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

UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
systems, which will be the basis of most of the exam questions. Other details
that are good to know are the Starling equation, vascular function curves, and
the baroreceptor reflex. Near the end of the section both Dr. McHale and Dr.
Dormer will integrate the material on the heart and the peripheral vasculature.
This is very helpful and key to understanding the overall picture. Once again,
Dr. Dormer’s test questions are VERY hard and ambiguous. MAKE SURE when
doing calculations that you correctly convert the units!!! You will find that the most
complaints after the first block exam will come from his section. Since he has the
most questions on the first test, it would serve you well to spend the majority of
your time thoroughly understanding the concepts of this section. You’ve been
warned…
BLOCK II
RENAL:
This might be the most overwhelming section of the entire year! Thankfully, Dr.
Benyajati is AWESOME! Sometimes she lectures as if she has some sort of
hyperactivity disorder, but she’s just getting caught up in her passion. She’s also
well aware of this tendency and will be very understanding if you ask her to slow
down in the middle of class. She gives you more practice problems than you
think you have time for… MAKE time for them!
For this section, more than any other, I think it is particularly helpful to make a
table. Use the table to keep track of what is going on the proximal tubule, loop
of Henle, and distal nephron. Know what gets reabsorbed and secreted in each
section and how it is regulated. It is also particularly important that you do
practice questions to make sure you understand the various body compartments
and what happens when one of them is altered, as well as GFR and associated
Starling forces, clearance, transport, renal plasma flow, and acid-base balance. If
you work through the practice questions online and the questions she hands out
and understand them well, you will do fine on the exam. All of her exam
questions are very fair and well written. Her syllabus is somewhat lengthy, so a
day or so before the test you may benefit from reading the BRS book to get a
quick review.
RESPIRATORY:
Dr. Farber might seem dull, but his explanations for this conceptually difficult
section are very clear and I personally think he’s a great lecturer. He uses simple
props like balloons, slinkies and turkey basters to help you visualize the material,
which helps a lot. His syllabus is a little insufficient for a complete
understanding, but his PowerPoint slides are excellent and I would recommend
studying from these.
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