This is the first weekend that I’ve really missed facebook. Up until now, I’ve been busy and I was enjoying the fact that I wasn’t wasting as much time on the computer sans facebook. However, this weekend I have nothing on my agenda except studying, and FB would have been a welcome study break. I can only study neuro for so long before I feel overwhelmed and need a break- usually every couple of hours. Then I like to go and do something mindless for a while to give my brain a break. FB would have been the perfect distraction, so I miss it more than usual. Still, I’m sticking to my guns and I’m going to hold out until the end of the semester at least!
Studying neuro is a pain in the rear. The only way that I can describe it is that there are different layers of complexity, and studying is like peeling back all the layers one by one. At first, I’m totally lost and confused and I don’t know what any of the terms mean. After studying, I learn some definitions and have a general grasp of what’s going on. I feel pretty good that I’m getting the hang of it. That’s phase one. Phase two occurs when I go into greater detail and realize that I didn’t truly understand anything that I thought I did. I get frustrated. I study more and eventually sort of understand it. I realize there are 5 names for one thing and no name for another thing. I go back and re-learn some of the terms, which now have slightly different meanings to me. I’m finally understanding this stuff! Then comes phase three. Although I understand basic concepts now, I don’t have anything memorized. I’ve finally grasped the big picture, but there are a LOT of minute details that are going to be on the test. Now I have to organize the information in my head. I have to be able to visualize cross-sections of the brain stem and the pathways of tracts. I have to know every single disorder and syndrome, where the lesion is, and the symptoms that would occur. It’s not easy to get all this info into my head.
You probably got bored reading that, but imagine how I feel studying it.
I read this to my friend Val, and this is how we feel studying just regular Anatomy, so we feel extra bad for you and are glad we do not have to take neuro.
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