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

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!

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)

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!

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.

Specializes in nursing.

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

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