A&P prior to Micro?

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 28, 2015

I don't know if I posted this but I took A&P 1 & micro at the same time. It sucked. I got a B in A&P & a C in micro. Do you.

LindsayFaith · May 28, 2015

I took A&P1 at the same time as Micro. I did fine in both. I think as long as you have had your general biology courses, you should be fine!

OrganizedChaos, LVN · May 28, 2015

I took A&P1 at the same time as Micro. I did fine in both. I think as long as you have had your general biology courses, you should be fine!

I had taken biology prior. Everyone is is different. As long as you know what you can handle.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · May 29, 2015

Not sure if A&P is divided into A&P 1 and A&P 2 for you, but I took the first semester before Micro, then I took A&P 2 and Micro at the same time. I'm definitely glad I did it this way, and I loved my Micro class. Best of luck!

This is how I did mine, as well. Although our school had Anatomy separate from Physiology. I did Anatomy first and then took Phys & Micro in the same semester.

ISingTheBodyElectric · May 30, 2015

You need to know the basics of human anatomy and physiology, and also the basics of chem before taking a micro class. If you can honestly say you got that from highschool and whatever college biology & chem prereqs you've already taken, then you should be fine taking micro first.

On the other hand, if you're clueless on the basics of genetics, the organelles of a eukaryotic cell, osmosis and diffusion, cellular respiration, and the major organs of the human body, then you're going to struggle, and you should take A&P first. It is much more difficult to understand what the pathogens are doing to the human body when you don't have a clue about the human body to begin with.

j.cox · May 30, 2015

I would say it helps a little to take A&P first but it's not imperative. Having said that, Microbiology is a pretty intense class, and it will make you a bit of a germ phobe! ;-)

waiting4ivpush · May 30, 2015

Hoping to gain some guidance from others who are working on their pre-requisites.
I need to take Microbiology and the Anatomy & Physiology series. Can you please share if you feel it is better to take A&P prior to Micro, or if it doesn't really matter which to take first?
I appreciate your advice and reasoning for the advice!

I'm finishing A&P 1 this semester. A&P2 is required first before taking Microbiology at my school. In all honesty, it doesn't matter. I would recommend A&P first to get a general understanding of how things work on the chemical, tissue, and organ level.

liane90 · Jun 3, 2015

Hoping to gain some guidance from others who are working on their pre-requisites.
I need to take Microbiology and the Anatomy & Physiology series. Can you please share if you feel it is better to take A&P prior to Micro, or if it doesn't really matter which to take first?
I appreciate your advice and reasoning for the advice!

Take them in whatever sequence works best for your timeline and schedule. You can actually take them concurrently, that is what I did with A&P 2 and micro. It isnt like stats where you need algebra first, you can take them in whatever order you are most comfortable with.

WellThatsOod · Jun 3, 2015

I took A&P 1 and Micro at the same time. Taking A&P 2 in the fall.

emmjayy, BSN, RN · Jun 3, 2015

Honestly, I don't remember a single thing about chemistry, algebra, bio, or A&P from the survey courses I took in high school. So, I'm taking them all over again (and taking college level A&P) before I do Microbiology. Better to put my pride aside and take the time to re-learn everything properly than to jump into a Micro course and be totally lost and frustrated from day one.

WellThatsOod · Jun 3, 2015

I can't figure out how to edit my post.

Before I could take A&P or Micro I had to take, as a pre-req to those classes, Biology 189 which is Fundamentals of Life Science. I was very happy I had to take that class before the 200 level classes. It had been over 10 years since my last science class, I would have been lost.

In my micro class (keeping in mind that overall the subject material is the same but schools are all different) we started with the founders of micro, who did what, who founded what, etc. Then we moved on to the shapes, appendages, portals of entry, Gram -/+, and other characteristics of bacteria, as well as growth phases. Lastly we did all the diseases (okay not all but the most common ones health professionals run in to.) We learned names, symptoms, organs affected, treatment, etc.

The point of all that rambling? There was minimal Anatomy knowledge needed for MY micro class. Here we are required to do FLS before both A&P and Micro. A&P 1 is needed to go into A&P 2.

I've taken 4 classes at the same time, but I can tell you taking Micro and A&P 1 at the same time often had me up at 0100 wondering what in the world I was thinking, but you know what? Knowing I can handle so much different information at the same amount of time made me feel much more comfortable about my ability to handle nursing school. I'm not as scared as I was.

Whatever you decide I wish you luck and if you need help, feel free to PM me.

CKstudentnurse · Jun 8, 2015

I would honestly ask someone who has taken both at your school what they recommend. All schools are different. My school wants you to take chem before A&P and micro, but once you get the chem out of the way it's whatever order you want. Most take micro first. Oh, and our school usually doesn't like us to take A&P 1 or 2 with Micro, and those that do usually don't do so hot with either. But yeah, in all honesty, ask someone at your school who has taken both or an advisor.