# 1st Prof Exam...Help :(



## < sara > (Mar 14, 2008)

Hey...

I am so extremely worried because my 1st Prof is coming up..and I have never been so scared :s I am trying really hard not to panic but I dont know.. feels like there is way too much to cover and too little time... 

I am doing pretty well in Gross Anatomy, General Anatomy and Embyrology...

I need some tips and advice on how to start studying and how you guys studied to get through your First Prof...for these specific subjects...

How important is Histology...I know the basics but I can't draw all the diagrams :s They are just so difficult.. did you all have to memorize all the diagrams that we draw in practicals? How did you manage to do that???

I feel that Biochemistry is pretty much all memorizing... There are three books that I studied during the year for class tests and stuff.. Mushtaq, Jaypee and rarely Lippincott... Should I study all three again? or should I just stick with one of them? Please Please Please guide me!

As for Physiology...so far I find this the hardest subject... I don't have such a good grasp on chapters such as Respiration, Nerve/Muscle..I think think this is partially because my physiology professors are ALL OVER the place with Physio... They use a million gazillion books and sources which has left me extremely confused... Hmm... so how should I study Physiology for the prof... from Guyton? Does guyton have everything you need to know? My proffessor taught us Nerve and Muscle from Ganong.. I find Ganong a little bit confusing.. It seems to be a abit too detailed... 

So yeah... I am feeling very overwhelmed...and a little bit lost...  

How did you guys clear your 1st prof? How did you study? Please reply soon... Someones really scared here... #sad

Also...I must add... I don't know is it just me or do you guys sometimes feel this way too.. that no matter how much or how long you study...you never feel COMPLETELY prepared... how do I make that stupid feeling go away...  I ALWAYS have that feeling whether its a huge exam or a small class test...


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## drMD (Jan 19, 2010)

So how did your prof go??


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## Samiya (Oct 10, 2009)

I have almost the same questions. Please people! Post some replies.


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## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

Since this is an old thread, go ahead and post your questions. How much time do you have for prep leave? That will be the most important factor to decide how you should study.


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## MastahRiz (Jan 26, 2006)

That's completely off-topic. Did you even read the rest of the thread?


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## ciphoenix (Dec 24, 2010)

Samiya said:


> I have almost the same questions. Please people! Post some replies.


About biochemistry, lippincolt isn't a bad option. but harpers is a good option too.
Histology requires not being able to draw ALL diagrams, but knowing basic features so you can id tissues in slide preparations.
for physiology#yes ganong can be confusing, but guyton has all you need.

but if you have a very short time to study or review, BRS series would be best#grin


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## arghal (Nov 6, 2010)

well ok first prof so i guess you have physio biochem and anatomy. I dont know how old is this thread but even in the future i hope this will help. 
Biochem, lippincott is your best friend. Memorize the diagrams or understand them its upto you. If you have mini tests inbetween your year try faiq ahmed. its a shortcut book good revision. 

Physio is hard but its like a story. you may know the end of a story but you wont know how ou got there. Guyton is good, but guyton is very....LONG. you will read 10 pages to grasp one concept. Its good if you have time as then you will have a good grasp. Sherwood is a good option to, it has nice bullet points..and summaries. 
A good shortcut book is brs physio, try to avoid it as much as possible as you may find yourself dependent on it eventually. 

Anatomy well it depends how much detail you want. KLM is good.its detailed and its even good for clinicals. If you want it nicely presented theres grays anatomy for students. a good shortcut book brs gross anatomy. it has pretty much everything apart from good diagrams. Use netters to..have netters and brs anatomy open and you can get a good picture of whats going on. 

histology. faiq hussain. i havnt found a good book for histology yet. Faiq is dry and lacks diagrams but it gives you everything you should know. for exams you need to be able to identify a slide and its points of identification. If you have spotting or whatever you call it osp. a good book for diagrams and a bit of detail is diFiore's. another one is brs cellbio and histology. 

so for every subject you need one main big book and one shortcut or review book. because trust me, review books have saved me in exams more often then the big ones. 

Hope this helps.


