A&P I Dilemma.. I have an A but I don't get it!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello, all!

I took A&P I this semester and have had the MOST abysmal teacher in my entire 20 years experience as a student. Fortunately, I am good at passing classes by simply memorizing facts for long enough to pass the tests. Unfortunately, one of the results of this is a lack of understanding of the subject. I am going back over the book now to try and "catch up," but I am having little success.

The dilemma I am faced with is that I have already registered for A&P II for next semester. I have had such a bad experience with the A&P I teacher that I am very wary of traditional classes at the same school and have elected to take the A&P II class online. I do not know whether I should re-take A&P I, though, perhaps with a different teacher. Maybe I should see how A&P II goes before I stress out over this.

Any advice? Is there anyone with a similar situation? Do you think this will hamper me in nursing school?

All comments and insights will be appreciated!

Samantha

If you are having difficulty now with AP1 I would suggest you take AP II in a classroom setting. Im finishing up AP II right now and I found it to be just as hard as the first AP. I feel whoever the teacher is, it always helps to be in front of them when they teach rather then behind a computer. if you are afraid of who you might get, look at ratemyprofessor.com. when im always ready to pick my classes for the next semester i go on there and look at what teachers are the best for what subjects i need. it always helps to have a good teacher to understand the material better. my friend told me about the site when i started school, has helped me tremendously. my first AP teacher taught from a powerpoint presentation, never wrote notes, just verbal speaking. the class basically taught ourselves. but we made groups and always studied together, it helps a lot.

As for not understanding the subject matter. it will come with time. As you enter AP II you will know how the material is presented and know how you feel best to study and understand it. AP1 usually weeds out who isn't willing to put in the time and effort. Hang in there, if i can do it, you sure can! I used to be a C student my whole life, and now im getting As and Bs in my science classes. You can't possibly remember everything taught in AP1 but just remember the important facts, do you need to know every organelle in the cell, no lol. I know many nurses and most say what we learn in the classroom is going to be completely different in the field.

Nursing school prepares you for becoming a nurse, by learning to think critically, but the real learning begins the day you get your RN.

Hope this helps a little bit. you've worked this hard so far, dont give up now, it will only get harder.

Good Luck!

Wow first great job on getting an A on A&P it's hard to get an A specially for that class. For me, usually, i get tutoring available in my school from students who are either enrolled in the nursing program, teacher or i create or join a group study. If I don't understand what i read, for me I try look for other sources such as videos or other books that explains it better or that has better illustrations whatever you can use in order to understand the material. I use the library for instance. If the teacher is the problem, change it if you have while you still have the time.

Perhaps once your in the clinical setting, you will get to appreciate it more and learn and understand it better. I don't know if you can still take A&P once you've passed the subject and that could delay your admission to nursing program unless you are not in a rush to finish. Later on as you progress with the other requirements you will encounter them again and perhaps you can put the missing pieces together through critical thinking. Please ask question because it is better to ask than make a mistake to your client. Make some clarification to your professor for the things you don't understand.

Maybe A&P II will be a fun learning experience for you since you are taking it online. There's a lot of factor why you are not learning from A&P but if it makes you feel more confident to retake A&P by all means take it. Some people don't understand things in the beginning but as soon as they progress they will get the overall picture. the professor can't teach us everything so we have to do our best by reaching out to others who understands the lesson well..we can't do it alone. have fun with a&p...and goodluck

I would wait and see how A&P II goes. You probably should take it in a regular format so you have more access to help if you need it. Just get this teacher out of the way first, and maybe things will start to clear up for you once you have a different teacher with a different perspective. Good luck.

Thanks, icu23, bramesvin, and caliotter3!

I think I'm going to see how A&P II goes. I found some free lectures online and I may just go through those if I am still in the dark. (If I can find the time!)

Specializes in Progressive, Intermediate Care, and Stepdown.

I wouldn't worry about that much, from what I understand A&PII doesn't really touch on material from the previous semester, maybe some bone or muscle references. I think u'll be fine especially if you can so easily memorize a bunch of facts like that. Good luck!

I haven't taken A&P yet, but I have taken graduate level statistics online and received an A. I LOVE taking tough courses online, bcse you can go back and replay the lecture if you have difficulty figuring out something. I am planning on taking A&P and Micro online. For me, the access to teachers is better for an online course than traditional classroom. In general, they must respond to all inquiries within 24 hours for online courses, but with traditional courses you are limited to their office hours.

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