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

UNOFFICIAL GUIDE
explain each one in as much detail as he can in the time allotted, whereas
there is often little or no explanation in the syllabus (i.e. pain gating). In
addition, Dr. Foreman is easily approachable and will entertain any
questions you may have in or outside of the classroom setting. If you
don’t like class, I would at least try to listen to the MP3 or read the note
groups (if done well) to help clear up any confusion. As I was a strict
home-schooler, I just watched his lectures online at home. He usually
does a three-minute summary of what he talked about during each hour
of lecture, which is very helpful in narrowing down what is important
from the lecture.
DR. GARRETT – THE PHARMACOLOGICAL PHILOSOPHER
• What he teaches: Dr. Garrett is back with a vengeance and tells us all about
drugs that are used to treat pathological disorders of the nervous system. At the
first of each section, he lets you know the major nuclei and areas that contain
concentrations of neurons that release a specific neurotransmitter (don’t worry
about the connections for this part of the course!). He will then describe the
metabolism with that NT, diseases associated with loss of that NT, and drugs
used to either work as agonists/antagonists or that alter the metabolism of that
NT.
• Teaching Style: Dr. Garrett presents a lot of interesting material, most of
which will be applicable for our future clinical years. He is an entertaining
lecturer and admits to loving drugs, so you know he enjoys the material. If he
doesn’t tell you, ask how Paul McCartney really died! Although he has a lot of
information in the syllabus, he expects you to know the bolded terms, which
help ease the burden.
• Test Questions: His questions were very straightforward and never ambiguous.
He will tell you that you should know the synthesis/elimination pathways for
each of the NT’s, their major concentration sites (i.e. Norepinephrine from the
locus coeruleus), the major diseases associated with each NT (i.e. ACh and
Alzheimer’s), and the bolded drug names and their method of action.
• To go or not to go? As for all the other classes, you have to find what works for
you. If you like to go to class, Dr. Garrett is hilarious and really tries to keep
your attention, but you can just as easily get through this portion of the course
by sticking to the above suggestions and cozying up with your syllabus for a few
hours and looking at note groups for clarification. The choice is yours, my
friend.
DR. ASH – THE EYE GUY
• What he teaches: Dr. Ash is all about the eye! He has a very subdued
personality and talks quietly, so if you have a tendency to fall asleep in
class, watch out for this guy. A lot of the material he covers, we already
talked about back in anatomy or Biochem to a degree (remember those
classes!), but he provides some new information and a good refresher.
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