that’s the way I learn best. I also used the BRS embryology questions sometimes, and Dr. Cole provided some here and there too. I will say that Dr. M. Cole’s lectures can be a little bit confusing but it’s not her fault – she goes by the order of the textbook. The only advice I have for that is to spend time understanding the sequence of events and use external resources to put the pieces together, like the textbook or YouTube. I liked Ninja Nerd‘s embryology series, he does a great job at breaking things down and going through the details while using visual aids as well. Here’s a sample of a question I made to give you an idea:
Anatomy (Instructors: Dr. T. Cole & Dr. K. Wright): Unit 1 anatomy is very manageable as its a lot of surface-level/introductory content; however, unit 2 and 3 anatomy covers musculoskeletal (MSK) material and it’s not easy. MSK anatomy was the hardest subject for me, especially since it requires rote memorization for most of it (origins, insertions, innervations, vascularization, etc.) Memorization in anatomy is different from histology because it’s multi-faceted and concepts intertwine themselves in a much more complex way. With that being said, I had to employ several studying techniques to learn this course. For one, I made my own practice questions for the content that wasn’t directly about muscles. Here is an example:
Another method I used was labeling documents. I would take the images from the slides, blank out the terms, print them out and put the papers into sheet protectors that way I can write on them with dry-erase markers and easily erase them for reuse. You can also do this with an iPad, I just liked having them on hand. For muscles, I created charts in a Google Doc classified by their groups (i.e. anterior forearm flexors) and their origins, insertions, innervations, action, and blood supply. This was a great reference tool for me and allowed me to organize the information in a way that makes it easier for me to remember during tests. Here’s a sample of it:
Finally – as I’ve said before – I’m a very visual, hands-on learner. UMKC School of Medicine has an amazing resource that is seriously underrated and that is the Experiential Learning Center. This simulation center (essentially) has an abundance, I mean seriously a ton, of anatomical models to work with. I particularly loved to use the bare-bone skeleton to visualize origins/insertions. Pro tip: use a simple rubber tourniquet and pretend it’s a muscle pulling on the bones to create the action. It tends to have unconventional hours and unfortunately there’s not a website that lists its hours but as of Spring 2023 it’s Monday through Friday from 5PM-9PM. In all anatomy is tough and you will need to expose yourself in multiple ways in order to best retain all components of the information. It’s easy to get mixed up – practice makes perfect, especially with spaced repetition.
Anatomy Lab (Instructors: Dr. T. Cole & Dr. K. Wright): Anatomy lab is pretty easy. There’s only a few throughout the semester, and the first lab you actually get to see cadaver neuroanatomy! They last from about 30 minutes to an hour. You’ll have a worksheet to fill out corresponding to the lab and it’s pre-lab material. There are a few questions on each exam corresponding to the labs so it is important that you don’t skip out on them but the good news is that, like I said, they’re not hard. Dr. Wright, both Dr. Cole’s and a TA or two are there to answer questions about anything, including lecture material unrelated to the lab. Use this time wisely.
Physiology (Instructors: Dr. X. Chu & Dr. C. Touchberry): There were only a few physiology lectures for HSF I and they’re not too hard. Both professors are clear about what they expect you to know on the exams. Since I took physiology last semester, it came slightly easier to me than others but from what my peers and friends have told me it was still manageable despite that. I made practice questions for this class and felt that alone was enough to gain a good understanding of the material. I don’t have much more to say about physiology except that it definitely should not be overlooked even though the content may not seem as daunting as other classes. I would suggest doing the recommended practice questions from the book as listed in the beginnings of their lecture slides.
Stay tuned for the next post in this series covering the HSF-2 course. Good luck and thank you for reading 🙂
