The Unofficial Guide to First Year - University of Oklahoma Health ...

UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
During this year, courses are designed to teach about the human body gone awry. You will take
classes like pathology and pharmacology in order to better understand disease and methods of
treatment. In addition, many students seem to enjoy the second year more than the first year, as
the information seems more practical (i.e. treating disease states) and the schedule primarily
consists of morning classes, so your afternoons are “free.”
Introduction to Human Illness (IHI): This is by far the largest class of medical school, as you
take it both semesters during the second year. Dr. Holliman is the course director and he
really works hard to make this a good course. Although his syllabus is thorough, you don’t
get a syllabus for some sections so you have to use notegroups and a textbook. When you do
have Dr. Holliman’s syllabus remember that if something is bolded or italicized it will be on a
test.
There are two textbooks for the class: Robbin’s Pathology and Kaufman’s Essentials of
Pathophysiology. The Robbin’s book is expensive but definitely worth it. The Kaufman
book is not as good, but because it was written by current professors it is occasionally useful
for the clinical content. Okie Notes Pathology is Holliman’s syllabus and some people used it
for the sections he didn’t give us in class.
Pharmacology: This is also a full year class and was recently revamped for last year’s class. We
had class for the first two test blocks and then we had team based learning sessions (TBLs)
only. The good side is you don’t have lecture so you have more free time. The bad side is
you have a TBL every Friday. If you have lectures they’re usually worthwhile. Dr. Koss’s
material is an extension of what you learned first year and it’s pretty difficult on the test, so
make sure you understand it. If you go to class he explains it well.
Principles of Clinical Medicine II (PCM II): This class is structured differently than PCM I.
You have lecture first semester and two block exams. Then you have a comprehensive final
in May. The most fun part about the class is the activities. You will have a partner who does
all of the activities with you and you will be assigned a date to do them. You will perform a
pelvic exam on a volunteer, you will be graded on a complete physical exam (by a nursing
student volunteer), and you’ll do an eye, ear, nose, and throat exam on each other. You will
also follow a preceptor one day a week for six weeks. If you have a specialty you’re interested
in you can request someone in that field and you can request a specific doctor. So, you might
talk to your mentor and see if they know a good doctor to follow.
MMI: There’s really no special trick to this class, you just have to learn all the bacteria and
viruses. There are a couple of useful books: Immunobiology by Janeway is great but it is only
comprised of immunology information which will be covered during the first test block.
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