Life equals Anatomy

So it's almost one in the morning, and I have just returned from many confusing and smelly hours in the anatomy lab. We are trying (key word there is trying) to prepare for next week's exams. Unfortunately it seems like the more I learn the more I realize how much I still don't know..... sigh.

The first day of anatomy was the first day I truly felt like a medical student. Up until then I was still on familiar ground. But nothing could have prepared me for that first day. At the very least I thought we were going to get some kind of introduction, a sort of easing in process, but no, that's not the way it happened. One minute I was nervously changing into my scrubs, and then wham, the next minute we were raising our bodies, unzipping the bag, and making that first cut.
I had never seen a real cadaver before and truthfully it looked nothing like what I expected. I do not know exactly what the preservation process is, but it definitely changes the appearance rather dramatically. In some ways, it didn't even look human anymore. Yet human it is, and for some people that can be pretty hard to deal with. The whole process seems so wrong, so invasive and disrespectful, but unfortunately it is hands down the best way to learn. It is important to remember that these people donated their bodies for whatever personal reasons, and that it is a great honor and privilege to have the opportunity to learn from them. It is a privilege that few will ever have, and I think that is one of the reasons that anatomy is considered a right of passage in medical school.

When I was interviewing, I noticed that one of the most common questions applicants asked was "how many people to a body?". An answer of six or seven was generally met with a disapproving frown, while an answer of four was met with nods of approval. The bottom line is that this is a very "trendy" question, and the people who ask it have no concept of what it really means. I guarantee that if they found themselves in a group of only four people, they would be in a world of hurt. Dissecting an entire human body is a HUGE amount of work. My group has seven people, and trust me, there is more than enough for everyone to do. Generally, we have two people cutting, two navigating, two reviewing out loud for everyone, and one "floater" walking around to see if other tables have any particularly good structures to look at. It's also nice that we can switch positions frequently so that nobody gets tired or burnt out on what they're doing.

We are in the lab every morning, and more often than not, in the evenings too. The amount of material that gets thrown at you is absolutely ridiculous. As with the other courses, we are expected to memorize something the size of a phone book about every two weeks. Our written examinations deal with more with theory and clinical correlation, and practical examinations involve identifying things on the bodies. Practicals are pretty intimidating, and not many people have taken this type of test before. We have to walk around to different stations, to the sound of a buzzer that goes off every 75 seconds, and identify whatever it is at that station that has a pin in it or a string tied around it. That willl get your blood pumping, trust me. 75 seconds is not a lot of time when you're trying to identify some random cutaneous branch of some nerve that is itself a branch off of the lateral cord of one of the anterior divisions of the brachial plexus. Did I lose you? But I'm not joking, not even in the slightest.

You will live and breathe nothing but anatomy for what seems like a very long time. You will spend countless hours stuck in the lab with your body while others are out having a good time. You and your notes and books will reek of formaldehyde, and no matter how may showers you take or how much febreze you use, you will still smell it. You may even start to doubt your own sanity. But on the upside, you will learn more in a few short weeks than some people learn in a lifetime, and you will have a lot to be proud of. The useful clinical correlations you will learn are priceless. You will suddenly understand the significance of the different positions of auscultation, you will know why an epidural is usually given at the L4-L5 space, you will understand why a fracture of the surgical neck of the humerus is so dangerous, you will know why you need to follow the clavicle inferiorly and medially in order to put in a central line......and on and on. For me, as I mentioned before, it was the first time I really knew I was in medical school.

Now there is nothing wrong or disadvantageous about going into anatomy "green". I certainly did. Many schools do not offer full body dissection courses when you are an undergrad. However, if anatomy is really your passion or if you really just want to get some exposure, I do know of a couple options. First, I do believe that Mesa College offers a gross anatomy course, or at least they used to. Second, some universities offer summer intensive courses in anatomy that you can even receive academic credit for. One I know of is at Johns Hopkins and I've heard very good things about it. In fact, here's the link: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/FAE/anatomyinstitute/

It's pricey, but I'm sure it would be a hell of an experience.

Anyways, I unfortunately must get back to the books. I need to pull off something of a miracle to be ready for the practical on tuesday. Sigh again...

Why being a member of the AMA is so great

Hey all! I just wanted to check in and say hello. The latest news is that I did pretty well on my first anatomy written and practical examinations. Yay! I survived!

The next entry regarding.......anatomy and stuff....will be posted early next week. If you have any specific questions you would like answered about anatomy, please leave a comment. For the moment, yours truly is heading to Las Vegas for the AMA conference. If that doesn't put me in a good mood I don't know what will. Well, that and the fact that it's paid for by my AMA chapter here at school.

Wish me luck for four aces!