A&P.. What am I doing wrong

casi, ASN, RN · Oct 11, 2005

It's only one test. You have plenty of more tests and quizes. You now know whta to expect from your teacher on his tests and labs, so you'll know how to study and you'll be a lot less nervous.

Don't let your mother get you down. My mom is doing the exact same thing with A&P 1 and me. It's horrific to hear your mother ask if your going to have to retake the class. I've acctually stopped telling her about my test and quiz scores unless their good. I got a D on a 10 point quiz and my mother about threw a fit. So now I just shrug and say I did good or alright.

StillThinking · Oct 11, 2005

What helped my test anxiety is reviewing everyday. Yes, everyday! That way the information gets embedded in your brain and there is less stress the day/night before the test with cramming huge amounts of notes. Especially with a course like A&P where there are details and more details to remember, a few minutes spent reviewing here and there is extremely helpful. Try not to stress too much. Thirty minutes before testing, I usually find a quiet spot somewhere at the school building (for instance, standing in a restroom stall) where no one can distract my thoughts and I focus on relaxing and telling myself over and over that I know the information and I will do well today on this test. Try it. It really works!

Sis123 · Oct 11, 2005

Still thinking gave you really good advice. It sounds like test anxiety to me, too.

Perhaps you did like I did, and didn't study hard enough early on. I think that this is a very intense class, and that daily study for at least a couple hours is required to feel competent. Even so, I did blank out on a few stations in *my* lab exam just today. It was also partly because I spent too much lab time on studying slides of cells and tissues and didnt' switch over to the skeleton quick enough, and get enough hours of that.

Just study more and learn some type of stress reduction to do daily. Then do some sort of it before going in for your big tests. Cramming in the hall isn't going to do you any good, it just stresses you out.

I also heard that the first section is one of the toughest because of the tissues. So, don't worry. Just keep plugging away.

hollykate · Oct 11, 2005

A and P can be really difficult.

i used flash cards for stuff that i could make them for (for those practicals of identifying muscles groups, well, i sucked at those). i'd pull out the flash cards when stuck in traffic, or in line at the bank....

regular nursing classes are not like this. i thought they were easier, if that is any help to you.

keep studying, you can do it!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Oct 11, 2005

I just want to say this website is a blessing. I feel I can't really talk to anyone else about this unless they are right there with me going through this. I took my first lab test tonight, and I had to fight the tears in class, because my mind went blank!! We had like 89 questions total each station was timed 3 minutes and I freaked when I couldn't answer some of them. I realized I started to panic, I guess because I was being timed. I did well on the cell part, but messed up badly on all the body terms, body planes(which I new), identifying all the tissues and got mixed up with all the parts on the skin and bone model:uhoh21: So you can say I pretty much failed or got a low D. I walked out of there got into my car, and just started crying:crying2: I am so not feeling smart anymore. My mom of course wants to bring up how I have gotten almost all A's in other classes but none were like this. I feel like a failure, I am starting to feel like my brain is not cut out for this, and it makes me so mad:madface: I wanted this so bad, I might even be accepted to NS next fall, and now I am having the hardest time with this class. Sorry so long, please someone tell me how you study. How many hours a week should I be studying. It also makes me feel bad a lot of people on here say lab is easier than lecture, I find it vice versa. Well thanks to all of you who took time out to read my long post.

Don't stress to much as you are not the only one in the same situation. A&P 1 was not easy, lots of memorization, but not impossible.

As for timed stations........this is part of the reason why your mind goes blank so I suggest you do what I do.

We get an average of 90 questions with 1 minute for each question only. Afterwards (if allowed by the instructor) we may pick any 3 stations we might need to review once again and come up with an answer. so.......

If my mind becomes blank, I write key words or the question lightly in pencil next to the number and move on to the next station when the minute is over. I find that as I progress and come up with answers in less than the allowed minute I have a few seconds to think about the one I missed. At the end when the instructor gives us 3 minutes to review 3 stations I just sit at desk and concentrate on them there. I erase the light pencil mark and change it to the answer.

I just took an A&P 2 practical last week and did this same thing and ended up with a 98. Most people in my class failed it because they leave the lines blank etc.

