AP 1 is my Mount Everest

msmartel bee · Sep 17, 2012

What is it that's making the class so hard.

Nurse2b7337 · Sep 17, 2012

Hello, I felt the same way you feel last semester. Is there a way that you can record your professor(s)? Do they have powerpoints available? Sometimes this helps if you can record the lectures. I did, and listening to them over and over outside of class was great while going over notes from class and powerpoints. Also YouTube helped me tremendously there is an instructor on there and his channel is Interactive Biology!! Hang in there you can do this. I'm not sure who the author of your book is but our book came with several supplemental cd's, which were very helpful. I hope this helps just believe in yourself I made it out alive with a B!! You will understand A&P 2 better so far I like it so much better.

Katie828 · Sep 17, 2012

It sounds like you have too much on your plate. What about dropping A&P and work on getting A's in your other classes? You need to spread the class load out otherwise you are not going to have good enough grades to get into NS (even if it means taking a year or two longer). It would be better to have a W than get a D or F and have to retake it.

Katie828 · Sep 17, 2012

Also, I have no idea how much time you spend on AN, but I would recommend you keep it to a minimum. It will still be here when school is over for the term.

zoe92 · Sep 17, 2012

You probably need to drop some credits since you are not able to work less. You can't make more hours in the day, so something has got to give. If you decide to stay in the A&P class, I would recommend recording lectures, rewriting notes, making flashcards, getting copies of the power points, and if your class has an open lab period, go to that too. Try to get a good amount of sleep before class, especially if you have an exam. And make sure when you study, you are thoroughly doing so. You need to be effective in your studying during your limited hours. It's about quality not quantity.

xschatzi · Sep 17, 2012

Thank you for all the responses thus far. I do fear for my other 2 classes suffering and at the moment, I have too many classes and too much material with not enough time or energy to devote. My professor allows us access to his PowerPoints which may/may not help. At times it just copies pictures/diagrams from our text. He has a VERY thick accent so I feel much (ALL) of what I am learning is self-taught. What is YOUR experience with AP? Class load? Work hours?

zoe92 · Sep 17, 2012

I am retaking A & P (took it first this past summer) because I wanted to improve my grade and get a better understanding for NS. My summer teacher was Hungarian and it was very hard to understand her, so I totally understand what you mean about accents. She was a medical doctor in Hungary but could not practice here so decided to teach, but could not portray the material very well. Anyways, I work (usually about 18-24 hours/week) and am a full time student (14 credits), plus I have been hired at my school as a tutor. I do work every day for A & P and make flash cards for the next exam at the beginning of every unit. I do this at home and then take them to work to flip through them any chance I get. I do not know what type of job you have, but I highly recommend this. Also, if you are having to self teach, have you tried to outline the chapters? This might help bring the concepts together. I like to sit in class and rater than dictate every little thing the prof says, I write "outline" type notes, underlining in a bright color anything the teacher may emphasize or repeat more than once. I supplement those with the power points and books. Like I said before, get a lot of rest too. I know it's hard when your stressed but if you study for awhile after class and then go to sleep, your brain will be able to retain it better. YOU will also feel better than when you are lacking sleep and hyped up on caffeine.

xschatzi · Sep 18, 2012

Thank you! Great response. I work 35-40hrs per week. Unfortunately when I study it's for multiple hours of cramming information. I only get 4-5 hours of sleep a night and consume A LOT of caffeine. I really like the outline suggestion, I try to write notes from whatever I can desipher from his lecture but the end result is scribbles and incoherent information on a page. I will try to outline! I don't have the option of studying at work so when I'm not working, I am drinking coffee and studying. Good luck with AP round 2!

zoe92 · Sep 18, 2012

Thank you! And also, if you are getting a lot of scribble, I highly recommend even reorganizing information when you write your outline so that you can understand how concepts come together. Good luck to you as well! You sound very dedicated.

write2js · Sep 18, 2012

I felt the same way when I took A&P I and I was 27. I felt like I was learning an entirely different language, I was a non-traditional student starting my second career, and I will even admit that I cried after almost every class for the first 4 weeks. After my first terrible quiz, I bought the accompanying coloring book, and I made flash cards based off the chapter objectives. I still struggled with the terminology throughout my first semester in Lecture, but my Lab teacher took out extra time to help me because she saw that I wanted to succeed in her class really bad. The flash cards and the coloring book helped me put everything together like a puzzle, so when I went to A&P II, I made straight A's because I already put everything together,and I saw the bigger picture. I am now in the Nursing program, so this to will pass. Cramming will not work, try to study for a few hours in the morning, at night, and before class and you will make it through. :nurse:

renee1975 · Sep 18, 2012

What are you studying in A&P 1? All we did was a review section on Cell Biology/Chemistry, Integumentary System, Skeletal System, Muscular System, and Nervous System. The rest of the body systems are in A&P 2. What body system are you currently working on and where are you having trouble?