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Took the course during fall/winter 2015. The breakdown of the course changed slightly this year with the inclusion of 4 online quizzes. Here was the breakdown:
4 online quizzes (2.5% each)
2 midterms (20% each)
final exam (50%)
Evaluations were all MC, each quiz consisted of 5 questions, each midterm 35 questions and the final 100 questions (1/3 from Hill, 2/3 from Macri).
PROFS
Both Dr. Hill and Dr. Macri were great professors (extremely knowledgeable and passionate about their respective topics, engaging and effective lecturers) however they have very different lecturing styles. Depending on who was teaching, either Dr. Hill or Dr. Macri was available for some time after lectures to answer questions/clarify material. I believe Dr. Hill had regular office hours while Dr. Macri did not, but you can set up appointment times with either prof if needed.
MATERIAL
First half of the course was taught by Dr. Hill and covered intro to lab med, test performance characteristics, analytical techniques, body fluids and compartments, renal function and disease, acid base balance, and diabetes. Second half of the course was taught by Dr. Macri and dealt mostly with the endocrine system and hormones. Topics covered included hormones, lab tests to diagnose endocrine disorders, endocrinology of the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands and related disorders (hypo and hyper function) and their clinical manifestations.
EVALUATIONS-quizzes/tests/exam
Quizzes were online and scattered throughout the term which I found to be helpful in keeping up with the material. Overall, the quizzes were relatively easy as most answers could be found simply by looking at lecture slides/notes and generally everyone did really well on them. Midterms were more challenging and consisted of a mix of straightforward recall type questions and questions based off of case studies that required more critical thinking and application of concepts. IIRC, the midterms were non-cumulative. The final was cumulative and quite similar to the midterms in terms of the types of questions asked. However, it was slightly more challenging due to the volume of material we were expected to know. But still very managable and fair.
I didn't use the textbook very much throughout the term and I think you can get away without using it at all. However, it is very helpful in clarifying concepts from lecture and I found myself referring to it from time to time. With that being said, all quiz/midterm/exam questions were solely lecture based.
OVERALL
Overall, the course was extremely interesting, so much so that I found myself looking forward to going to lectures even though they were usually held at 8:30 in the morning. If you are interested in pursuing a career in lab med or medicine, then the course will be very interesting and useful to you. Since the material was interesting, it was easy to study for. Dr. Hill and Dr. Macri also went over practice questions/case studies in class in preparation for the midterms/exams, which was really helpful. Overall, this is a really enjoyable class where you can learn a lot and get a high grade in if you put in the effort (just like most other courses I suppose).
OTHER
Just wanted to answer some of the questions from above that were not answered, in case anyone wanted to know or was still wondering.
1) Has anyone taken Biochem3G03? How would this course compare to 3G03 in terms of difficulty? - Personally, I found biochem 3g03 to be slightly easier (mark-wise), but way less interesting.
2) Is the textbook necessary in order to help me get a mark of at least 10? - No
3) Is this class podcasted? - No
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know.
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