How To Do Well In College Anatomy Laboratory Courses

If you are planning to enter any of the allied health, nursing, or medical professions, your college undergraduate degree requirements include numerous laboratory courses. Anatomy lab, in particular, is famous (or perhaps infamous!) for separating those who are serious about their professional aspirations from those who aren’t.

As one can imagine, the health and medical sciences are not for the squeamish or faint of heart. While upper-level and graduate/medical schools will use human cadavers, your undergraduate program may start you off with mammals (cats, fetal pigs), other vertebrates (sharks), or even specific organs (hearts, eyes).

From the start, this type of intense training requires students to study and perform in ways that are not characteristic of many other courses. In order to do well (and in some college programs, any grade lower than a “B” requires that the course be repeated), there are some factors to consider, especially if this is your first semester of laboratory work.

First, carefully review the entire course syllabus, lecture, recitation, and lab, for the knowledge components and skill sets required. If, for example, you are scheduled to perform lab experiments on blood typing, study in advance the materials presented in your anatomy textbook and lab manual. Some students will utilize more than one textbook or reference source for information. Once in the lab, you may not have the opportunity, for example, to start to figure out the ABO or Rh systems if you are assigned to do blood typing- you are expected to have this background knowledge in order to complete the experiments.

Second, review the lab’s experimental procedures and assignments in come for at least two weeks (or sessions). Be sure you know whether you will be spending the first fifteen minutes of each lab being tested on what you learned the previous week, as well as due dates for assignments. Find out from the instructor whether any of the guidebooks, materials, assignments, or exams are available online via the college’s course management system for your review or completion. Also inquire about the format of the exams – practical, written, or combinations.

Third, be sure you know what supplies and personal protective equipment you’ll need to bring. Anything from a lab coat to goggles to a dissection kit is in order, although some colleges will provide these for you. Closed-toe, closed-heel shoes, no dangling jewelry – you get the understanding! Once in the lab, note the posted safety guidelines (these should also be provided in writing), the location of the sinks, eye washes, fire extinguishers, and staircases closest to the laboratory.

Finally, perhaps the greatest concern for some students – will you be assigned to work with a partner, or are all activities to be performed individually? If you are required to work with a lab partner and do have a choice, ideally you’ll choose to work with someone whose style, work ethic, and personality is compatible with yours, and whose academic strengths are complementary rather than identical to your contain. But if you are instead assigned a lab partner, be sure to set aside from the start your contact information, eye strategies, the delineation of tasks and responsibilities, and your expectation that both of you will do what it takes to earn the “A”.

On occasion, problems may arise that can impact your performance and cannot be resolved between your lab partner and you. Don’t hesitate to contact your instructor for guidance, earlier in the semester rather than later, if problems do occur.

Keep in mind that laboratory courses, such as human or comparative anatomy in particular, are rigorous, intensive, and necessitate a gigantic deal of peek and preparation. Ultimately, your efforts will pay off when you receive the congratulatory admissions letter welcoming you to the medical school or graduate school program of your choice!

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