A & P Help

RescueGrrl211 · May 15, 2010

For me, it was hours of studying! For lab, when we had to identify all the bones, tissues, cat anatomy, etc I spent hours and hours in the lab using the bones/models/etc to study after class hours and occasionally on the weekends when my instructor could open up for us. I also took my camera in once a unit and took pictures of all the bones, models, even the slides under the micorscope (yeah, it really works!) to study at home. It was pretty great. Toward the end of ANP11 the whole class got involved with the picture taking, which saved time, and we all posted our photos to photobucket.com and shared the password. Other then that I quizzed myself using the lab manual, A LOT.

For lecture, I had a great study group. It was 3 or 4 people, all of us top of the class (meaning, we had the same goals for grades and everyone contributed evenly). We would go the the local Panera, grab a coffee and spend a couple hours every Saturday talking through all the topics that were on the test.. We asked each other questions, like "Tell me everything you know about about the large instestine and how it works". Then whatever they missed, we would go over it. After hearing this stuff a few times, teaching it to each other when someone missed something, and studying the powerpoints and book, we got to the point where we could pretty much recite the powerpoints. Obviously, that means we got awesome grades!

I know how you feel, by the way. My A and P 11 was a summer class, 8 weeks, and my instructor was moving across the country so he missed class regularly going back and forth to his new city, where he was buying a house. It was a joke. But I survived, and you will too! It was hard work, but having such a solid physiology foundation has been a life SAVER in MedSurg!

Good luck!

MandaTaye · May 15, 2010

I really dislike shortened Anatomy courses because there's sooooo much information. My advice to you would be to go ahead and accept that you will be studying pretty much all the time, and when youre not studying youll feel guilty about not studying and you won't be really enjoying yourself. It was hell. I've been doing it for the past year. Finally glad to be done.

Break it up into sections as much as possible and focus on one section at a time. For example, for the integumentary system (skin) you could study the anatomy of a fingernail ...then proceed to the hair...etc. I pretty much got every anatomy help book they had. Cliffs notes..some coloring books... etc. I didn't even color in mine.

I took both of my A & P's online so I didn't have instructor help AT ALL! It is possible. It's a temporary form of torture. You will get through this..and be amazed at what all you've learned at the end of the semester. I often find myself describing body parts or injuries and my friends are like... "huh?? axillary..what..??" When you have to convert it back to civilian terms you realize how much you've learned.

Whatever you do...do what it takes to make a "B". A "C" is just not competitive in Anatomy and it's often what nursing schools look at most. It is the class that will be most like your nursing classes. You'll be fine... remember..

THIS TOO SHALL PASS! Good luck :)

choc0late · May 19, 2010

I also took A&P over the summer. I loved the coloring workbook, that really helped me remember where everything was. I also had a book called something like "A&P home lab" or something like that. If you want me to find it on amazon or something to show you let me know. But that book was great in that the models in the book were the same as the ones you get tested on. I also made a ton of mneumonics (?) on anything I could. I can only say repeatition and loads of looking/saying what each thing was worked for me. Good luck

Streamline2010 · May 31, 2010

What study methods did you use to help you memorize so much information from A & P? I'm in summer classes and only have 6 weeks to learn all A & P 1 and the lab, with a professor who doesn't "teach" much. We're left to our own devices and fill in the blank quizzes every time we walk into the lab, yikes!

Hours of study. The way it's conventionally taught, A & P I is just constant memorization until the tail end of it.

I used the companion web site for the textbook.

And some of these, at one time or another:

Homepage for the Anatomy Lesson

Self Tests: WebAnatomy

Cranial and Facial Bones - Skeletal System

New Page 1

Welcome to myAP!

maybe some of Rader's BIOLOGY 4 KIDS.COM

maybe some of http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/explore/anatomy.htm

caution: May be raunchy or outdated. But everyone needs a laugh now and then. List of mnemonics for the cranial nerves - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia