A plea to second years of 2006/7

[MollyMouse]

Hi to any new third years (including Natalie & Dave of course!) - I was just wondering:

• which books you found invaluable,
• which module had the highest workload,
• what modules did you find most difficult,
• Is CLS a nightmare & do we need to know stuff from Semester 2's CLS?

And any other advice would be gratefully received!

MM

[Natalie C]

Righto here is my take on the last year, module by module

1. Kidney- if you get the same lecturer as we did last year some extra reading is going to be pretty much essential. There is a pretty good kidney section in Berne and Levy or the book in the library by Koeppen and Stanton covers it pretty well.

2. Endocrine- well taught and sraight forward. Not much extra work if any

3. Metabolism- Learn the lecture notes including the ones from the guest lecturers.

4. Alimentary System- You need to know anatomy and histology of the alimentary tract pretty well for the exam although there is no real indication of this during the course. Physiology covered well.

5.SF- again the biggest workload of the 1st semester, except this time they add in a reproduction module on top of the anatomy just to keep you on your toes. Keep on top of this module as you go along and you should be ok. I'd say conceptually the anatomy is slightly harder- esp. pelvis.

6. CLS- the official line is that you do need to know last years stuff as it may be examined. We weren't examined on it BUT having a good idea of the first year material does help as you do build on some of the early concepts- inflammation especially. Might be worth a look over now if you're bored or feeling keen? Its a nightmare in that its all examined at the end of the year and once you get onto Microbiology its all names names names but some of it is quite interesting. Stick to Stevens and Lowe and get hold of a Micro text- nothing major, Lecture Notes or something will do the job.

7. Neuroscience- personally my nightmare module of the first 2 years- especially neuroanatomy. Still it may float your boat. A good text is very useful- I used Functional Neuroanatomy by Fitzgerald but not convinced its the best. Snell does a text and there are some others in the library worth checking out. Most work in semester 4.

8. Pharmacology- learn the notes and make sure you understand the concepts. Fry is a good lecturer and very approachable if you have any issues.

9. Public Health- not really worth mentioning except there is coursework.

10. Communication Skills- see Public Health

11. Optional Modules- variable. I did Immunology and Microbiology both of which were good modules as there is CLS overlap- very handy when you're revising the massive CLS module at the same time as these. Not much additional work.

12. ECPD- same as year 1

The hardest part of year 2 is the fact that the majority of the year is examined in May so you have to be really well organised. I found a revision timetable was the only way to cover all the material before exams.

Thats my 2p worth- anything to add Dave?

Natalie

[Iceman]

Not really.

Defo stay on top of CLS because it would be an absolute nightmare if you left it to just before the summer exams to revise.

Be careful about CS & PH coursework as it is disproportionate to the credits and you could easily fall into the trap of neglecting other modules because of it.

FBN (neurosci) is hard, very hard (my worst module of the year mark wise). Go over it as much as you can during the year - you won't regret it at exam time. The neuroanatomy colouring book helped me.

The reproduction part of SF2 is a PITA and you have to write an essay on it. Essays were prob the hardest thing about yr 2 anatomy for me. Writing lots of essay plans for potential topics worked for me.

Best of luck!

[JP_62818]

Thanks both, that's cool to hear a bit about how to tackle 2nd year.

Jamie

[Divin_doc]

yeah thanks guys, can I also ask...when does year 3 start, as in what date do you have to be back in notts? Its just that Ive been offered a job abroad and want a rough idea of how long i can stay out there! Also when roughly does 2nd year end....thank you!!

[Iceman]

In theory 3rd year starts the same date as 1st and 2nd year, in practice it can depend, I think some supervisors/schools/divisions like it if you can come back a bit (i.e. a week) early. Obviously they can't force you but I know several people who have done this.

2rd Year finishes on the last day of the normal undergraduate term at Nottingham as you have 3rd year teaching starting immediately after the theory exams finish (yes, before OSCE) - we found we had no timetabled classes for the last few days or so, but there are meetings with supervisors, essays/introductions to write and some schools might have had classes to the end of term.

All AFAIK. Hope that helps a bit.

D

[MollyMouse]

Thanks guys! That's been very very helpful! (& a bit scary! lol) I think I might go over my CLS before we go back as my folder for that is MASSIVE!

Surprised that neuroscience is a nasty one - I've been looking forward to it! But it's good to know in advance what to expect, thank you very much Natalie for your thorough run-down of the modules & Dave for your contribution too

Dave, what is a PITA?

[Iceman]

Pain in the A*se

Regards

[Divin_doc]

thanks Dave.....whats AFAIK? (lol me and sam are rubbish!)

[Iceman]

As far as I know