Well I’m taking Human Anatomy, Organic Chemistry I, and Trigonometry this semester. Anatomy is kicking my butt and frustrating the heck out of me. We’re going so durned fast that I don’t know how I’m going to remember it all. All the different types of anatomy, anatomical directions and regions; planes and sections; body cavities, histology, the friggin’ skull alone is a nightmare, not to mention the rest of the axial skeleton, then there’s articulations. Six chapters are going to be covered on our first test. ARRRRrrrgggghhhh. What…do they think I’m trying to get into medical school or something?
LOL!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not whining, just blowing off some steam. OK, maybe I am whining. Please bare with me as I get thius oof of my chest. I know this is nothing compared to what medical school will be like. Since my university has one of the few undergraduate cadaver anatomy courses in the country, I know I should feel privileged and not complain, but damn. And they say that next semeter’s physiology course is even worse. What have I gotten myself into?
I find myself saying I’m too old for this shit. What am I trying to prove? Why don’t I make life easier for myself and my family and just get back into telecom? Hell, I made pretty good money and now that my wife is a nurse we’d be pulling in more than 150k. That’s damned good money in the Missouri Ozarks. However, the thought of doing that makes me depressed.
Nope. I gotta make it through this. I know I can do it. If it was easy then everybody would be a doctor, right? It will be worth it in the end. At the end of the day, I want to be able to say that I did more with my life than toil and drudge as an anonymous automaton whose life was spent making the head honchos of a multinational corporation richer. I want the satisfaction of knowing that I helped someone. I want to die knowing that I did my best to make a positive difference in the lives of the people I meet.
Anyway, thanks for “listening,” and thanks for providing a forum where I can blow off some steam and give myself a pep talk every now and then. Back to the grind.
Have you seen “Bodies Revealed”? Don’t know how far Kansas City is from you, but it’s at Union Station. It may give you a little inspiration as you study anatomy (or it might just gross you out, I don’t know). I thought it was wonderful, amazing, just very wow. Also, though I’m not much of a group study person, I had study buddy for the anatomy tests. It helped a lot. Keep your chin up 
You’ll get through it.
My parents are in Lohman, MO, where are you? Let me tell you Anatomy is A LOT better then physio, in my opinion.
We had a cadaver lab at Northern IL, back in the day, my sister took it and loved it.
Good luck with your course load…you are taking a lot of hard classes.
Rachel
Emergency Medicine
Pittsburgh
Jimbo,
just tough it out and… do your best. You’ll really appreciate it during your M-1 year when you start anatomy. I was so miserable during this course… with no previous experience I felt like on Mars all the time! By the time I finally felt a firm ground under my feet, I did so badly on my first anatomy exam, that I spent the rest of the course trying to dig myself out of this deep hole!
Also… not directly associated with anatomy; you’re using some really strong and blunt statements in you post. I’d probably be more cautious on a site like this one… and on the internet in general. It’s a very small community and in fact open to general public. You never know who stops by and reads it…
And physiology… I loved it! Not an easy class, but so different, and so much more fun than anatomy! Hopefully you too will enjoy it!
Hang on there!
OMG! I was about to write the same thing. I am going through the same problem. I am taking the same classes as you plus English. I am really thinking of dropping Anatomy. My first exam (lecture and practical) is on Monday as well as the Math exam. Is it too bad to have a W on the transcript? Better than having a C, right?
- Me Said:
Better than a C but still frowned upon unless you can justify it. Personally I think Ochem with Anatomy is too heavy for a pre-req semester.
I have a W but that was because I was trying to take GChem II with OChem I simultaneously and I found it to be too much.
I may have to take a W as well for ochem. First exam, highest score was 70, median 45 (out of 100). The guy is a post-doc new to teaching and is covering material at a break-neck pace. We covered two chapters on alkene mechanisms in two days and were given an exam on it the following week.
Another chem prof is supposed to talk to the dean about putting the brakes on this guy, but I’m not holding my breath. I’d rather explain away a W as being too busy with work than a C.
All I can tell you is that the sooner you close that back door (I can go back to telecom!) the better. It is very hard to focus on a crappy course that’s frustrating, when there is an attractive alternative. I had the same problem, and so did many of the older students in my med school class. You are constantly thinking, is this really worth it? Just make the decision to do this 100% and do not allow yourself constantly to be drawn backwards. You can always change your mind, but considering the alternative on a daily/hourly/minutely basis is self-sabotage and a huge energy suck.