A and P over Summer?

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Apr 3, 2018

Depends on what kind of a student you are. A & P is the toughest course I ever took.

Consider just getting through A & P 1 during summer. That will be plenty on your plate.

Good luck!

Okami_CCRN, BSN, RN · Apr 3, 2018

When I was in nursing school we were advised not to take any classes with clinical nursing classes. I had classmates that decided not to listen to the advice and they either failed the nursing course, the gen. ed course, or both.

Personally, I hate taking science courses in the summer as I would be in school 4 days a week. Our science courses in the summer session was a 3 hour lecture twice a week with a 3 hour lab twice a week.

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · Apr 3, 2018

I would strongly advise against taking two A&P courses at the same time, regardless of semester or quarter. The workload is quite high for a summer session anyway and you're considering taking two very intensive courses at the same time. About the only time it should even remotely be considered is when you can take either course first. When this is done, neither course depends upon the other for successful completion. This is not the usual case. Most of the time, one course is considered a prerequisite for the other and must be done in sequence. Now I'm not suggesting that you take one of the A&P courses at the same time as a nursing course either. That's often recipe for disaster, due to the workload involved for both.

What I usually suggest, if the program is OK with this, is taking A&P 1 with one of the non-science courses one summer, followed by A&P 2 and the other non-science course the next Summer, this would complete the A&P series prior to entering your second year of nursing school.

What would have been better would have been to take A&P 1 and 2 prior to, or concurrently with, your application to nursing school so that if you could have had one, if not both, completed by the summer before entry into nursing school, or at the very least, already be in A&P 1 now and only have to complete A&P 2 over the summer perhaps along with either the psych or lifespan development course.

Doing some prior planning would have been good... and could potentially have resulted in you only having to take Psych and Lifespan Dev. courses this Summer. Hindsight is often 20/20, if not 20/15.

Just to reiterate/restate, if your program only requires that these four courses be completed prior to entry into your second year of nursing school, I'd suggest doing one of the A&P courses and one of the other course this Summer and the remaining courses next Summer.

Either way, you're looking at a very, very busy 2 years, starting very soon.

Broadstreetbully24 · Apr 3, 2018

No its 4 weeks of AP I May-June, then July-August APII. The program doesn't require anything it's just a matter if I should take them now so I dont have to during the Fall and Spring semesters with Nursing I-II, I'm just starting out into he program in the Fall. Theres 2 different summer semesters.

Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP · Apr 3, 2018

Considering summer classes are the same amount of content for a 12 week class crammed into a 4 week period, I'd be wary of doing a class like A+P. I'm currently doing a diagnosis class for my NP program that I was supposed to have done last summer. It's a vast amount of work and I thank my lucky stars I'm doing it over a normal length semester rather than cramming it in over the summer.

Nurseinprocess · Apr 3, 2018

I would not want to take on A&P with any other classes so my vote would be to take it over the summer so that is your only focus. It is a very tough class that I know many people struggle with and end up taking it more than once (I managed an A- but it was my only class, regular semester). In my situation I was accepted into my nursing program and could have started in August but elected to begin in January because I still had to take microbiology and didn't want to do that with my nursing program classes/load. Your summer class would be condensed but that may actually be a good thing. Look at professor ratings before you decide, that can make all the difference!

klp2006, BSN, RN · Apr 5, 2018

I took A&P I as an 8-wk course the 1st half of this semester and am now doing the same with A&P II. Every two weeks I had an exam over 4 chapters. I can't imagine the pace at 4-weeks. Are there no 6-8 week summer options? I would personally rather get a science course out of the way, plus A&P will be more beneficial for nursing school as a foundation. I would be pretty wary of it in 4-weeks though.

Broadstreetbully24 · Jun 22, 2018

I bit the bullet and did it and it was actually more enjoyable than I had initially thought. I start my nursing degree in Fall at a CC but, have been taking prereqs at a University near me UB. I got a 93 in lecture and a 98 in Lab. Was pretty rapid and lost a lot of kids but I actually preferred it than Fall as I have Gen Bio1-2 done and most of the information was similar other than anatomy which is pretty easy to get, with access to models and applying yourself. If I didn't work midnights at a hospital with a decent teaching department i probably would have failed. Luckily I don't do anything and was able to take advantage (I work security). How'd your NP class go? Have any insight on AP2 if it is more challenging or not? Was curious how NP school is and if its worth it. Definitely hoping to go that route once I find a specialty I like and gain some decent experience.

angel0309, ADN, RN · Jun 22, 2018

I'm taking A&P 1&2 this summer and it really does depend on what kind of student you are. I am a VERY fast learner and just finished A&P 1 with a solid 93. However, I had a classmate that tried her best, but just couldn't do it and the professor dropped her from the class, so she wouldn't have an F on her transcript. However, me and her were the two outliers of the class-from what my 8 other classmates shared about their grades, they seem to be hovering at B's and C's. It's not impossible to get A's in these fast paced classes, but it is A LOT of information to take in and you really need to dedicate yourself to studying your butt off. And even with studying your butt off, you still might not make the grade you want, simply because a fast paced class like that may not be the best learning environment for you.