Good luck to you. :)

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2005

Next time make sure you take a pencil and jot down little notes next to a question you are blanking on. The reason is so that later on you might recall the correct answer and you'll know exactly where to write it. Anatomy is mostly memorization and labeling of body parts. Use flashcards to start learning the definitions of any medical terms that are bold-faced in your textbook. Study pictures carefully, cover up the labeled parts in pictures and diagrams and test your ability to identify them. You now have a good idea of what your lab tests are going to be like. If you haven't had them yet, bones are up next and muscles after that. Make sure you know the general terms related to these structures. For our bone test the instructor laid out a whole bunch of bones at different stations and we had to identify and label things about them. I blanked on the clavicle. In my mind I knew where is was in the body and that it was the collarbone, but could not recall the word "clavicle". I've never forgotten that and it was 32 years ago! For our muscle test the lab had rubber arms and legs that were very lifelike. Our instructor had tags pinned to various muscles and we had to identify them. On some of them he also wanted us to name the bone which was the origin and which bone was the insertion. You have to memorize and practice with whatever models you have in class to work with or you are going to have difficulty with future tests. Repitition, repitition, repitition is how you learn this stuff.

mattsmom64 · Oct 11, 2005

Next time make sure you take a pencil and jot down little notes next to a question you are blanking on. The reason is so that later on you might recall the correct answer and you'll know exactly where to write it. Anatomy is mostly memorization and labeling of body parts. Use flashcards to start learning the definitions of any medical terms that are bold-faced in your textbook. Study pictures carefully, cover up the labeled parts in pictures and diagrams and test your ability to identify them. You now have a good idea of what your lab tests are going to be like. If you haven't had them yet, bones are up next and muscles after that. Make sure you know the general terms related to these structures. For our bone test the instructor laid out a whole bunch of bones at different stations and we had to identify and label things about them. I blanked on the clavicle. In my mind I knew where is was in the body and that it was the collarbone, but could not recall the word "clavicle". I've never forgotten that and it was 32 years ago! For our muscle test the lab had rubber arms and legs that were very lifelike. Our instructor had tags pinned to various muscles and we had to identify them. On some of them he also wanted us to name the bone which was the origin and which bone was the insertion. You have to memorize and practice with whatever models you have in class to work with or you are going to have difficulty with future tests. Repitition, repitition, repitition is how you learn this stuff.

great advice!

the key to success in A&P is sheer repitition.....

here are some websites with great tutorials that really helped me with my lab practicals:

http://www.gwc.maricopa.edu/home_pages/crimando/jcHumanBiodyssey.htm

http://www.msjensen.gen.umn.edu/webanatomy/

http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/~minckley/anatomy/index.html

http://science.nhmccd.edu/biol/ap1.html

Good luck!

lalajenn · Oct 11, 2005

I have a friend who was in my A&P class and she always aced the lecture tests but did bad on the lab tests so it can always be vice versa for others. Anyways I have really bad test anxiety and what I had to do was tell myself to calm down and breathe in and out and actually think to breathe if that makes any sense. Sometimes I had to close my eyes and just breathe in and out and tell myself that I can do this and just to calm down and not freak out. Other people have different ways of dealing with it. I had to study all of the time to get my A in my A&P. When I wasn't dealing with the kids or making supper or cleaning something up, I was studying. I didn't watch tv and I didn't go out that much. My husband said that it would be ok if I got a C or a B which made me mad and I told him no I will be getting that A. We also had timed stations. We got 1 min. at each station and he said time and we had to move on. After the first round we got 30 seconds at each station and after that we could go around to where we needed to go for a few min. but after that he said if we did not know it after the time he gave us, we will never know it for the test. ANyways like some other said, A&P is memorization. I always had things to make me memorize the parts like even with the cranial nerves I had a saying to help me memorize it. There was one in the book but I used my own. Anyways good luck to you!! A&P is difficult.

nursinguy · Oct 11, 2005

A&P is hard subject, so don't get to down on your self. In a friends class there highest grade in class is 84% so far. They have 7 people passing the class and 23 with F's. Remember too that A&P classes arn't equal, it's highly subjective on what instructor you get and how they teach the class and what they expect. A © in some instructors classes whould be a (A) in another instructors class as well as a (A) in one class may be a low © in anothers.

AlexCCRN · Oct 11, 2005

Now that you know what to expect... anticipate future exams - what questions will be asked - what are the topics/points/features mentioned in class. Devise a testing strategy. Yep, memorize but not everything - just the points mentioned in lab discussion. Tissue types: stick to popular slides which show obvious features. Cadaver or diagram anatomy: know direction of circulatory flow, vessels to and from organs, major veins and arteries, the heart inside and out, abdominal organs, skeletal system... weel, it's all memorization and one poster here has it right... you just have to drill often, make a game of it. Don't panic, you'll get the hang of it, we all did. You're one of us now. :lol_hitti

Nurse-To-Be-Joy · Oct 11, 2005

Thankfully, I met a girl in my A&P. We get together once a week and arrive early to class to study together. That has helped me so much. Flashcards and daily reading have made a huge differance in my grade. In addition to my textbook, I have enjoyed using "Atlas of the Human Body" by Takeo Takahashi and the Cliff Notes aren't bad either. A&P is a very tough class, but you can get through it. Try making notes of what you have trouble with, and going back to learn what you are doing wrong. Don't be afraid to ask for help, from another student, the teacher, or a tutor. Good luck!