A&P 1 over summer?

RN BSN 2009 · Mar 7, 2007

That's a lot of info to cover in 5 weeks... If it is just the anatomy part, it's a lot of memorizing... Do what you think best fits your schedule

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Mar 7, 2007

I agree with iceyspots... it's a huge and intensive amount of material. If you're going to master the material, you'll need the time to absorb it and study it. Taking A&P1 in a five week time frame will require going to class every day for the major part of the day. And you want to work fulltime, too. Certainly, anything is do-able if you want it bad enough and are willing to put in the work, but this would seem to be inordinately difficult.

It's not just lecture; you'll have lab experiences as well.

I don't mean to be negative; I want to give you a realistic view of what you are considering. Several summers ago, I took Chemistry (normally a 13 week course) during a summer session of six weeks. I was not employed, so I considered the fact that I spent 5 hours a day in the classroom and lab 5 days a week, and then another four hours daily in study to be my fulltime job. I worked very hard for my grade. It's possible to succeed, but I wouldn't advise doing A&P that way.

DaughteroftheKing · Mar 7, 2007

Well.. I was planning on working from 6-2:30, then school from 3-7:45, then study from 8-9:30 and at lunch for a half hour... And dedicating all weekend, but I dont know if that will matter if I have it Mon-Thur. ..

I'll take your opinions seriously cause youve been through it, so let me know!

Thank you!!

Bam2726 · Mar 7, 2007

I understand how hard you might feel it is, my class did it in a short time as well and the only great advice i can give you is study really really hard on respriatory, everyone in my class including I thought that was a tough. But overall its not bad at all. Good luck

donsterRN, ASN, BSN · Mar 7, 2007

It's just that there is so much information presented in A&P1 and 2. And it's all so important. The very foundation of your nursing practice will depend on much more than just a passing familiarity with normal A&P. You need to own it.

My A&P instructor (actually most of my instructors) told our class that a general rule of thumb for the amount of time necessary to master the material is 2 hours of quality study time for EACH hour of lecture/lab. For me, it would be very difficult to maintain that kind of intense schedule. However, it's only for five weeks, and ultimately you're the one who will know how you adapt to your own schedule. You may well perform very nicely under that kind of pressure. It's totally and completely up to you.

As I said before, anything is do-able if you want it bad enough. I certainly wish you lots of good luck!

biogeek · Mar 7, 2007

I personally wouldn't recommend taking it over the summer if you're working full time. Although you could probably put in enough time on the weekends to get a decent grade, you'll have to be very dedicated to have that much focus in a five-week time span. A&P isn't something that you want to cram and then forget later when you're in nursing school. If you're only taking the lectures, then it wouldn't be too bad. If you're also taking the anatomy lab, I'd wait until fall to take it. Just my two cents. :)

future L&Dnurse · Mar 7, 2007

I took it over the summer, but I wasn't working and I didn't take any other classes at the same time so I was able to focus ALL my attention on the class. I think our course was 7 weeks long. It was *VERY* challenging. I don't think I could have done it if I hadn't had time to do all the reading and studying. I did end up with an A but to be honest I felt I had to re-learn a lot of information when I started A&P 2 in fall- we just went over things to fast to really absorb the information. I wouldn't really recommend it if you can avoid it, especially if you're working.

justme1972 · Mar 7, 2007

I'm taking API and APII over the entire summer. Each section will be 5 weeks...Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 and that includes the lab.

It will be brutal, but on the flip side, it will be the only class I have, but there is no way I could work 40 hours a week on top of that many hours in class.

nicuRN2007 · Mar 7, 2007

Honestly, I don't suggest taking A&P in 5 weeks, especially while working full time. A&P will be like no class you have ever taken before. It was a wake-up call for me. I took Micro in 5 weeks, but during those 5 weeks, my life was consumed with Micro, and I did not work at all. There's no way I could have done it while working 40 hours a week. And that was after taking A&P I and II and learning how much these science courses demand of you and how to study for them. I feel like if you do take A&P I and pass it in 5 weeks while working full time, you won't have had time to actually learn the material, you will just have time to memorize things to get by on the tests, and this won't be helpful for A&P II, nursing school, or the rest of your nursing career.

Perhaps you can take some of your other pre-req's for nursing school during the summer, and start A&P in the fall.

Hate to be a downer, but I honestly feel that this wouldn't be a good idea. Good luck to you!

oHIostoodent · Mar 7, 2007

:nono: I attempted to take A&P1 over one summer and this was a 8 week course. Girl let me tell you. I dropped that class real fast. It was 3 days a week and each week it was lecture, quiz, test. Lecture, quiz, test. I found it very stressful. That was without a job. I felt I was memorizing rather than learning it. I took it then in the Fall and got an A. That is just my opinion. I would suggest taking a couple easier pre-req's. Good luck!

MSJ2007 · Mar 7, 2007

I took my A & P I, II, III series over the summer last year. I did not work. I was in class M-R approx. 8 to 2. I came home, ate lunch, and studied until my husband came home at 6. Ate dinner, studied until 9. The next morning, I went back to class and took a quiz (every class day). It worked out to be about 30 quizzes. :uhoh3: I did nothing else. Read, study, quiz, repeat. Weekend...what weekend?

It can be done, (I got A's in all three) but it scares me that you are planning on working in addition to the class. Can you study while at work? There were others in my class who worked, but they struggled. The good new is, if you do the work, you can retain the material. I was reviewing a patho book yesterday, and I remember an awful lot, so don't let the retention part scare you. If you learn it once, it will come back to you with review.

Good luck with whatever choice you make!