Anatomy Fall '08...what to expect?

hearts895, RN BSN · Jun 1, 2008

Hi everyone...
So after 2 semesters of college, I'm finally enrolled in Anatomy! At my school you take Anat and Phys seperately...
So.....can anyone tell me what to expect?
I'm enrolled in Stats, Anatomy, English and a PE class to burn off some stress...I won't be working other than as an intern at a hospital once a week.
How much time do you devote to Anat every week?
Does anyone recommend brushing up on some terms during the summer?
Is it wise to study EVERY night? I want to be ahead of the game!
Any info would be great! I can't wait!
Thanks,
Samantha
Long Beach City College, Southern CA.

I'm also taking Anatomy this Fall of 08, and I am wondering about all of these things too. Like you Samantha, at my new school (where I'll be taking A&P) you take Anatomy and Physiology separately. This Fall semester I'll be taking Organic/Bio Chem, Sociology, Anatomy (of course), and an easy computer class thats required by my new school. I'm hoping to get the textbook this summer and make flashcards in advance. How scared should I be - is anatomy as hard as I've always heard it is? Does anyone have any special study tips? I'm pretty scared, to be honest! :uhoh21: Thanks everyone! :nuke:

Bicster · Jun 1, 2008

Hi everyone...
So after 2 semesters of college, I'm finally enrolled in Anatomy! At my school you take Anat and Phys seperately...
So.....can anyone tell me what to expect?
I'm enrolled in Stats, Anatomy, English and a PE class to burn off some stress...I won't be working other than as an intern at a hospital once a week.
How much time do you devote to Anat every week?
Does anyone recommend brushing up on some terms during the summer?
Is it wise to study EVERY night? I want to be ahead of the game!

You can expect body parts, histology, muscles, bones, organs, tissues, well, basically anatomy.

Study 1 hour outside of class for every hour spent in class.

Brushing up on terms is never a bad idea. Just buy a medical terminology book and study that.

shrimpchips, LPN · Jun 2, 2008

Basically what Bicster said :)

Imo I thought anatomy was waaay easier than the physiology aspect. at my school anatomy & physiology were together, not seperate...so the lecture emphasized more on the physiology and the lab emphasized more on the anatomy aspect. For physiology, expect A LOTTTT of studying.

It really helps to review your notes right after your lecture.

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Jun 2, 2008

I just had my first day on AP I and that is intense!!! we have a lot of homework, and since it is an accelerated course we are doing 2 and a half chapeters of the book per week....

crazy, we have 23 questions + already for tomorrow AM and i have to work until midnight

ahhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrggg, crazy!!!! (but doable!)

SFChef · Jun 3, 2008

Anatomy is a lot of work, but I didn't think it was necessarily hard. I just finished the class and got a high A, so I'll give you my advice about what I think is helpful.

First, learn your directional terms: anterior/posterior, proximal/distal, superior/inferior, dorsal/ventral, etc.

Know the body planes: transverse, saggital and frontal

Once you learn these and understand them, it will be much easier to learn bones.

LEARN THE BONES! Learn the surface markings of the bones. You can't learn the muscles without knowing the bones, so there's no way around it. You have to study and memorize. My book came with access to a website (my a & p place) and online you could play labeling games to test your memory of the bones. If you can buy a cheap skeleton that helps too.

Once you learn the bones, next you learn the muscles. We had to learn, origin, insertion and action (this will make sense later). It is straight up memorization. If you have a good understanding of the bones, this will not be too bad.

Next comes the nervous system. It's not too bad if you understand early on the differences between afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) neurons. Just read and review your notes. Making flash cards helps, too.

Those are hardest parts of anatomy (in my opinion). If you stay on top of it and don't fall behind you should be okay. The people who did poorly in my class were the people who didn't keep up with the reading, or who didn't take the time to learn the main systems. If you know the basics, you can figure out a lot.

Good luck!

Mommyto2and2 · Jun 3, 2008

I had anatomy last fall and it was intense. Sorry to disagree with the other posters but you will want to study at least 3 hours for every hour your in school. I also had it separately and it is just a completely different experience that way.

You can make it through and may even find it easy... I didn't. The biggest advice I can give is that the body is comprehensive and so is the class. You will build from the cellular level all the way up to the organism of the body. There is alot of detail so don't let yourself get behind. Go into open labs when they have them. Try to form a study group with some of your lab partners. All of these things helped me when I didn't understand things or couldn't remember. You can do it if you focus on it and ask for help as soon as you get over your head. This is not a class, at least for me it wasnt, that you have alot of lightbulb moments. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Good luck:wink2:

craziechiq, BSN, RN · Jun 3, 2008

All I can say is diagrams really helped me especially with the bones of the skull. I bought the anatomy flashcards at the book store as well as the coloring book. The flash cards were pretty nice. I didn't get a lot from the coloring book. Just study hard, but three hours for every hour? thats pretty intense. Hope you do well!!!

slsmithe · Jun 3, 2008

Anatomy is mainly ALL memorization, while Physio is more comprehensive. Try using note cards, that helped me a lot. Utilize labs as much as you can because hands on experience is better than just studying your textbook. Good luck!

Marysjrfan · Jun 3, 2008

Basically what Bicster said :)
Imo I thought anatomy was waaay easier than the physiology aspect. at my school anatomy & physiology were together, not seperate...so the lecture emphasized more on the physiology and the lab emphasized more on the anatomy aspect. For physiology, expect A LOTTTT of studying.
It really helps to review your notes right after your lecture.

They're togther at my school as well, so I found your post helpful. Thanks.

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Jun 3, 2008

its 10 to midnight, and i am here still sitting down, almost ready to go home, after a full day, but i still have some homework left!!! damn it chemestry of the body lol:D

well i will get home at around 1 am, and within 30 to 40 minutes i should be done with all the homework! i had 4 pages of exercises, plus 23 sort essay answers DUE TOMORROW!!! so, i got all of them done, and have about 2 page of exercises left!

that is because i was not that busy at work, otherwise i'd be in so much trouble!!!

it is definately hard to take AP in 1 month, and work full time! but... i am going to prove my self once more and post a A here (maybe a B, but will aim for an A lol)!!! :yeah:

PurpleMyst · Jun 3, 2008

Hi,

If it helps any, I also am taking A&P I in the fall and I bought Anatomy and Physiology Workbook for dummies to start preparing. I like the book because it's a workbook with questions to test your knowledge and answers at the end of the chapters. I have the textbook that a friend used but I was told they will be changing it for the fall, perhaps it's the next edition of the same book but I can still use it along with my dummies book to get a head start.

Good luck! :)