Read this if you have taken A&P.

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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For those of you who have already taken A&P could you please tell me the best way to organize my notebook/binder etc.. I really want to get an A in this class and I hear its a lot of hard work. I want to be as organized as I can for this class ( I start A&P 1 in Jan. ). Also any study tips would be appreciated. Thanks:)

Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.
For those of you who have already taken A&P could you please tell me the best way to organize my notebook/binder etc.. I really want to get an A in this class and I hear its a lot of hard work. I want to be as organized as I can for this class ( I start A&P 1 in Jan. ). Also any study tips would be appreciated. Thanks:)

What I did was take notes on a regular spiral notebook and then re-write them on the computer or by hand and file them in a 3 ring binder. I would place them in the clear protector sheets (2 pages back to back per page). I would divide my notes by chapter, and would color code my notes with a highlighter. Our instructor would tell us what material to expect in a quiz, exam, and practical. Quiz info was in yellow, exam in green, and practical in pink. We also did power point slides and those were filed at the end of the section. Obviously, I studied everything because she never told us exactly what would be on there.

When note-taking in class try to follow the chapter in the book and highlight important diagrams/info and make a page reference to your handwritten books. When you re-write them or type them you are studying at the same time.

For muscles and bones sections I made my own flash cards and kept them in a ring. When study time came I carried my binder (well-organized) and flashcards to study. When I needed to reference back to something it was much easier finding it.

Loved my class. It was overwhelming but fun and interesting at the same time.

Hope this helps in some way. Many people try things differently and works for them.

Good luck :)

Specializes in ER.

My teacher used powerpoints in lecture. Before lecture, I would print out her powerpoint for the chapter, full slide images - one slide per page. Then I would take my notes on the powerpoint printout. For learning bones, muscles, anything that has to be memorized and labeled, I would print off full page color images of the body parts, at all angles, and draw lines from each part - like to do labeling exercises. Then I put them in clear protector sheets, and invested in some dry erase markers. That way I could label over and over again, and not have to worry about wasting paper and killing trees. That helped me more than matching exercises or flash cards becaus I am a writing based learner. It helps you learn how to spell the names of the parts too!!! Nice added bonus!

When studying for a test, I would print off the study guide with fill in the blanks that was on the website for my book (really good, because it summarizes EVERYTHING in the chapter), and go through, filling in whatever blanks I could from the top of my head. Then, I would go back through the chapter with the book, filling in what I did not already have written down. Then I would go through my powerpoint notes and highlight important parts, study the diagrams/pictures, and write in any additional notes to help me remember things. I never used regular note-taking paper, and this way helped me stay organized because I only had to take one chapter's worth of information with me at any time. I just 3 hole punched each chapter's powerpoint and kept it in a three-ring binder with all the others I had done, and put colored sticky note flags on each one to separate them, so that if I had to reference later, I could separate each chapter easily. I filed tests and study guides with them as well. But when I just wanted to study for a particular test, and had to take it to work with me or whatever, I could just grab the notes for the one chapter and go. I always had a pen, a highlighter, my powerpoint notes, and the textbook with me, wherever I went.

Wow! GREAT study tips!

You got some wonderful advice here! Good Luck!

Specializes in Urgent Care.

I would write out notes while reading the chapter, then write lecture notes in another spiral notebook. I also did the quizzes and tests that came on the companion CD. Pay good attention to the charts and diagrams in the book and make sure you understand them. If you can get those concepts, you've got it down!

Specializes in Operating Room.

I wrote all of my notes on a spiral notebook. Each day, I typed them out, and combined them with the notes that the instructor already had online...just in case he didn't cover something in class. I also added anything from the book that I thought was important, and wasn't covered.

After having the notes printed out, I read them out loud while recording them on the computer. (Software = "Wavepad") I recorded them on a CD, and listened to the CD everytime I got in my truck (to/from school, tests, etc.). (I also listened to them in a headphone CD player while on the way out of town with family. LOL)

I made flashcards, powerpoint quizzes, regular quizzes, charts, etc, whatever I needed to study a particular subject.

If someone else is driving, if you're waiting in a line, have flashcards with you at all times to study from. I punched holes in mine, and put them on a big ring.

Good luck!

Wow, you guys have really given me some great advice/ideas. Thank You!

I'm looking forward to seeing what some others do too.

I'm really excited, I can't wait until spring classes start.

