UoM General Chat

[Rishi97]

In my experience, pathology is a subject that seems to intertwine a lot of the health science disciplines, so it's hard to provide an exact answer here. I studied pathology in the context of BIOM20001, and it went quite well with biochemistry, genetics, cell biology and microbiology/immunology; and after BIOM20002 I'd say it also goes with physiology and pharmacology (perhaps not necessarily anatomy). Hmm... what's your plan in terms of the other subjects you intend to take in second year? Perhaps I (or others) could be of more assistance if we get an idea of what subjects you're thinking of taking, and we could suggest a suitable arrangement for you. Sorry for being vague about it - maybe I don't have a clue at all and someone else will be able to provide a better answer.

Thanks for the help Stick
I'm not 100% sure of my major just yet so trying to keep my options open and take prereqs for HSF, Physiology and Neuroscience.
So far I have decided on; anatomy, physiology, research physiology, biochem, pathology...and as for breadth sem 1, I'm considering genetics, health and society (only after reading ur amazing review :p )...pathology will be second sem so not exactly sure what other science subject I want to do first semester. Thoughts?
Thanks again for the help!

[brightsky]

Bit of a shot in the dark here but just wondering whether anyone here has done MIIM30016 Techniques in Microbiology and could comment on the subject overall? I've never done a prac based subject before, so not really sure what to expect from this subject. Thank you so much in advance!

[VCEANON]

@Mr. T-Rav
how much Chemistry was involved in BCMB20005? And how exactly difficult was it to study the content when there's only one lecture each week?

I'll add that Amber added a weekly online quiz (each worth 1%) assessing the lecture content this year. I think it would make keeping up to date in lectures a bit easier... also less weight to the final exam. I found lectures the most tedious part of the subject, but managed to only need around a 50% in the final exam to get a H1 (from dedicating a lot of time to the pracs/reports).

[Stick]

Thanks for the help Stick
I'm not 100% sure of my major just yet so trying to keep my options open and take prereqs for HSF, Physiology and Neuroscience.
So far I have decided on; anatomy, physiology, research physiology, biochem, pathology...and as for breadth sem 1, I'm considering genetics, health and society (only after reading ur amazing review :p )...pathology will be second sem so not exactly sure what other science subject I want to do first semester. Thoughts?
Thanks again for the help!

Just bear with me, I'm going to do a bit of "working out" in this post before I get to an answer.

You'll be taking:
- ANAT20006 Principles of Human Structure
- BCMB20002 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- PATH20001 Exploring Human Disease - Science
- PHYS20008 Human Physiology
- PHYS20009 Research-Based Physiology

Okay, so here are my thoughts:
- ANAT20006 and PHYS20008 should be taken together, if possible
- I'm pretty sure PHYS20008 and PHYS20009 overlap each other, but opinions are divided as to whether PHYS20009 should be taken with or after PHYS20008. I guess it depends on how you learn - perhaps PHYS20009 will help you understand PHYS20008; or maybe it's better to focus on getting PHYS20008 right first and then think about PHYS20009 later. In that sense, the overlap could either be a blessing or a curse. For the minute, I'll assume it's best to take them together.
- Out of all of those in the list, BCMB20002 probably goes best with PATH20001 and should be taken concurrently

That shapes up to be:

Semester 1:
- ANAT20006
- PHYS20008
- PHYS20009
- [blank]

Semester 2:
- BCMB20002
- PATH20001
- [blank]
- [blank]

That actually leaves you with no room at all for another Science subject (unless you skip a breadth) in semester 1, so perhaps we'll move PHYS20009 to semester 2.

Semester 1:
- ANAT20006
- PHYS20008
- [blank]
- [blank]

Semester 2:
- BCMB20002
- PATH20001
- PHYS20009
- [blank]

Alright, so that makes things a bit easier to work with. In semester 1 you have the potential to study genetics, cell biology and microbiology/immunology. As I said, all of these go quite well with pathology so it's ultimately your pick. Having done both GENE20001 and GENE20002 though I'd say the link to pathology in that sense is actually rather weak, so unless you're really keen on genetics it's probably an option I'd eliminate (furthermore, if you want to pursue it as a major you have to take three subjects at second year level which is incredibly difficult to fit in). Out of cell biology and microbiology/immunology it becomes a bit more tough - one thing you might wish to consider is that to pursue a major in microbiology/immunology you need to also take MIIM20002 Microbes, Infections and Responses in semester 2. On the other hand, I'm fairly certain CEDB20003 Fundamentals of Cell Biology is the only semi-requirement for the Cell and Developmental Biology major (I have a feeling your other subjects may actually cover you if you choose to go down this path - have a search through the handbook).

