1. Anatomy here is very different from anatomy at BYU. Before, I had to be able to memorize where a structure was and what it was called. We did everything by system, not by region. Here, I have to know where everything is, where it is in relation to everything around it, what it is called, and what it does. I am grateful for my previous anatomy experience, but this is a whole new way to learn and think about anatomy.
2. I am still figuring out the best way to study. I was mostly independent as an undergrad, with a few study partners/groups. After I got married, I studied less and still did okay. Here I have largely avoided studying after I come home around 6:00 and I didn't really study this weekend either. I think I am going to have to gear up for my first pre-test week and study more than I have been to be prepared for my first round of tests just after Labor Day.
3. I think I will enjoy the clinical things, but right now I still feel more like a scientist. This was evident in our first Problem Based Learning (PBL) Session. We are in small groups with a faculty facilitator and are given a clinical case. We get a few bits of information at a time and are supposed to generate our own questions and answers about the case. A few in our group wanted to triage our discussion to focus on the most acute clinical needs, avoiding the finer details and physiologic principles. As I understand it, that is not the purpose of the session. We are supposed to use the session to generate questions and answer them. We do not have the patient in front of us and there is no right or wrong way to go about discussing the case. Our facilitator was even encouraging our side-tracking to learn more of the details. My curiosity to learn all I could was stifled by those in our group who are more clinically-minded wanted to fix the patient as soon as possible and get out of there (we did end about thirty minutes early). One sort of usurped the authority of the facilitator and took control when he felt we were wasting time in the details. Another threw out all the "right" answers since he has much more experience than the rest of us, but didn't explain his answers to the rest of us. I think we know the right thing now for the patient, but I don't think any of us learned anything. I plan to write our facilitator before the next session requesting an open discussion of our objectives for the PBL sessions--refining clinical judgment, or learning about the issues inherent in the case.
4. Dissecting human cadavers is VERY tedious and difficult, but rewarding.
5. I like Denver a lot!
So there are a few random thoughts. A family from Church has invited us over for dinner, so I've got to go get things ready. There's one more thing I want to write about but Christina already spoke for it so I'll let her...
-Nick
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