For those of you who have already taken A&P could you please tell me the best way to organize my notebook/binder etc.. I really want to get an A in this class and I hear its a lot of hard work. I want to be as organized as I can for this class ( I start A&P 1 in Jan. ). Also any study tips would be appreciated. Thanks:)

First and foremost GET A GOOD PROFESSOR, that's half the battle.:uhoh3:

In my binder, I type up my notes (both from lectures and notes I makes for myself while reading the textbook -- yeah, I'm a nerd, lol). We also get questionnaires and our quizzes are returned to us. So, I have each chapter together... like, all of my notes for chapter 1, the chapter 1 questionnaire, then the chapter 1 quiz. It really has helped me a lot!

all of the above tips are excellent, i did much of the same. printed out anything the instructor put on her website, also went to the supplement link that came with my textbook and printed additional information along with taking the on line practice tests and learning activities. when ever there was a diagram involved i had colored pencils which i would use to draw it into my binder.

in class i took notes and referenced pages then that night i would rewrite the notes in one color ink then anything from the pages that seemed important were written in another color ink. also, if i was still having trouble i spoke to the instructor for clarification, taking notes from this meeting and adding them in to my binder under another color ink.

personally i prefer to use 3 ring binders for my notebooks, because they allow me the ability to insert diagrams and printouts between the notes i took for references.

i also made 3 x 5 flashcards as i went along to study with.

as another poster above, i to recorded my notes and played them as i drove or when i was cleaning. lol i will admit though, at times the strangest thought would go through my head - like if i was in an accident the rescuers would wonder about me when they heard what i was listening to!

most important of all these tips (mine and others but not the finding a good instructor!) is you need to find a system that works best for you. or else it will just become a larger chore. what works great for some maynot work great for you - but seems we all used the same general methods.

good luck - a&p can be tough but if you stay in the game and don't lag behind you can do all right. lagging behind is what i normally see as peoples largest downfall.

Specializes in start in NICU 7/14/08.

I'm currently in A&P I and doing mostly the same thing. The instructor is great, which is a big help.

She does powerpoint presentations in class and has packets of the notes available, but they are incomplete. I fill in the blanks, so to speak, based on what she says and add additional information that might be on her slides which she presents during class.

I read the corresponding topics in the book after class (sometimes the book goes into way, way more detail so reading after helps me know what to focus on) and highlight the book. Then, I rewrite the powerpoint notes into a spiral bound notebook in a more organized manner and I use the information I have highlighted from the text to "beef up" any information that seems incomplete. I use my notes to study and so far that method has worked really well for me.

For lab practicums I try to study the material ahead of time so that I can focus on clarifying any things I don't understand while I'm in lab and I have the models and slides available to me.

Hope that helps...I really enjoy this class. The subject matter is really interesting so even though it takes a lot of time, it doesn't seem like that much work. Also, the more we get into the physiology the more fun I'm having. Learning processes is so much less time consuming than memorizing the anatomy. :)

Have a fun semester!

Hi Michelle!!

I am in A&P II and this is how my binder is organized:

Section 1: My personal notes for A&P II

Section 2: typed out A&P II notes from someone who has taken it before

Section 3: old tests for the section we're studying at the time (not the same, just gives me an idea on how the questions will be and it's a good practice for the study group I put together)

Section 4: my personal notes for A&P I

Section 5: notes transcribed for a deaf student a few semesters ago for A&P I

Section 6: outline and personal notes from a friend that took A&P I the semester before I did.

I also have two other notebooks of notes and old tests and pictures--one for A&P I and A&P II.

What I try and do is go through one set of 318 and one of 218 a day.

Not sure if your professor does multiple choice or a mix of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and essay, but if it's the latter, I would definitely practice drawing your flowcharts and diagrams a lot.

We all have our own way we learn best. Honestly, I tried flashcards, I tried reading the book, I tried coloring books and flashcards, I tried recording the class, I tried the study guide, and I tried rewriting my notes. In the end, what I said earlier in my post really works for me. I got an A in part I and have an A for II going into my final. I found trying to do everything like flashcards, recording, etc. burned me out because I was studying TOO much. I never thought there could be such a thing, but you'd be surprised.

Just make sure you keep up every day (with a break day once a week).

As for lab, if your professor offers open lab (an extra day a week to come in and look at everything), DON'T MISS THEM!!! they are crucial, and that's when I find the profs are at their best.

Good luck, Michelle. I was literally QUAKING before this summer dreading A&P. It's turned into my favorite class. You won't forget the material, and the labs are definitely interesting (i'd rather we had cadavers than cats, but that's another story :D)

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