A&P Test. VENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[zannie]

I need to vent to you guys!!!

I am soooooo frustrated and angry right now. I took my first A&P test today...... I studied my butt off!!!!!!! I put in so much time and effort in studying. I had my husband quizzing me, my friend Missy, my brother in law Benn........ I knew this stuff inside out!!!! I felt so prepared when I went!!

He had given us a study guide which had a bunch of questions in it..... I answered ALL the questions and was working off of the study guide and the book.

I saw that in the bone cell chapter there was a section on joints. He'd NEVER gone over it in class or said anything about it when he did the review for the test on friday but I thought "Well, JUST IN CASE it's on there... I'd better read through it" I read through it and tried to learn it but I didn't focus on it.

I also knew that we'd have to write a paragraph about muscle contraction so I studied the muscle contraction cycle out of the book and I know it inside and out (and actually understand it).

But when I looked at that test..... I had about 4 questions on it that were in the study guide and that was it! About 10 questions on joints that I had no clue b/c I couldn't remember what I'd read. Most of it was stuff that we hadn't gone over in class and wasn't in the study guide. I'd read the chapter several times and highlighted all the key points and had hubby asking me from there as well..... but I just don't remember learning anything about a lot of the stuff that was on there! :-( GRRRRRRRRRRRR

And 2ndly...... the stupid paragraph on muscle contraction. He said "Write a paragraph on the muscle contraction using these words" And the words he gave were NOT what is in the book!!!!!!!!!!!! Does anyone know what a "shaft event" is????

I learned that the calcium is released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum and the troponin on the actin moves revealing the active site and the myosin head extends, then attaches to the active site on the actin then pushes the actin back, detaches from the actin and "recocks" (as the book says). Plus all the other chemical stuff that happens with ATP and ADP and such.... but he had stuff like "shaft event", "head event" (is that when the head of the myosin attaches? when it detaches? both????)...... and a bunch of others that I don't remember now.

I am positive I failed the test. I had NO CLUE!!!!!!!! I'm so angry b/c I studied so hard and especially with the muscle contraction, I KNOW the muscle contraction !!!! But my paragraph using his words makes me look like I am clueless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrr

I'm not the only one, 2 other girls in the class had similar issues. And they even went to the tutor!!!!! (I didn't, but am reconsidering).

Thanks for listening........

--zannie

[delirium]

Zannie:

Sorry about your test. I remember my first A&P test and how frustrating it was. The tissues on the slide looked nothing like the ones we'd seen in lab (for our practical exam).

Hopefully now that you've taken a test, you'll be able to tell what to focus on. Or maybe ask your prof what to focus on, and he might be able to tell you.

Cheer up, its only one test.

[prmenrs, RN]

A shaft event sounds like when this instructor shafted you!!! What a rat! Let us know how it goes, but I'd be forewarned that what he SAYS will be on the test may not necessarily be the truth. Hopefully, there will be a discussion in class, and you'll learn more about why and how he scored the test.

Good Luck!!

[essarge]

Zannie,

I remember both my A&P I and my A&P II first exams. Failed both miserably. Though we never had to use the professor's words, sometimes what he asked made no sense to any of us. That's when we learned about his testing style, what was expected, and how he graded.

Please don't get discouraged. The best advice I can give is to chalk it up to experience and plug on. Things will get better and the farther you get into A&P the more it will make sense to you.

What text are you using, maybe someone else that had that text could help you.

Take care.

[zannie]

thanks for the encouraging replies!

Essarge, we're using Martini

--zan

[KristaB]

I used Martini, also. My teacher was also really tough -- asked questions about vague terms and such, also. I found the first test I took with him to be plain awful, and most of my classmates did, too.

What I finally figured out (this might not work with your teacher) is that he almost always made the big essay question about the topic he spent the most time on. If he spent a whole lecture on one topic, we could be almost certain that it would be an essay question.

Beyond that, I made up in lab what I lost on lecture tests. The lab tests seemed to be a bit easier, easier to study for anyway.

I know you'll get it worked out! The first test you have from any prof is almost always the toughest until you get their testing style all figured out!

Oh, one other thing that helped me was talking to former students of his. They probably won't have all the answers, but they can let you know if things will lighten up, or give you any tricks that they learned.

Krista

[essarge]

I think that Martini has a good website for that book. Does anyone know what it is?

[CarolineRn]

I also used Martini. I used the fourth edition, which came with a great cd that basically, had the entire contents of the book on it, as well as interactive quizzes, tutorials, movies, etc...

I found a link to the website here, but you have to register.

http://www.prenhall.com/martini/

[Mito]

We have many tests at our program like this with vague and unclear questions. The teachers tell us this is the difference between application and memorization. It took me the first year to understand and get used to it. Unfortunately if they are doing this in your program , this won't be the last test you see language like this.

Mito

[nrsbaby2be]

After reading these posts, I am finding myself extremely lucky. Although I won't have my first test in A&P lecture, I've already had my first practical and first quiz, both of which I've done well. Because my prof is also a physical therapist (he is now going for his doctorate in Anatomy), he styles the tests as multiple choice. He states that since that is how most of the big tests (NCLEX - if it is spelt wrong, forgive me...it's 2 am) are. He sees that the majority of the students will be going onto one of the health sciences so he doesn't overload us with the text. He gives us good notes and a review sheet for each chapter. According to him, the Martini text is actually written more towards a graduate level.

And the best part...is that I am learning something! I'll let you know for sure though a week from now. Hopefully, I'll feel the same.