5 First-Hand Survival Tips for First Year Anatomy

Not long ago, my friend was a college graduate with fulfilled premed requirements and wavering confidence. After a year of rejections, he decided to seek the help of a friend with experience in medical school admissions. Her advice was simple, medical schools want to know if you have what it takes to maintain a balanced life while hauling academic butt full throttle for four years and beyond. For Bruce, that meant taking extra classes to prepare himself for the rigorous course of study that the first year of medical school requires. He got into Rush Medical College after applying a second time and feels strongly that one of the keys to his success as an M1 was taking Anatomy & Physiology in advance. Luckily for us, Bruce gamely agreed to answer a few questions I posed on what else helped him to ace what students often call the most difficult class of their medical career. 


1. What was the best study technique that you found for learning Anatomy?



There is no single trick for learning anatomy – the key is studying it with different learning methods from every angle. Introductory anatomy (the kind you take as an undergrad) usually lacks cadaver dissection, so you’ll have to substitute with images, 3D models, and drawing. Also, when you are studying a particular feature look at your own body – try palpating or even carefully outlining it. When it comes to the test, you’ll have your own body there with you and it will remind you of everything you learned previously. In medical school you are likely to be working with a small group on one cadaver. Performing cadaver dissection ranges from strange to psychologically debilitating but it is critical that you work through your discomfort and participate fully. While text, lecture, images, and simulation can help prepare you for dissection, tactile learning seals the information in your memory.


2. What do you wish someone had told you before you took the class?


Don’t get caught up in memorization on your first pass or two through the material. Instead, focus on nomenclature and language; find out the etymology of the words and begin making associations. Go online to find nifty mnemonic devices that your predecessors have coined and collected for the complicated stuff. Lather your brain with information, rinse with study breaks, and repeat.


3. What do you think helped you the most on your exams?


In the final days before an exam, I would put together a comprehensive list of all possible items and run through it a couple of times independently and then with friends. Setting a group study date with friends can be helpful because your fear of social disapproval is highly motivating. We called it “shame learning”…


 4.Are there any specific books or study guides/materials that you used that you would recommend?


I pretty much stuck to the materials that were provided by the school. One of the tools I found to be the most helpful was WinkingSkull.com which is an online anatomy atlas with text, diagrams, and links to videos on cadaver dissection. Rush provided access to the site but you can sign up for an account on your own. Some content is free and you have the option to pay to upgrade for more materials.


 5. Do you have any final words of encouragement?


 I leave you with one last piece of advice from my mentor about facing any challenge in the course we all chose: when you finally climb that mountaintop expect to find only larger mountains on the other side but do not be discouraged because along the way you have become a much better mountain climber.