Honours Physiology

[Kingdarm]

If I had to do it all over again, I would go with Pharmacology.

 

Physiology lab reports, like previous posters mentioned, are brutal and tough. When you get through it, it definitely is worth it. What is however a b1tch, is a stretch of about 6 lab reports back-to-back starting mid-January (Not sure if that's still around, they might have altered the curriculum). Coincidentally, that's around the time when you should be prepping for your med school interviews. When I did honphyl, the faculty was not very supportive of students attempting to get into medicine (if you have an interview on the day of the lab at UT, tough. You can't make it up. Enjoy your 0!)

 

But apparently, if you cry and moan and suck up enough, those in charge of the course will allow a bit of slack. If only our year stooped down to that level...

 

TL;DR: Do pharmacology.

 

Near the end of the 3rd year Physio lab we cried enough and the profs cut us some slack. As far as I know they aren't as negative towards pre-med students as you have described. But yes, in the 1st term back-to-back physio lab reports were tough. Compared to the physio lab reports, the pharmacology lab reports were a lot easier to write, especially in the 4th year. Furthermore, I felt that the pharmacology profs were far more supportive of students going into med.

[Recycledepot]

Near the end of the 3rd year Physio lab we cried enough and the profs cut us some slack. As far as I know they aren't as negative towards pre-med students as you have described. But yes, in the 1st term back-to-back physio lab reports were tough. Compared to the physio lab reports, the pharmacology lab reports were a lot easier to write, especially in the 4th year. Furthermore, I felt that the pharmacology profs were far more supportive of students going into med.

 

My apologies, I was referring to the 4th year labs. The 3rd year labs were quite enjoyable, straightforward, and very informative. A stark contrast to what was to come in 4th year.

[kratos]

nothing for you here estairella go back you cant comment on anything i ever wrote heheheh

[Kingdarm]

if thats what they meant, i find it very ignorantly arrogant of them to taunt those who applied but didn't get in the program with the words "you know you jealous bro..." jealous of what? of a program that bestows upon you a degree thats not gona do you much good in terms of getting a decent job? that maybe true for quite a few bachelors level degrees but alteast students from other depts don't go around making obnoxious videos and taunt others and suck up like hypocrites to promote a dept that they are probably only using as a stepping stool for med

 

P.S. for the record, thought i should mention that I am in LFS so no bias here either

 

I think you're reading too much into this. They created this little fun video to show their pride for being in Physiology.

[Flow Cytometry]

haha.

 

Can someone make a biochemistry video at UBC?

 

Biochem at UBC has always been a lower key compared to pharm and physio....

[cheeseshredder]

So I'm debating whether or not to switch into Gen. Sci from physio.

 

I couldn't stand 3rd year, I did well on the lab reports but I felt that it wasn't a good use of my time and frankly I didn't learn much.

 

If I go the gen. sci route I'll need 4 courses to graduate.

 

If I go with physio, I just need to do the 24 credits of PHYL 4** courses (this has been confirmed with the faculty since I took extra credits in during summers).

 

I'm not interested in any graduate work, so I don't know if a physiology degree is worth the trouble. Can anyone who has done 4th year comment on the workload compared to 3rd year?

[afsmak27]

So I'm debating whether or not to switch into Gen. Sci from physio.

 

I couldn't stand 3rd year, I did well on the lab reports but I felt that it wasn't a good use of my time and frankly I didn't learn much.

 

If I go the gen. sci route I'll need 4 courses to graduate.

 

If I go with physio, I just need to do the 24 credits of PHYL 4** courses (this has been confirmed with the faculty since I took extra credits in during summers).

 

I'm not interested in any graduate work, so I don't know if a physiology degree is worth the trouble. Can anyone who has done 4th year comment on the workload compared to 3rd year?

 

Switch while you can. If I could do it all over, I would have dropped physio for 4th year. The workload is brutal, the lab is terribly long/takes up an entire Friday, lab reports take forever (plus they're due over the weekend, do lab on Friday, hand report in on Wednesday), and you don't really learn much in long-term (unless you want to do a graduate degree). On top of it all you have a thesis to do. The only plus side is to take the 4** PHYL courses, which you can take anyway as a Gen Sci. Also, it's tough to manage in your MMI practice time during the early winter (unless you suck up to faculty and get a couple of extensions, as this year's graduating class have clearly done).

 

If I were you, this is what I would do. Drop physiology, take general science. Get rid of the PHYL lab/thesis. Take cardio/respiratory, GI/Endocrine. Those were quite informative and relatively well-taught. Renal/neuro is somewhat tough, and I didn't really find all that different from what was taught in PHYL 301 (lots of specifics, not a lot of breadth).

[Flow Cytometry]

I agree. Those courses really give you a good fundamentals to medicine.

