A & P.....using index cards..........

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For those of you who have already taken A&P, did any of you use index cards to put info on? I was in a drugstore checking out school supplies and saw the index cards and a holder. I thought maybe they would be useful for A&P and the holder would be great for sticking in my purse and then I would always have them. But that was a couple of weeks ago. I came across them last night and started to wonder how I could make them useful. Would they be better for lab when the time comes to memorize muscles and bones? What kind of lecture information would be useful and to the point that I could actually fit it on a 3 x 5 card?

Or would they be more useful if I put them away for when I actually begin nursing classes? I didn't spend much on them so if they aren't going to do me any good right now, it is no big deal. I could always give them to my son to create site words for him for Kindergarten this year.

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Trauma.

I used flash cards for ALL my classes-- they really work for me! I had 100% in A&P 1 and a 98% in A&P 2. I've used note cards since high school and they have helped me maintain great grades.

What I find helpful is probably the act of writing questions and answers on the cards helps you remember info too. I had a stack of 900 cards at the end of A&P 1 and know everything on them. I went through my notes and looked at what he focused on.

What I find useful is writing a question that has a one words answer on the back (think jeopardy). I go through the whole stack. If I get the question right it goes in the "right pile" and if I don't get it first time around it goes in the "wrong pile" I'll then keep going through the wrong pile until I get everything correct.

If I have time I'll then flip the cards over so I see the one word "answer" like "z band" and will try to explain what it is and what it does.

Then I like to go through the cards with the "question" side once more. That's what's always worked for me anyway. You should give them a try since it sounds like you haven't used cards before-- you may find them helpful and you may not. Point is it never hurts to try them and figure out if they work for you or not.

Good luck in your A&P class!

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I agree with Katie. I think flashcards are a very useful learning tool. I guess ultimately it really depends on your learning style. Flashcards are good for both visual and kinesthetic learners. Kinesthetic learners benefit from writing the information out and visual learners benefit from being able to see the information.

I use a similar method as Katie when I am working with flashcards, except I use four piles. Each time I get the card right I advance it through the piles. If I get it wrong the card goes back to the first pile.

I go through my flashcards until the answers become second nature. If I have to stop and think about it for a moment I haven't really learned it. And you absolutely must learn your cards forward and back.

I think some information simply can't be learned without a process like flashcards. I took Art History last semester. It covered proto-rennaisance through modern art. That is several hundred years of art that had to be memorized. We had to know terms and we had to be able to ID pieces from slides and know the title, author, time period, and art movement. There is no way I could have done that without flashcards. I used an online program called Flash My Brain. It has the Leitner system built in and made it easy to use images on my cards. For the final we had to know over 100 pieces and I totally aced it.

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I also use notecards. It really depends on your learning style. Writing things out really helps me.

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Hi. I bought some A & P flash cards at the bookstore and used them often. Would have my husband quiz me. I also made up my own with questions and answers. I also found a website that had pictures that I could download and fill in the blanks, even had a coloring book for the same. It all helped. The bones and muscles don't change, so memorizing is the name of this game. I got an A in the course. I am positive the cards gave me the extra help. And by the way, A & P is not that difficult, it's just so much material to cover, that it takes more study time. Good luck to you. :typing

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

flash cards are great, but don't buy them made...

personally i learn maybe 70% on the process of making it

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I also use index cards as flashcards, writing out a question, one or 2 word anwsers on the back...advancing to differnt piles...I bought several and I mean several from Walgreens recently as they have been on sale....also bought the plastic holders to carry in the purse and take out anywhere....I use a permanent marker & write what cards are contained in the container.....Anatomical positions, tissues and nerves,etc.

I also bought a large paper skeleton that is used for Halloween.....I have labeled the bones on it and hung it by my work desk.....when the time comes, I will put a heart,lungs,intetines,etc on it so I know where everything goes....labeling right quandrant,left quadrant,etc.

Good Luck to you

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I made hundreds and hundreds of flash cards for A&P. When you study, be sure to read them out loud, too. Adding the sense of hearing helps embed the material more deeply in long-term memory.

I loved the flash cards for studying tissues. On one side of the flash card, I taped a color copy of a particular type of tissue. And on the flip side, I ID'd the tissue. Really helped me spot the differences between columnar and pseudostratified and stratified epithelial cells. :)

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I think flash cards are the best self-testing tool you can use. I agree with the poster that said writing out your own will help you more than buying them pre-made. But flashcards take time to make, so if you read and reveiw your chapter thoroughly, buying pre-made flash cards would help you save time. Our professors make their own study guides for the chapters/tests so we know exactly what to concentrate on and make flash cards for.

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I used flash cards (made my own) for both A&P's (got very high A's in both). I maybe ended up with about 200 for each class though. For each chapter I would review my notes and use the flashcards for things that I felt would for sure be on the test...for example when your notes list the 5 functions of blood you know there will be a question on the test about that. Or, what is the route that blood flows from the superior vena cava to the aorta? Then I would write the answers out on the back of the index card.

You can take them with you anywhere...sometimes I'd be watching a movie at home with the kids and dh and have them out in front of me...that way I was with them but studying too.

I bought the A&P flashcards for learning the parts of bones, muscles, etc. Those were helpful. I also love the idea of buying a skeleton halloween decoration and labeling it...good idea!

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I am all for it....

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Specializes in ER, ICU, Medsurg.

Flash Cards are the best! I carried my API and II cards with me everywhere. I did my own and did them in question/answer style. I've been known to be waiting in line at the grocery store flipping through notecards LOL. I also agree to make your own, it is definately time consuming but I also learned the msot by doing my own. If you come home from class every day and make up cards from that day's lecture, it feels less overwhelming.

Good Luck

Oh and P.S. make sure that if the question is something you need to explain, you make sure you write it as "lay person" as possible so if you have someone (like dh) quizzing you, they can figure out wth you are talking about and can tell if you are right or wrong. LOL

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