A&P 1 and Pathophysiology at the same time

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Specializes in nursing.

Hi guys, any advice on how to study for A&P 1 and pathophysiology in the same semester? All my exams and quizzes for both classes are on the same due dates for the whole semester. This may sound dumb - but I've worked full time the past 5 years and take pre-reqs almost 1 or 2 classes at a time because its all I can afford. But now the classes are adding up to be harder classes and I'm not sure how to tackle it or the study habits

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Specializes in BSN student.

Hats off to you. I have no clue how one would successfully do Pathopharm without any extensive A&P knowledge! Pathopharm builds on A&P in the sense that 1) it is mainly application based rather than memorization based and 2) the pharmacokinetics/dynamics of drugs are explored along with disease processes affecting certain body systems. So while you may learn about the respiratory system in A&P (Boyle's law, ventilation perfusion coupling, etc), you will learn about respiratory disease processes, drugs, and the affect on the pt as a whole in Pathopharm.

My best advice for studying would be to try to relate the content of each class to the other. When you learn about something in A&P, think "what can go wrong and how can it affect a pt?" When you learn something in Pathopharm, think "What body system/process does this relate to?"

With that being said, if you have to prioritize studying, I would 1000% recommend prioritizing Pathopharm. You will get a basic enough A&P review for nursing practice/NCLEX purposes and at the end of the day, it doesn't matter as a nursing student/nurse if you know what colloid osmotic pressure is responsible for, it's more beneficial to know the expected tx and s/s.

Best of luck!

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Specializes in nursing.

Thank you so much, I really really appreciate the quick and detailed comment - but I think we might be talking about two different classes, I'll remember this for pharmacology though ? (I was seeking at pathophysiology 1 and A&P 1)

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Specializes in BSN student.
3 minutes ago, CRNAdreamer said:

Thank you so much, I really really appreciate the quick and detailed comment - but I think we might be talking about two different classes, I'll remember this for pharmacology though ? (I was seeking at pathophysiology 1 and A&P 1)

Pathophysiology & Pharmacology is one class at my university (with a part I and II; so we take PP1 then PP2 the next semester, not unlike the A&P sequence). ? They focus on similar things, patho being disease processes and pharm being the coinciding drugs!

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I took pathophysiology with A&P3, and I don't know how I'd have gotten through it without the first 2 A&P classes under my belt. Studying for pathophysiology really does drill down the A&P skills though, and I found that when I studied the pathophysiology concepts adequately, I knew enough to do passably well in A&P for the same body systems. I'd watch Armando H.'s videos on Youtube (https://www.Youtube.com/user/armandohasudungan) before you even start class, they were actually assigned content in my pathophysiology class.

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Specializes in nursing.

Dang sounds like a hard university, I'm just at your average community college haha

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