Taking A&P while in nursing school... how crazy hard is it?

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I'm just curious about how common this is, and how difficult it is to have both A&P and nursing courses at the same time. I will be starting my nursing classes in the fall and will be taking A&P 1 then, and A&P 2 in the spring (and nothing else with them.) I don't know if I'm being naive, but I'm not really worried about it except that I hear people on the pre-nursing forums talking about how horrendous A&P is. While I realize this is on a totally different level, I did well in A&P in high school without trying at all and it seemed like the majority of my classmates were having a really hard time. Anyway, I'm not trying to sound like a pompous jerk, I'm just kinda worried that I'm not worried enough if that makes sense. It seems like alot of people take A&P ahead of time. In my mind, 12 credits is 12 credits. I had Bio, College Algebra, Statistics, and Speech this past fall, and while it was definitely hard and alot of work, I managed to do well in all the classes. I know there's no way to tell ahead of time, but I want to be real about this going in... so any opinions on the difficulty of doing both at the same time would be greatly appreciated.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

I think it would be hard to take nursing classes without having taken A&P already. By the time you take nursing classes you should already have a solid hold on the bio aspect so you can focus on the nursing aspect. I still need to refresh when we cover each body system but at least it's familiar already.

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I don't know about you but I took A&P 1 and 2 back in the day (as well as most of my other sciences) BEFORE any of my nursing courses.

I got all A's in them and took my nursing courses ALONE and worked weekends as a nurses aide in the local hospital.

I took remaining sciences, etc, in the summertime. Nursing school is just way too stressful already. Go easy on yourself!

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I took it with my nursing courses, and it wasn't that bad. It's just a ton of memorization. I guess it really depends on your school/professor on how difficult it will be. Just don't fall behind and use notecards to study, that's how I got through.

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Specializes in Trauma & Emergency.

At my school the sequence is:

-Fall: A&P I, Organic Chem and Nursing History

-Spring: A&P II, Microbiology and Human Growth and Development

--we take 17-18 credits per semester. Its not as terrible as it sounds.

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At my school the sequence is:

-Fall: A&P I, Organic Chem and Nursing History

-Spring: A&P II, Microbiology and Human Growth and Development

--we take 17-18 credits per semester. Its not as terrible as it sounds.

Just out of curiosity, is the organic chem you take for your nursing program the same as what a chemistry major would take, or is it tailored specifically for nursing/allied health?

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Specializes in Trauma & Emergency.
Just out of curiosity, is the organic chem you take for your nursing program the same as what a chemistry major would take, or is it tailored specifically for nursing/allied health?

Same as a chem major.

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It's not even an option in my school because A & P1 is a pre-req for the nursing program. You can take A & P2 along with your nursing classes but they don't recommend it or even taking micro along with your nursing classes.

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It probably depends on how difficult and intense your nursing program is. I wouldn't dream of it doing that with mine, but I am a slow learner and that's more to do with what I know of my own abilities. If you're motivated and a talented student, there shouldn't be anything stopping you from pulling it off.

What I'm wondering about is how much more difficult and odd it would have been to not have had A&P before nursing school. From the very beginning of my program I have been challenged to have a basic (and gradually increasing) mastery of anatomy and physiology.

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I did it. I regretted it some days, but if you don't get caught up with a stressful discouraged attitude it will be totally fine. There were days I would think "oh my goodness what am I doing!? This is crazy and so much to learn!!" Then I would just pull myself together & focus on what needed to be done and it was all okay. It's not really the material that is so hard. It's the AMOUNT of it haha. But yeah, with organization & time management it can be done! :)

GOOD LUCK & BEST WISHES!

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Specializes in O.R., Circulating Nurse.

Good luck. Tried to take it while also working on a full-schedule of pre-req's. If you want an "A" take it alone. Otherwise do like I did and take it until the drop date and drop it, unless you're getting an A, or i guess, a B. Now at some schools, like mine, you can only take a class twice and you get the higher grade, no matter what. Good luck. Take it slow and get good grades!

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I did it. I regretted it some days, but if you don't get caught up with a stressful discouraged attitude it will be totally fine. There were days I would think "oh my goodness what am I doing!? This is crazy and so much to learn!!" Then I would just pull myself together & focus on what needed to be done and it was all okay. It's not really the material that is so hard. It's the AMOUNT of it haha. But yeah, with organization & time management it can be done! :)

GOOD LUCK & BEST WISHES!

Thank you so much, it's great to hear from someone who's done it! I don't really have an option at this point, unless I were to delay starting my actual nursing classes but in my mind that's not an option at all!

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