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## inception (Nov 13, 2010)

Well this is an old thread but i have taken the prof fresh so my advice is
1)for gross anatomy read snell's its alot better(i used this one) but if u have time and u have the stamina read grey's student edition and netter's atlas is ur best friend
2)for histology u should be mainly familiar with difiore and give a read to faiq its more than enough
3)physiology GUYTON enough said!!!
4)biochemistry i read mushtaq's but people prefer lippincott's
and yeah don't panic everything l come to u once u sit in the exam even if you have done the course once but thoroghly


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## Samiya (Oct 10, 2009)

Now that I've taken the Prof, I've found my answers. 
Dr. Amer's (He's a demonstrator at RMC) "Upper Limb" & "Lower limb" plus KLM for Thorax. Laiq and Difiore for Histology. Guyton for Physiology. Harper for Biochemistry. Lippincott needs to be memorized as it does not give the details that build the concepts.


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## < sara > (Mar 14, 2008)

haha  hey guys.. this is an old thread.. I remember how I was feeling back then.. but alhumdulillah... First Proff.. cleared ) Now, I am in my 3rd year.. and proff is in september...


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## shanikhan (Dec 23, 2009)

< sara > said:


> haha  hey guys.. this is an old thread.. I remember how I was feeling back then.. but alhumdulillah... First Proff.. cleared ) Now, I am in my 3rd year.. and proff is in september...


so share your experience of 1st two years of med college with newbies


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## sfhdweb (Jan 6, 2011)

< sara > said:


> haha  hey guys.. this is an old thread.. I remember how I was feeling back then.. but alhumdulillah... First Proff.. cleared ) Now, I am in my 3rd year.. and proff is in september...


 congratulate sara for clearing your first prof..


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## livin_ib (Mar 27, 2009)

< sara > said:


> haha  hey guys.. this is an old thread.. I remember how I was feeling back then.. but alhumdulillah... First Proff.. cleared ) Now, I am in my 3rd year.. and proff is in september...



So Sara, I guess you are now in a good position to give us first years some advice. 

Phsysiology I'm pretty clear on - study from Guyton, understand the concepts, you're unlikely to forget them.

Biochemistry: Most seniors I've talked to say that Lippincot is the best option. What do you think? 

Anatomy. See, this is the subject that I am most confused about. Even on the official UHS syllabus for the First Proff-Part I, it gives details of the topics to be covered under General Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, but it does not give details about topics to be covered for each region - meaning upper limb/lower limb/thorax. 

So my question for anatomy is, which is the best book to study from to cover these regions? BD? KLM? And do you think it's best to stick to just one book?

Finally, I would like to know what exactly behavioral sciences is. Apparently this is part of the First Proff-Part I syllabus. However it is now August, and this has not even been introduced to us as a subject.

Hope you can help me out.
Thanks


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## header27 (Sep 9, 2009)

I could benefit from some solid advice: First Proff. in ten days.

Gross isn't a problem. If you sit down and read it region wise around exam time(for revision of course) from Snell's Clinical Anatomy you can easily cover a region a day(UL, LL, Thorax- can't speak for the rest).

Guyton is the way to go for Physio, although if you find yourself in a position where you don't have much time left till your exams and haven't really developed your concepts for particular topics, Mini Guyton does come in handy. For last day revision and before the vivas go through Firdaus.

Histology should be done from DiFore and go through the chapter summaries in Laiq for the vivas.

Biochem is my kryptonite. I cannot pass it for the life of me. Ten days left guys, help a brother out. Just know that I haven't studied a word till yet.


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## talib (Feb 22, 2011)

^ Sorry I can't answer your question because I am not in medical school yet, but what medical school do you go to ?


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## header27 (Sep 9, 2009)

Army Medical College


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## bubble (Sep 11, 2007)

I found biochem da easiest....study from lipincott, its gud book..


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## Jello1 (Sep 8, 2011)

1. Use a big book for the making of concepts.
2. a. Memorize from a "shortbook" in the last month.
OR
2. b. Make notes/ highlight the important stuff (numerical values etc) when reading the big book, and memorize this in the last month. This is harder but it pays off as there is no such thing as too much knowledge (gotta give those MLE Steps too, remember!)

Helpful shortbooks:
Biochem: "Biochem by Fiaq Ahmed" (i didn't even use a big textbook... this baby is fine, just memorize every single word.)
Anat: "Essence" for Gross Anat (a good concise book. Gross is all memorizing Muscle Origins/ Insertions and Blood Vessel/ Nerve pathways anyways)
"General Anatomy by B.D. Chaurasia" for General Anat
Embryo (no idea, never did it, winged it on the exams, miracle i passed)
Physio: "Physio by Firdaus". Awesome, but has mistakes.

Buy em before they run out, they always run out in the end-of-term rush by panicking med students... XD

Note. The Short books are a temp fix. Rely on them too much and you will screw up in the future.


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