[Ms_Sunshine]

I actually switched from honours physio to integrated science at the beginning of fourth year. My biggest mistake was putting off the switch til the school year started. The physio faculty was unhappy that I switched out two weeks into the year and let me know in rather unprofessional ways (i.e. giving my projects to other people with consulting me, ignoring my messages, ridiculously biased marking by one of the profs [i stayed on one of the physio courses because I thought the learning would be worth it... my mistake...]).

 

Physio is a good program but the profs can be quite elitist and snobby and the program really isn't good for everyone. If you don't enjoy how the physio program is, just get out.

 

My 2 cents.

[cheeseshredder]

Thanks for the feedback, super helpful.

[advair250]

I'm guessing physiology gets hard in 4th year, because the course load in 3rd year is a joke... The only extra course they have is phyl 303, which I'm assuming is a hard lab course.. so yeah I guess they give you false sense of hope in 3rd year before they bone you in 4th year

[meddie14]

First, let me say that it saddens me to see some people being so incredibly mean to specific individuals and for being so judgmental of people who made the video. If you think that these are the qualities that are good in a doctor, you are sorely mistaken. If you do get into med school and do get the privilege of studying medicine, I hope your attitudes do change.

 

Second, I would like to briefly address the comments about the video. The video was not made to "suck up" to the profs, nor was it made with the intention of being used as a promotional video. It was made to make people in the program and those who knew the class well laugh. It wasn't shown until after the class graduated, and it was made only once all evaluations were complete. Lyrics were made to rhyme, and I don't think it's some sort of sin to have a little bit of program pride and to say that the students are "the best" and so on. Everyone exaggerates the truth for some fun, but I don't see people complaining about how Imagine Day is full of lies because all faculties claim to be the best. So seriously, chill out.

 

Third, I would like to touch on the program. I recently graduated from it, and I thought it was fantastic. Is it challenging? Yes. But are the professors snobby or elitist? Certainly not. Those who claim otherwise either did something to seriously piss them off (there were a few students a few years ago who were incredibly disrespectful to the professors, who spoke down to people and who affected how the entire class was perceived- it is really sad, and I have a hunch that some of these individuals who are posting particularly bitter comments belonged to this small group of students), or else don't know any of the professors. From my experience, the professors on the whole are incredibly nice people who really care about the students. Yes, some may not love that so many of the students don't pursue research, but this is true for pretty much all programs I know of and isn't unique to physiology.

 

So what can you expect from the program? 3rd year is fairly straightforward. There are 2 courses- 301 and 303 (lecture and lab)- that you take which teach you some basic physiology. Both are good and interesting, although the lab takes time. 4th year is harder- the lab does take a long time, but the trade off is that you learn some awesome skills and the lab report writing isn't as bad as it sounds. It's a tough year, but to be honest, medical school is about 10 times tougher, so if you want to coast through, boy oh boy are you going to have an awful time with much more work and harder material in med. 4th year lecture courses are fantastic, however. Most profs are amazing, really know their stuff, and the material is really interesting. If you like human biology, they are awesome. If you want to do med, the courses are excellent preparation and are a great introduction. If you want to cruise, get out of med while you still can, cause that boat stops in your first week. Doctors aren't slackers, so if that's your approach you are very much in the wrong profession.

 

Lastly, to address this notion that profs don't care about your interviews and you have to suck up or something to change that. Again, not true. My profs were very accommodating when I explained the situation to them. They do care about your futures, they want to help, and the instructions laid out are more of a guideline than a strict rule. Obviously, you can't just skip labs willy nilly all the time, you have to make an effort to try to minimize the number you miss. But they're not heartless and will make concessions- provided you are respectful.

 

Yes, some people don't like physiology. Some don't like the profs because personalities don't mesh. But in our group, at least, this was most definitely not the case. Expect it to be challenging. Expect to have to work hard to get good grades. Expect to be busy. But also expect that the profs will treat you fairly- and they do. Just don't be a jerk and don't be rude. People are not out to "bone" you or to hurt you. They teach you and expect you to study. If you don't, you won't do well. But I don't know anyone who studied hard and understood the material and did really poorly. And if you think that any of these expectations will be any different in med school, you are oh so very wrong.

 

And whoever commented on a specific name in the video- I sincerely hope that you apologize. Your maturity level is clearly way too low if you think that the way to deal with frustration is to publicly denounce someone on a forum that anyone can read. I don't think a person who does that is worthy of medical school.

[Neisseria]

I believe there hasn't been a physiol grad who entered grad studies in the department for 5 years now, so the profs are realistic and well aware that their students will go into medicine regardless, they dont' expect to use a failed lab to turn you around. However, I don't see it as being unreasonable if you get dinged for not showing up to a scheduled lab since it's written in the regulations that attendance is mandatory.

 

Consider the social aspect of physiol or any small program an exercise in people-skills. If you think some of these profs are difficult, their ego is nothing compare to doctors'. The unidealistic truth is that success in medical profession is as much about competency as about talking to the right people (aka sucking up) and being easy going with anyone. In a world where everyone else has greater power than you, if you cannot control your own attitude then you might not get to your goal.