What are some tips for Microbiology?

[EMT89]

I just finished making A's in A&P1 and 2 over the summer. I am taking Microbiology at my nursing school in the fall. What were things you did that made Microbiology easier?

[Kier721]

Study, study and study!

As much as you want to memorize, really try to sit down and understand the "concepts".

Although our final was on 100 disease in which we had to remember the pathogen/mode of transmission/signs and symptoms/reservoir. In that case, flash cards and memorization will only get you through it!

Although every curriculum is different and some teachers are hard, some are easy.

Don't procrastinate and stay ahead of reading, that way you'll know what's going on in lecture.

Good luck!

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

My microbiology class was seriously a joke. We explored

[Kier721]

I wish our Micro was a joke! Out of the entire class only 3 people passed the first test. I heard people talking about classes like that, but I always thought they were overreacting, trying to pretend their class was oh so much harder...boy was I wrong!

[zoe92]

I recommend flash cards! It helps with the different terms and diseases. Also, study a little bit everyday even if you have just taken an exam the day before! That way you are not overloaded and stressed before an exam. I found microbiology to be really interesting though, so I hope you like it.

[christina731]

Micro was definitely my favorite out of all of my pre-nursing classes. My professor was the dept chair and I was terrified when I learned that, but it worked out just fine. For each exam I had to memorize 25+ pathogens, the disease they caused, mode of transmission and many other things. The final had close to 100 of the pathogens that were studied. My professor was also nuts about antibiotics and resistance factors so I had to learn about every class of antibiotics along with all of the bacteria I learned about. I made a chart and added to it each time we learned a new one and studied it every chance I had. I ended up with a B+ in the class when the class average was a low C and most dropped out by the final. So, bottom line is, find a way of memorizing tons of facts , study hard and you should do fine. Good luck!! :)

[LJ85, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN]

I just ended summer 9 week micro today. It wasn't easy for me. I am a little scatter brained so I have a hard time focusing and I had one professor for lecture and another for lab with two different teaching styles. I'm hoping I at least got a c. Flash cards are key for remembering modes of transmission for parasites and diseases and antibiotics. It is important to really understand the material as well because memorizing won't cut it for learning things like how DNA and RNA works. I had a hard time with some of the concepts.

[leenak]

Don't miss any labs. I loved my Microbiology class but it wasn't hard.

[ProudStudent]

I was so afraid to start Microbiology and even saved it for the very last class I had to take because people complained all the time about how hard it was. I then took it during a summer semester, so it was condensed and very fast paced -and still did very well. I found it to be the best class I had taken and then wished I had taken it during a full semester, hoping that I could get more out of it. A lot of remembering the difference between bacteria, their outer cell walls (if they have them), whether or not they need oxygen, their shapes and associated illness. You'll likely cover a lot of virus details, teratogenic effects of bacteria, and learn that you should probably cook your food :) I could really go on and on, yet it suprises me as I type how much I can actually remember. My family thought it was so weird that I would come home from class/lab and share bacteria information -but whatever, it helped me study. It really was a lot of studying, but the material was interesting to read.

[Fearless_leader]

do you need to know chemistry to do microbiology?

[suzilks1]

I took Micro years ago with an A. My best study tool was the flashcards that I made and studied every single day. Since it has been more than 4 years since i took it i have to take again in the Spring but I'm not afraid of it now. You just have to study, study and study some more. It helps that it is a fascinating subject. After my micro class I really wanted to take virology!

[Tragically Hip]

do you need to know chemistry to do microbiology?

it's generally a prerequisite, and you will get a lot more out of the class if you take it first.

my microbiology professor happened to be a chemistry freak, which for me was pretty cool. i did a little project on the metabolism and energy yield of a particular lipid, which was a great learning experience.