Bag Longevity Issues
As some of you may have noticed, when they gave us the carry bags for the Dell computers, some of us got a nicer version while others got a cheaper bag.
The cheaper bags have rubberized plastic in place of leather for certain components (carry handle, hold-downs for handle and shoulder strap), have less secure stitching on the handle and strap, thin foam instead of gel for the shoulder pad, fewer rivets to secure the hold-downs, smaller (cheaper) clasps for the shoulder strap, and do not have the insert that maintains the shape of the upper part of the higher-quality bags. The problem is that the cheaper bags are apparently falling apart considerably quicker than the "nice" ones.
The issue has been raised with the Computer Group folks, and they've taken some pictures and asked me to compile a list of students who received the cheaper bag.
The simplest way to tell is by the number of rivets securing the carry handle hold-downs.

If you have two rivets, you have the "Higher Quality" bag:


If you have one rivet, you have the "Lower Quality" bag:


If you have the lower quality model, please drop me an e-mail to let me know so I can pass this information along to the Computer Group folks and see if they can't work something out. I'd encourage you to include whether or not your bag is coming apart, or if you've even used it.

The Home Stretch
According to my information (which may be flawed, e-mail me if it is), here's the rundown:

Periodontics
Our final final is Perio, scheduled for 8AM Friday.
The review document from BlackBoard for the Perio final, as well as Saba Ahmed's "All of the Perio lectures for test next Friday" notes have been added to the Perio section of the Note Vault.
Update: Josh Robbins sent in a version of the Study Guide filled in with answers. Hot dawg!

We're Done with These

Microbiology
The Micro final was Monday at 9AM.
The entire 100-question exam is comprehensive, with 50 questions being taken directly from our previous tests and the remaining 50 being taken evenly from all of our lectures. Each question will be worth one point and you will get five "free" points for showing up.
The previous exams are available on BlackBoard. Make sure you don't confuse them with the 2003 exams which are at the top of the list.
Kolodrubetz has posted a chart on BlackBoard of your current grade along with the grade you must make on the final to get an A, B, or C.
Update: Courtney Ho says she spoke to Dr. Kolodrubetz, and there will only be 2 questions on Sterilization, if that helps to you know what to focus on.

Pharmacology
The Pharm final was Tuesday at 9AM.
The 50 question exam will consist of 25 comprehensive questions coming directly from our previous exams, and 25 questions over the material presented since the previous test.
Our previous exams have been posted on BlackBoard, along with the new material (infectious diseases, etc).
In a bit of a "duh" moment, I listed Terezhalmy's Antibiotic review as a Micro document instead of Pharm. That's been corrected and it can now be found in the proper location in the Note Vault.
Update: Craig Blaisdell pointed out that the "Final Exam Format" document on BlackBoard only lists selected lectures that we must know for the comprehensive portion of the final, as follows:
7 questions - Autonomic nervous system (lectures 1-2; 7-10)
2 questions - Anticoagulants (lecture 19)
3 questions - Anti-anxiety/Hypnotics (lectures 24-26)
3 questions - General anesthetics (lectures 33-34)
6 questions - Pain management (lectures 35-38)
2 questions - Steroids (lecture 45)
2 questions - Prescription writing (lecture 47)
Update (again): Craig took the liberty of sending in the questions from previous tests taken from these sections. Find those in the Note Vault.
Update (ditto): Added Tony Morlandt's chart of drugs (4 sheets) for the final exam to the Note Vault. Says Tony: "Here's the final drug chart for pharm - it doesn't include any anticancer info, mostly because there aren't many drugs mentioned. Please note it is only a list of drugs and their features; I didn't include all of the additional info Huber and Terezhalmy gave us."
Update (sheesh): E-mails from Dr. Mifflin have stated the following regarding the comprehensive questions: " I said they'll be very similar but not identical. Nonetheless, I suggest that you study old exams" and "No, but the questions will be VERY similar (hint: study only the old exams)." Make of this what you will.
Looks like the concensus is - it's going to be the same questions (since it would be a pain to make the profs write all new questions), but he's going to change the ordering of the answers so we don't just memorize that the answer was "B" or whatever .
Update (krikey): Saba sent in some study docs for the new stuff that she and Mimi typed up. Find those in the Note Vault.

Operative
The Operative final was 8AM Wednesday, followed by an optional Skill Assessment make-up session at 10.
There's also some other stuff on the schedule later in the afternoon. No idea what that's all about. I figure someone will tell me.
Update: Courtney Ho sent in images of the Operative Midterm. Grab those in the Note Vault.
Saba e-mailed out some study documents from previous years. If you didn't get the e-mail and would like a copy, let me know.
Update: Jennifer Roe-Herring sent in a typed version of the Midterm items (if you don't like the photo version) and Saba and Mimi e-mailed out their Midterm-Final vocabulary. You can grab those in the Note Vault, as usual.
Update: Ofelia Perez sent in another word list. It's wordy!

Physiology
The Phys final was Thursday at 9AM.
It is not comprehensive, and covers only the Gastrointestinal lectures. We've been instructed that mastery of the section objectives should be sufficient to make a good grade on the test.
John Green's objectives with answers are available in the Note Vault.
Update: Christina Ramirez e-mailed out last year's test updated with old Questions from tests going back to 1997. Wow. It's been Vaulted.

Good luck, everybody!

Das Olden Thingen fur das Nuwen Testen
Apparently I forgot to post Tony Morlandt's Dental Anatomy Exam 4 Review when he sent it out way back when, so it's been added to the Note Vault.
Also you can grab Jennifer and Steve's Antibiotic Review notes from Terezhalmy by (not) clicking right here. (There's currently no Micro section to the Note Vault because I'm lazy.)

Phys Etc
Been a while since I last updated the website. Unfortunately, I've still not worked up that entertaining post I had planned. Instead, this is all business.
First off, John Green's GI Objectives have been added to the Phys section of the Note Vault. It's been said in dark alleys at dark hours that fully understanding the objectives should be sufficient for mastery of the test. I can't verify this, and it's up to you to make that judgement for yourself.

Calendar Files for the Mac
Next, Ben Lawson has been kind enough to work up some iCal files for the Mac with the class, test, and holiday schedules for next Fall. Get those here:
[ Class Schedule | Exam Schedule | Holidays ]

Etc
Finally, here's a dog riding a skateboard.

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