biochemistry

[boreguard]

how much of an effect will taking biochem previous to going to med school have towards actually helping me in med school?

[opnr2k2]

It will prob be one of the first classes you take in med school, so if you have seen the material it will make the pace seem decent. I think its good if you take it. Also you would want to take anatomy aswell, people that have had that and biochem before are in awsome shape. I've noticed it with my lab group, we have a couple guys that have seen and done the disections and they are wizzing though everything. I havnt had anatomy, so its like hell has broken loose hehe...its ok though its not hard but just alot of info you need to know down cold, quickly!

[drmikey]

biochemistry in medical school is somewhat different than an introductory biochem in undergrad. However, taking it will be helpful to you just because you'd be familiar with the idea of biochemistry. Anatomy will probably be the most useful class because it's a lot of material to learn, so the more you know before you start medical school, the easier it will be for you.

[restlesseye]

biochem at sgu is pretty brutal even if you have done extensive biochem in undergrad or grad studies.

this course is a great challenge for many as it is a first year class and there is not much memorization involved.

you have to understand the pathways and such to get a good grade.

it is one of our biggest 1st year hurdles which usually sends folks to the alternate route.

my point being if you have taken this in your undergrad dont take this class lightly and think you will just whizz by. best advice for medschool i would say is treat each course like its novel to you.

best of luck!

[microphage]

biochem at sgu is pretty brutal even if you have done extensive biochem in undergrad or grad studies.

this course is a great challenge for many as it is a first year class and there is not much memorization involved.

you have to understand the pathways and such to get a good grade.

it is one of our biggest 1st year hurdles which usually sends folks to the alternate route.

my point being if you have taken this in your undergrad dont take this class lightly and think you will just whizz by. best advice for medschool i would say is treat each course like its novel to you.

best of luck!

I thought biochem at AUC was fairly straight forward(I'm assuming you guys use lippincotts right?). I was a biochem major in undergrad and didn't find it at all difficult except for the nurtition section since I never had that in undergrad.

[emt036]

We use Marks squared, (not that I ever read it) and Lippincott as a review.

All I can say is learn your transgenic mice! :-)

[restlesseye]

we used marks and lipincott. i have an extensive biochem background and even with that some questions were a royal waste of time.

the director of the course used to work for the NIH for years and so he felt the need to put in page long stems and ask totally unrelated questions to medicine.

the biochem was easy...... the PhD level questions regarding some obscure research done in a back alley were rather discouraging.

[jpryor]

the biochem was easy...... the PhD level questions regarding some obscure research done in a back alley were rather discouraging.

There sure seems to be a lot of that going on. We had a PhD genetics instructor who had mapped two genes for the Human Genome project and the details he lectured were absolutely irritating. I don't think it's such a minor issue. I can only imagine how many wasted hours of studying that have been done by students because of instructors' personal interests.

[microphage]

the biochem was easy...... the PhD level questions regarding some obscure research done in a back alley were rather discouraging.

Yeah, I had a class like that in undergrad... Transgenic mice was the topic for half an entire quarter... ugh... The prof even brought his transgenic mice research in for show and tell.

:roll:

[restlesseye]

at SGU we have some amazing profs from some amazing places. lots of former "head of department" types and things like that.

sometimes i felt like we were the subjects of their research..... "lets watch these buggers sweat on this question....."

[katm]

Guys, I know that doctors needn't concern themselves with too many details and that all many of you care about is just passing the boards, but PLEASE!

If it weren't for the people who go on ad nauseum about transgenic mice and the tiny little random gene they discovered or what-not, medicine would be nowhere nowadays and we'd still be making herbal concoctions while watching our patients die... We owe a lot to these bores. We may not like them or their lifestyle (to each their own), but they've made the world what it is and many people owe their lives to them.

Doctors get all the glory, even though half the time a robot could do our job -- and in the near future it probably will (what are we, after all, if not glorified recipe/algorithm followers?). At least these people are somewhat creative. And they get comparatively little compensation and even less recognition for it. These Buffy/Medium/Revealations times are very anti-science/anti-intellectual. By not giving the pure scientisits the credit they so rightly deserve we are joining in on this anti-intellectualism. If we, who consistently utilize their work and owe our glory to them, do not show them a little respect, then who will? The State certainy won't and when all their funding is gone and they can no longer propel us, we'll see if we doctors are really as smart as we think.

So please, I think a little more respect is, indeed, in order....

[microphage]

Guys, I know that doctors needn't concern themselves with too many details and that all many of you care about is just passing the boards, but PLEASE!

If it weren't for the people who go on ad nauseum about transgenic mice and the tiny little random gene they discovered or what-not, medicine would be nowhere nowadays and we'd still be making herbal concoctions while watching our patients die... We owe a lot to these bores. We may not like them or their lifestyle (to each their own), but they've made the world what it is and many people owe their lives to them.

Doctors get all the glory, even though half the time a robot could do our job -- and in the near future it probably will (what are we, after all, if not glorified recipe/algorithm followers?). At least these people are somewhat creative. And they get comparatively little compensation and even less recognition for it. These Buffy/Medium/Revealations times are very anti-science/anti-intellectual. By not giving the pure scientisits the credit they so rightly deserve we are joining in on this anti-intellectualism. If we, who consistently utilize their work and owe our glory to them, do not show them a little respect, then who will? The State certainy won't and when all their funding is gone and they can no longer propel us, we'll see if we doctors are really as smart as we think.

So please, I think a little more respect is, indeed, in order....

I don't think we were stripping the PhDs of any credit whatsoever. While I enjoy transgenic mice research and most basic science research more than clinical, it really has very little clinical relevancy as a medical doctor(you have no idea how much it pains me to say that..). You can do all the basic science research you want but the fact remains that if clinical trials for a particular drug does not work as theory states, it is useless to the medical doctor and to their patients.

[restlesseye]

So please, I think a little more respect is, indeed, in order....

hey hey.... no disrespect to the PhD's at all. its the questions we get on exams.

[lswiltshire]

is that there are too many PhD's who have never been to medical school one day, never done clinicals never practiced medicine and they come to teach medical students and teach a lot of irrelevant junk....... and even question them on it.

It is unfair and it is the fault of those who hire them.

Medical students need, and desrve Basic Science programs that relate the science of Medicine to Clinical practice.

Biochemistry teachers must help thier students to see how a study of enzymes is necessary, and why one must understamd the structure of proteins etc

Biochemistry is an abstract subject which some find difficult because they cant think in the abstract or and because thier Organic Chemistry background is not that great. To add silly research that is irrelevant to a Biochem class instead of making relevant to Clinical Medicine is ridiculous. But how can someone who has not walked the walk do this?

As the apostle says in Romans....... HOW CAN THEY KNOW UNLESS THEY HAVE A TEACHER