A&P II - cadavers on practical exams

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Oh man. :(

I am nervously awaiting my final grade in A&P II. I did terribly in the lab portion of the class. We had two cadavers, several prosections, and lots of organs and parts (and of course, lots of models). I learned a tremendous amount, but I really struggled with a few parts (no pun intended) of the lab portion of the course. We had a Blood Tracing exam, and I just could not figure out how to memorize the sequence of all of the traces (there were 9).

I also had a hard time with the cadaver portions of the practical exams. The professor stuck numbered pins ("tagged") random nerves, veins, arteries, muscles, etc, and we had to label them. It was never easily identifiable parts like the gallbladder or sciatic nerve; it was always the more difficult parts. We only used the newer cadaver ONCE the entire semester, yet he was out for the final practical. We all talked afterward and most of the students said they were completely lost regarding the questions on the newer cadaver.

I'm teetering on the line between a C and a D in the class. To put things in perspective, I made the Dean's List last semester - that was with a full-time courseload, including A&P I (I got a high B in part I) and three other classes - and being a single mother who works full-time and has her house on the market.

If I end up with a D, I'm going to take the class again for sure. Even f I get a C, I probably will take it again - I eventually would like to become a CRNA and want to have a very thorough understanding of the body and the best grades possible.

My problem is this: I can't figure out how I can do better with regards to learning the more intricate parts of the cadavers. I have never studied so much for anything in my life before this class (and I have a BS degree already).

The only people I know who did well in the class were those who were repeating it.

For those of you who have taken A&P II with cadavers, how did you remember what everything is in there? I used virtual anatomy lab CDs with cadavers, two atlases, lots of pictures online, etc, to study. I'm not sure what else I could have done. I found it very difficult to recognize everything in the cadavers. That could be because they have been used by other classes and things are moved around a lot; I don't know...

I just want to do better next time and want to learn from my mistakes, but I can't figure out where I went wrong with regards to studying.

I'd appreciate any advice or ideas. :crying2:

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Does your school have open lab times? Honestly this is the thing that helped me the most. I went to every open lab session I could fit into my schedule so that I could go over and over the cadavers. It took me a little time to get over the fact that they were cadavers and get to the point of being able to objectively look at the anatomy without thinking about the odors and stuff.

Our professor liked to pin nerves, vessels and muscles on the cadavers and she liked to do the deep muscles, rather than superficial.

Most schools that I know of will not let you proceed in nursing with below a C in A&P, so you'll have to retake if you get a D and given how competitive most nursing programs are, I would absolutely suggest retaking if you get a C. A&P is so important that you need a good understanding of it.

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I am taking AP2 this summer but my idea for you is to consider repeating the course online with an online lab, if it is offered and accepted for nursing at your school. My AP1 online class had online labs and I felt the labs were pretty easy.

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I am taking AP2 this summer but my idea for you is to consider repeating the course online with an online lab, if it is offered and accepted for nursing at your school. My AP1 online class had online labs and I felt the labs were pretty easy.

There are physiology classes that are completely online?

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There are physiology classes that are completely online?

Well, it was offered at the CC that I attend, Southwest Tennessee Community College....

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I took A&P I and II as online classes and the labs were online and all pictures. Maybe you could take a few classes somewhere else that offer this type of thing and then transfer them back over where your going now. Just be sure that the school you are attending will accept the transfer ahead of time. It is still a lot of material and a LOT of memorizing but im sure it has to be better than what your describing.

What is the school you are attending now?

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I finished my anatomy class 2 weeks ago. I did poorly on my first test and ended up with a low C. The professor told me that teaching your classmates and learning from them is very effective, and he wanted me to try it. I memorized all the anatomical names by writing them down as many times as I could. I learned from the DVD, pictures, and models first. After I felt comfortable about all the names, I would move on to the cadavers. I asked the class T.A. (or the prof.) to go over all the names that I needed to learn on the cadavers first, and then I would go over everything with my classmates. I shared my experience and how I remembered the terms with my classmates and they shared theirs with me (e.g. cauda equina is the end part of the spinal cord and it looks like the horse's tail. If I want to find the gallbladder, I would find the liver first, because it is larger and they are very close to each other. The gallbladder's color is kinda dark green and stand out on the cadaver; for the same reason u could find the kidneys first then look for the ureter ). We did it over and over until I remembered it. I studied a lot and got an A for that class. Hard work pays off.

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If my calculations are correct, I ended up with a 68.95 in the class (a D). I got an 80 on my final, which really surprised me...I felt very confident that I scored at least a 90. I'm pretty distraught right now.

The lecture was online and lab was at the school. The professor never let us have any of our papers or exams back. So, I have no idea what I got wrong on any of my tests. That's frustrating. I emailed her to see if I could come to her office to review some things and she said she isn't going to be available after today. What on Earth? The semester doesn't officially end until Friday!

I've heard other students say that they've gone to her office to review tests/dispute grades and have found that she has marked items wrong that were correct. I am sure that if I had the opportunity to do that, my grade would be bumped up to a C.

This has seriously bruised my ego, as I am not used to doing so terribly in a class. It didn't help that I was sick for 5 weeks and missed a lab and a 30 point quiz. If it weren't for that, I would have earned a B. I understand why they don't want you to miss more than one lab, but I don't understand not excusing some things - I had a doctor's note and was almost hospitalized mid-semester. They don't care.

Looks like I will be repeating the class in the fall. Thankfully I have a high enough overall GPA to save me from this being a catastrophe. :o On the bright side, I should have a very thorough understanding of the material in A&P II after this.

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