Pathology: Use Pathoma to understand material. Read class notes to get test questions right. Focus on the underlined/bold terms. I don’t go to class, but she does do some review questions at the end of class that tend to appear on the exam. Know the pics from the notes (especially if she uses them in the review). WebPath is useful to skim through quickly, but I never spend much time trying to learn those pics. I didn’t even glance at it for the last exam. Ha.
-The way this class works is you have General Pathology for the first part of the semester, then Systemic Pathology starts (and will last until the end of MS2). You have to pass Gen Path to continue with the year (i.e. there is no remediation option). Pass=75% cumulative. I studied straight from the notes for Gen Path, used Pathoma only for the first test. Her tests are pretty straightforward–definitely focus on the bold and underlined. Also, do the Robbins and Cotran review questions (I don’t have the book, so I access the questions online). Once Systemic Path started, Pathoma is really useful.
Pharmacology: Dr. Z is a phenomenal teacher. This year, for the first time, we have class via Adobe Connect. So Muncie, Evansville, and Terra Haute are all together for this class. I like the online class because it’s recorded, so I never watch it live. Instead, I watch the recorded version so I can pause and rewind if necessary (aka always). Watch all the lectures, study his notes, know the drug lists, and you should do fine on his tests. I sometimes do some practice questions because I get bored of just reading notes. Talking through the drugs with a friend from class is also helpful.
Genetics: This class is a breeze. It only lasts for the first half of the semester. You have to pass the shelf exam to pass the class, but that’s really not a huge deal. Class is required. I had no idea what was going on during the classes…but I was thrilled that it wasn’t anything to stress over. I legit learned all the material the night before the exam. I went through the Genetics BRS and that worked out really well. I skimmed his notes for specific things he highlighted, but spent the majority of my time studying BRS. You also have 3 practice exams. The first one is open book, the second one is in class (you can talk with each other and then you take it home and can use whatever info you need, and the third is just a compilation of practice questions that you and your classmates submitted (i.e. you’ve seen all the questions and answers before). Everyone has to give a presentation which is helpful b/c you learn your genetic disorder really well and you associate other genetic disorders with the classmate who presented on it…which helped me remember the stuff. Overall, super chill class. Seriously, do NOT stress about it.
ICM2: Intro to Clinical Medicine, round 2. You basically “rotate” through different specialties…and by “rotate” I mean you stay in your seats and different specialists show up to lecture each day. Use First Aid to solidify concepts…Pathoma can be useful too (I used it for Pulm).
–OB is first and hands down the best. The docs are awesome, the material is interesting, and the test is a breeze if you study the notes.
-Next is Endocrinology, which is a big shift. The lectures aren’t as captivating and there’s a lot of detailed info. But if you study the notes and do his practice questions, the test isn’t too bad.
-Emergency Med is an ongoing one. The lectures are really chill and short…aka awesome. You get to do a suture lab at the end which is really fun! His test is straight out of his notes and Dr. Wallace is just a really cool guy overall. You’ll probably want to be an ER doc by the end of this section.
-Pulmonology is taught by a bunch of cool docs who are pretty laid back. We all felt pretty overwhelmed regarding the test, but just go through the notes and do your best. There are some super easy questions on the exam, and some that you know you should know, but you don’t…just take your best guess and move on.
-Neurology is really interesting (IMO) and the docs are funny. The test is relatively harder though, so just do your best to know the terms on the study guide.
-Cardiology is a tough section. We felt pretty overwhelmed in this section too. Try to ask the docs for advice on what to focus on, and don’t get bogged down with the details. Use First Aid to help you solidify concepts.
-Psychiatry is a really interesting field, but not all the lecturers are captivating (seriously, no one compares to the OB docs). Dr. Butler is in charge of this section and she’s great. You can tell she loves her field and she’s really good at teaching it. Study the notes and you should do fine on the exam. I also looked over First Aid the morning of the exam.
