A&P I

semester1kid · May 1, 2010

AP 1 (and in fact 2 for the most part) is generally a game of memorization - a lot of it is easy (as long as you put your time into studying) but there are some more in depth topics that take a little more concentrated study (various pathways, pumps, muscle contractions, etc). Another tip that would help greatly - learn some latin, either on your own or even if they offer some entry level course:-)

allnurses Guide · May 1, 2010

If it were impossible, none of us would be here. :)

Check the pre-nursing forum....there are a lot of students about to start A&P I this summer and on the whole that board has a lot of tips for studying and links to places to get information to help you get the grade you want. General psych isn't a blow-off class but I suspect you won't find it as difficult as A&P.

BSNMomOf6 · May 1, 2010

Buy pre-made note cards to study, a body atlas, check out study aids at amazon.com. Good luck, there is no reason you can't do it if you put your mind to it!

ktsummar, LPN, LVN · May 1, 2010

You haven't even started AP I and you are ready to give up? Did you think that just showing up to class was going to get your through nursing school. You have to work for it. I would suggest you think long and hard if this is really your dream. At this rate you will never make it through school.

CoffeemateCNA · May 1, 2010

I think my instructor said it best. This was the gist of it:

"Anatomy and Physiology are 2 total *******. They're freakin' hard subjects to learn. But guess what, you are going to have classes down the road that are way harder."

A&P is a scary subject at first. It terrified me, I couldn't believe how much information I had to learn. It takes a lot of incessant and diligent hard work, but it is completely doable. You just have to put your nose to the grindstone and never let it up.

Both A&P and psychology are very interesting courses, though. I know a lot of people that ended up minoring in psych because they loved it so much.

heavenleedesire · May 1, 2010

You haven't even started AP I and you are ready to give up? Did you think that just showing up to class was going to get your through nursing school. You have to work for it. I would suggest you think long and hard if this is really your dream. At this rate you will never make it through school.

You are ABSOLUTELY right!! I am NOT ready to give up. I just honestly am worried about money during the mean time. I have a job offer at a personal investigation company and I have a decision to make. Take the job and be able to afford things and support my kiddos....or go ahead with school, since it is my dream, and live on my husband's income until I finish and then afford the better things:). I just want to make sure I can do it. I know I can...I just have to try and I am willing to try, I just don't want to lose my home in the process. If there's a will, there's a way!! :) Thanks for ur honest reply!

heavenleedesire · May 1, 2010

I think my instructor said it best. This was the gist of it:
"Anatomy and Physiology are 2 total *******. They're freakin' hard subjects to learn. But guess what, you are going to have classes down the road that are way harder."
A&P is a scary subject at first. It terrified me, I couldn't believe how much information I had to learn. It takes a lot of incessant and diligent hard work, but it is completely doable. You just have to put your nose to the grindstone and never let it up.
Both A&P and psychology are very interesting courses, though. I know a lot of people that ended up minoring in psych because they loved it so much.

Thank you so much!!

CrazierThanYou · May 2, 2010

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I highly recommend Martini's A and P study guide. I used it. I am finishing AP2 next week and I have scored all A's and 2 high B's on the exams. VERY HELPFUL!

zbb13 · May 2, 2010

I'm just finishing A&P I. It is definitely doable. I have to a load of homework, and I need to give a solid amount of time to studying. If you work hard, keep up with the coursework, and take it one step at a time, it is manageable. Sounds like you have a real dilemma. Good luck with the decision.

Don't take the class if you cannot give it 100%. 20 people dropped out of my class. Reasons were 1- lack of preparation 2-lack of focused studying 3 lack organization 4-not realizing how much of a time commitment it was.

TCASII, ADN · May 2, 2010

I have to say that A&P was possibly the easiest class I ever took (sort of). I already knew a fair amount of basic principles, names, and other info beforehand though. Mostly neuro stuff. People find the brain so difficult, but I only find the cranial nerves hard to keep straight. For the most part, the muscles are the worst IMO. There are so many of them and the names a very foreign (latin-based). Even then, I probably only studied maybe 6 hours a week total and passed with an A.

Keep in mind, the instructor can really influence your ability to enjoy the class and do well, or end up in pure misery. I had a PhD instructor who I ended up dropping and switching to another teacher because the PhD guy would talk about more off-topic material than A&P. Things like what foreign language you should avoid in upper level education and so on. Then his exams were so difficult since you had no idea what he was going to test you on, and he asked the kinds of questions you'd only see on PhD/MD exams. Great if you have weeks to devote to each body system, but you won't. So, imagine getting a bunch of questions like the following:

Which part(s) of the hypothalamus is responsible for eating and feeding behavior?

A. Preoptic and Anterior

B. Periventricular

C. Supraoptic

D. Lateral and Ventromedial (this is the correct answer btw)

I was not happy, and his attitude was awful when I asked why he wasn't lecturing and telling us what to study, so I dropped. I asked around and found the instructor who was recommended. He gave you an outline of what you needed to know to accompany the reading.

I have taken both the single semester A&P and the nursing required A&P (2 semesters). Both of them were on par with each other in terms of what we needed to know. Obviously the 2 semester class was more in depth, but you aren't asked about each different section of the hypothalamus and what it does. You only need to know the basics. Most people do find A&P very difficult. So much of it relies on rote memory. In my single semester class I took years ago there were 20 of us. I'd say only 5 of us passed with an A or B. The rest had low Cs, Ds or Fs.

I also took my A&PII class in a summer session. It wasn't too bad, but again, I checked out the instructor first. Psych 101 is very easy, but some people find some of the concepts difficult.

SingDanceRunLife · May 3, 2010

I found psych 101 to be extremely easy. No studying involved really, and I got a B whilst taking 5 other classes.

A&P I on the other hand has been a God awful experience for me and I have found it to be quite difficult, though at least half of the reason is I've had terrible luck with professors.

Hopefully A&P II this summer won't be as bad.