A&P accelerated ?

internationalsarah · Jun 30, 2014

It depends on your personal situation. If you live at home, no kids, no job and can dedicate all day to studying, then go for it. I did AP1 as a 16 week class and we had quizzes every week with an exam every 4 weeks - usually covering 2-4 chapters. A classmate and I considered doing the 5 week AP2 summer class but decided that would give us 1 exam each week. There is a lot of memorization for AP1 (haven't taken AP2 yet, so can't comment on that) and I would think that rather than committing everything to long term memory you run the risk of brain dumping for exams

NurseGirl525, ASN, RN · Jun 30, 2014

I would not do it accelerated and I will tell you why. A&P is the foundation for nursing. You really need a full understanding of it to go into nursing. I cannot understand how you retain that knowledge trying to shove that much info into your brain so quickly. To me those kind of classes are not meant for retention. It's just to get it over quickly and get a grade. That is it.

Example: I am taking college algebra over the summer, online. It's an 8 week class. I am struggling bad with it and I am not retaining anything. I'm not too worried about it because I don't know how much graphing of ellipses and circles, along with cubes and roots, but to me it is a waste of time and money because I am not learning a thing. Just doing what I need to do to get by. I absolutely hate it being this way, but I have to get it done before I start the program in August.

lakmom12 · Jun 30, 2014

I took an accelerated course for A&P I and agree with PP. If you can dedicate your life to it then it maybe the class for you. If you can't don't waste the time and money. It's brutal, but doable. I learned a lot more in my 16 week A&P 2 class and enjoyed it a lot more!

wildearth · Jun 30, 2014

I would be afraid of just 'learning for the exam' and not really solidifying concepts. But it really depends on your learning style and outside life. If you have the time to commit, you can do anything.

w292737 · Jul 1, 2014

good points! I'm going for the full semester length.

Boston_RN2B · Jul 1, 2014

I actually did the exact course structure you said in your scenario, AP I/II accelerated 8 weeks, and during that I took stats 16 weeks. I'm married with 3 kids, but tremendous support to study so it worked out great for me. I actually learned a lot in AP, my prof also teaches med students at the local university, and he knew what was critical for teaching future nurses. I got an A in both AP courses, and A-in stats. I worked incredibly hard, put in a ton of hours and didn't see much of my family on the weekends for 4 months, but for me it was worth it. I wanted to finish quickly so it was less disruption to my family schedule then if I had done it over 1-2 years. I finished all my prereqs in 6 months, all A's (thank God!). I thrive in accelerated format, might have to do with being a mom/wife! Good luck in your studies! :)