A&P what do we really need?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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As someone who just started A&P today, I've read through Chapter 1 and I'm in the middle of doing the work book and I started to wonder...

What do we REALLY need to make sure and retain from A&P? There's so much information and I know we need to know this stuff....but what is more important. I'm assuming bones, muscles, etc.

Any advice?

Specializes in Med/Surg, StepDown, Tele, ICU.

You really need to dig in and learn as much about every system of the body as you can. You are going to be taking care of humans, and unfortunately all of our systems are fairly interconnected. You won't remember everything you learn in A&P, but the next time you hear about the physiology of a specific system or piece of anatomy you will be able to recall that information more easily. You can't focus on specific systems at this stage in the game. If you eventually sub-specialize you will be able to pay more attention to specific systems or parts of the body, but you are still going to need your A&P foundation to understand the big picture.

You really need to dig in and learn as much about every system of the body as you can. You are going to be taking care of humans, and unfortunately all of our systems are fairly interconnected. You won't remember everything you learn in A&P, but the next time you hear about the physiology of a specific system or piece of anatomy you will be able to recall that information more easily. You can't focus on specific systems at this stage in the game. If you eventually sub-specialize you will be able to pay more attention to specific systems or parts of the body, but you are still going to need your A&P foundation to understand the big picture.

What she/he said. There is a lot of info. Just read through each chapter and it doesn't hurt to read a little bit ahead of class but dont try to jump two or three chapters ahead of class because you won't need to know everything and u will skip a few sections as u progress through A&P.

AP is your building blocks, just try to take in as much as you possibly can. Every class after that will bring everything full circle, the things you learned in AP will soon come together with AP2 and Pathophysiology.

While I was a nursing student I would have said electrolytes. Now I would have to say everything.

Specializes in ER & ICU.

In my program A&P was critical they do not go over anything in the nursing they exspect you to already know and retain it from the A&P and Micro classes.

Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

The best way to retain the information is to use memorization techniques other than rote memory. For example, get an A&P coloring book. Yes, I know it sounds silly, but when you color the bones/muscles and actively label them, it really helps you retain the information.

Also, I found this website to be immensely helpful in preparing for my tests by taking the online quizzes:

Anatomy and Physiology Learning Modules - CEHD - U of M

Know your resources: is there tutoring? Open Lab hours? Boxes of bones to handle? Skeletons to compare? YouTube has some great videos; Lectures by Prof. Marion Diamond from UCLA Berkley. Record your class lectures if they allow it. Start with mastering all the body regions,i.e popliteal,axilary. Planes i.e. Sagittal, coronal. Body positions like supine and prone. And movements i.e. adduction, abduction,flexion. Along with distal, proximal, medial, lateral. I hope you get what I mean, this vocabulary comes up over and over again. Tutoring other students has really kept my A&P, "Chops". Good luck!!

in lab class I learned the bones by feeling them and saying their names together. I had to connect the two for it to stick. The coloring book also helps. it was actually required for my class. It seems as though its required for A&P 2 this semester too!!!

I loved my coloring book. The biggest thing that ended up helping me was learning all those dang prefixes and suffixes that were printed in the covers of our books (Seeley's)

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