I'm a fan of leaving subjects you might wish to change in semester 2, so it might be better to keep PHYS20009 there given it's not "essential" and allows you some flexibility to change your mind and slot something else in there. You won't be able to pursue the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology or Pathology majors with that subject plan though, unless you take BCMB20005 Techniques in Molecular Science (this will cover you for the Pathology major as well, even though they also offer PATH20003 Experimental Pathology).

All in all, given that the Cell and Developmental Biology major is rather open, I'd opt to take MIIM20001 in semester 1. If you really love it, you can take out PHYS20009 in semester 2 and replace it with MIIM20002. If none of those take your fancy, you can place in BCMB20005 and keep both the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Pathology majors open. If you really want to throw something different in there, you can put in PHRM20001 Pharmacology: How Drugs Work. That keeps a lot of things open - unfortunately this will close off genetics though.

So, in summary:

Semester 1:
- ANAT20006
- MIIM20001
- PHYS20008
- [blank]

Semester 2:
- BCMB20002
- PATH20001
- PHYS20009 (backup 1: MIIM20002; backup 2: BCMB20005; backup 3: PHRM20001)
- [blank]

I have a feeling this post is going to be incredibly confusing. I hope I was of some help. :/

[nino quincampoix]

I concur: PHYS20009 a semester after PHYS20008 is a better choice. The two are out of synch in terms of when they cover each topic, so it makes little sense taking them together even though their content is the same. Also, as Stick points out, you can always swap PHYS20009 for something else in the event that physiology isn't your thing.

[Leronziia]

Bit of a shot in the dark here but just wondering whether anyone here has done MIIM30016 Techniques in Microbiology and could comment on the subject overall? I've never done a prac based subject before, so not really sure what to expect from this subject. Thank you so much in advance!

Pretty good subject.

I'll have to gather my thoughts and give you a better rundown at 7pm on Tuesday. 

For now, it's back to the immuno cramming.

[uoiea]

Yeah I wanted to study something related to diseases / infections as well and was originally aiming for Pathology, but I recently learned MIIM also covers this sort of stuff. Is there a clear distinction between the two? Looks like both of them cover the area of diseases and infections, but MIIM 3rd year subjects sound cooler.

[Stick]

Yeah I wanted to study something related to diseases / infections as well and was originally aiming for Pathology, but I recently learned MIIM also covers this sort of stuff. Is there a clear distinction between the two? Looks like both of them cover the area of diseases and infections, but MIIM 3rd year subjects sound cooler.

In short, microbiology/immunology covers infectious disease (and perhaps cancer); pathology covers disease in general.

[Mieow]

Stick, just curious but what convinced you to pick neuroscience as your major?

[Pup]

if anyone wants to talk about third year neuroscience, you can message me if you want , I've got alot of good things to say about neuroscience.

[sjayne]

neuro because brains are so cool 

[brightsky]

Pretty good subject.

I'll have to gather my thoughts and give you a better rundown at 7pm on Tuesday. 

For now, it's back to the immuno cramming.

Cheers Leronziia! Best of luck with your immuno exam!

[Shenz0r]

Yeah I wanted to study something related to diseases / infections as well and was originally aiming for Pathology, but I recently learned MIIM also covers this sort of stuff. Is there a clear distinction between the two? Looks like both of them cover the area of diseases and infections, but MIIM 3rd year subjects sound cooler.

Micro covers how pathogens infect you, how they transmit, how they cause damage to the host, etc. Immuno is kinda different from path but they have overlapping bits, such as hypersensitivities and autoimmune diseases. I have never had much experience with pathology but you would focus more specifically on the disease state itself (immuno will cover the possible causes of autoimmunity instead, for eg). In immuno you would also cover a lot of concepts such as antigen presentation, immune cell development, vaccinations, immunity, etc.

[Stick]

Stick, just curious but what convinced you to pick neuroscience as your major?

Sure!

