Taking Microbiology with A&P1 vs. with A&p2

[vroh]

My school combines, Anatomy and Physiology and it's requirement for the nursing program, that I take both A&P 1 and A&P 2, as well as Microbiology. I haven't been in school for a while, but was an excellent student when I was in school. I'm slightly nervous about going back since it's been almost 5 years. I'm need to complete my pre-reqs within two semesters (I also have to take Human Nutrition, Human Growth and Development, and Epidemiology). Do you think it would be better for me to take A&P 1 in the Fall, as my only science course with a lab (so, I can kinda get back into the swing of things). Or is A&P 2 more difficult, and therefore would it be more difficult to take at the same time as micro? Basically, do you think it's a better idea to take A&P 1 at the same time as taking Microbiology or A&P 2 at the same time as taking Microbiology? Thanks everybody! xo

[aeris99]

I took A&P1 first. I'm taking A&P2, micro and nutrition this semester. At my school the three courses are overlapping which has been great! I would definitely take A&P1 by itself to gain the groundwork. It's a ton of memorizing and learning all the parts. A&P2 is more of how it all fits and works together.

I'm finding micro to be a very hard class in terms of how I study. I had to go to a tutor to assess my

methods and lean new ways to go at the material after bombing the first test.

Speak to your adviser and if possible the professor you plan to take it with (I took all 3 with the same prof because I love her teaching style). They will be able to help you make the decision.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day, vroh:

Based on what you shared, I would not recommend taking Microbiology with AP1. AP1 requires a huge amount of memorization, and is the very start about learning about anatomy and physiology. Microbiology is a very hard class, and requires a firm foundation for which AP1 will provide to you should you do well in the class.

I'm currently taking Microbiology with AP2; it is still hard with that combination, but at least I've a firm foundation from AP1. Plus some of the concepts apply to both in terms of metabolism (as one example of synergy). Even so, that's a hard combination as well, but far more doable than Micro with AP1.

Thank you.

[vroh]

Thanks so much for your advice! I just registered, and for Fall, I'll be taking Developmental Psychology, A&P 1, and Human Nutrition. This will leave me with only taking A&P 2 and Microbiology for the Spring. Wish me luck! Have a great weekend :)

[aeris99]

Micro an A&P2 is a heavy load. I think it's a wise decision to take just those in a semester.

Just a bit of advice, start learning bones and muscles now. You're going to need it!

Good luck on your classes!

[CSTtoRN]

A lot of schools in my area require that you take A&P 1 before Micro and also you either have to take A&P 2 at the same time or before Micro. I'm in Texas, so I don't how other areas are. They are all hard classes but I personally find that it would be easier to take A&P 2 with Micro but that's just my opinion. Good luck!

[FutureNurseK]

I split ALL of my sciences with math English..history's,,etc and made out with As (made a B in micro tho) I never took two sciences together..good luck

[TLizS]

I am currently taking A&P II and Micro and in several areas they have overlapped which has helped me out a ton...something that we learned the basics of in A&P II we go more in depth in micro....or something we have learned super in depth will come up in A&P II and it has made those topics much easier for me......

If it were me (and this is what I did) I would take one science with a lab (I took Chem then I took A&P II ) to get back into the swing of things....it had been 8 years since I graduated highschool and 6 years since I had been in school soo I needed to ease back into it...plus I needed to ease back in....having 2 kids I needed to not overwhelm myself that first semester so that I could find the balance I needed between school/family/everything else to be sucessful

[queserasera, RN]

My experience -

I took A&P I last spring with Microbiology, Human Development, and Statistics.

In my experience, it was a 100% doable course load. I also had been out of school for awhile and was nervous to take a full semester, especially two considerably difficult science lab courses. It boiled down to discipline and organization.

I think that if you can focus all of your energies on your workload for school, you will be fine. These are not some insanely difficult courses - just like any other class you learn the material and get tested on it. I think the fear that is attached to these courses is that they (often) count for so much when you're applying to schools and people place more weight on them. They both cover a vast amount of information as well, information that if you don't have a solid foundation in, you'll suffer later in nursing school. That being said, if you feel that you can balance the workload AND retain information from these techincal science class past just the tests, you will be fine.

Every person has a different experience, for me, I had to define what success in these classes was. Was it getting an A by furiously studying/cramming and then dumping that information after the test? For me, no. It was getting B's and being solid in that 89% of information that I can still pull from a year later.

[Bubbly26, BSN, RN]

I would say take microbiology with A&P 2. The subject matter basically overlap in some areas and the sheer amount of memorization for A&P 1 is killer.

[Enursing]

I would take Micro with A&P 1. I did it that way after having not been in school for 5 years and did really well. It's a good kick in the pants but just study a lot, talk to your professors, and stay on track and you will be fine!

[Enursing]

Also, for me A&P1 was mostly memorization which is easier for me. A&P2 was more complicated so it required more study time.