Second year Biomedicine is great in that you get a taste of essentially every possible major available on offer in third year. After first year I was convinced my major would come out of BIOM20001 - from my studies in Year 12 and first year biology I had gathered that I was far more interested in the more "molecular and cellular" aspects of biology (to be honest, I had a strong feeling I'd select Cell and Developmental Biology as my major), rather than the biology studied from a more zoomed-out level (e.g. physiology). In addition, the thought of studying anatomy in particular actually scared me. :S So, straight out of first year I had already short-listed Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Cell and Developmental Biology, Microbiology/Immunology and Pathology as potential majors, and had largely dismissed the rest.

Anyway, BIOM20001 rolled around and for the vast majority of the semester I felt overwhelmed and I wasn't really enjoying any of those topics we covered (and I actually hated the Cell and Developmental Biology component of the subject); consequently I started to get down, thinking that perhaps I had chosen the wrong degree to pursue. I picked to continue studies in microbiology/immunology and genetics because they were the most interesting to me, but in all honesty I didn't find them that interesting (pathology also sat in this boat, but I didn't choose to study a second semester subject because it wasn't necessary to keep the major open and I also felt it was unlikely I'd pursue it anyway given the mixed reviews of the third year subjects). In short, I felt a little bit desperate.

I had low expectations going into BIOM20002, and I didn't know how much anatomy we had to learn and I was still worried I'd be overwhelmed with all the material. However, quite quickly I clicked with the physiology component (the content, not the way in which it was taught lol) and in particular the neurophysiology regarding action potentials. Some people had told me to hang in there for physiology because they knew I was the type of learner that liked to think, rather than mindlessly memorise - they were right, but neurophysiology was the first time this year I had felt that pang of enthusiasm and passion for my studies once again (this also occurred with my Genetics, Health and Society breadth, but that obviously wasn't relevant lol). The other parts of physiology were also pretty cool, but after getting some opinions it became evident that the Neuroscience major and subjects were overall run better than their Physiology counterparts.

So, in the end, I ended up selecting a major from BIOM20002, and from a study area I never thought I'd select (to be honest, I never really understood how the action potential worked in Year 12 and first year biology, so it didn't seem logical to pursue something that didn't make sense and was confusing). Now the idea I have of neuroscience is a particularly exciting one - especially hearing the things my younger sister has learnt while studying VCE Psychology. I was keen to work in psychology somehow at university, but I found the large degree of writing somewhat off-putting. I think neuroscience is the perfect balance - it's more heavily grounded in science, but we get to explore so many open-ended questions that I love to ponder and think about.

I guess the moral of the story is to really keep an open mind in second year - you might go in with some preconceptions but don't limit yourself and don't let selecting a major occupy your whole year like I let it: you will eventually find a study area you'll like. Of course, this is always easier said than done.

[Rod]

Just bear with me, I'm going to do a bit of "working out" in this post before I get to an answer.

You'll be taking:
- ANAT20006 Principles of Human Structure
- BCMB20002 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
- PATH20001 Exploring Human Disease - Science
- PHYS20008 Human Physiology
- PHYS20009 Research-Based Physiology

Okay, so here are my thoughts:
- ANAT20006 and PHYS20008 should be taken together, if possible
- I'm pretty sure PHYS20008 and PHYS20009 overlap each other, but opinions are divided as to whether PHYS20009 should be taken with or after PHYS20008. I guess it depends on how you learn - perhaps PHYS20009 will help you understand PHYS20008; or maybe it's better to focus on getting PHYS20008 right first and then think about PHYS20009 later. In that sense, the overlap could either be a blessing or a curse. For the minute, I'll assume it's best to take them together.
- Out of all of those in the list, BCMB20002 probably goes best with PATH20001 and should be taken concurrently

That shapes up to be:

Semester 1:
- ANAT20006
- PHYS20008
- PHYS20009
- [blank]

Semester 2:
- BCMB20002
- PATH20001
- [blank]
- [blank]

That actually leaves you with no room at all for another Science subject (unless you skip a breadth) in semester 1, so perhaps we'll move PHYS20009 to semester 2.

Semester 1:
- ANAT20006
- PHYS20008
- [blank]
- [blank]

Semester 2:
- BCMB20002
- PATH20001
- PHYS20009
- [blank]

Alright, so that makes things a bit easier to work with. In semester 1 you have the potential to study genetics, cell

Thank you everyone for all this help! Making our subject selection easier. There is just so much we can do it's hard to decide aha!