Anatomy and Physiology I and II - drop out rate

Anne36, LPN · Sep 10, 2010

IN my A&P 1 and 2 classes I was told that the dropout rate was less for A&P2. I found that to not be true, it was about half for each class.

I also thought the teacher would let up and be more reasonable after the first 6-8 weeks and I found that to be untrue as well. I dont think it made any difference in the grading or testing. In fact one of my hardest exams was next to last exam.

Chaserr · Sep 10, 2010

For me, I went to a community college to complete my 2 years and then i transfered to a university and I am now studying nursing. In my community college A&P 1 had about 40 students in the class and out of those 40 I want to say around 20-25 of them dropped out. Then once A&P 2 came around it was usually everyone that did well in A&P 1 so the majority of people passes with good grade with a few exceptions. For my A&P 2 class the material was more physiology rather than anatomy so some students found that material more confusing that just remembering the different bones and muscles, which caused the few people to drop.

happy2learn · Sep 10, 2010

My teacher did not change how he graded and he did not change the tests or anything. And half the class dropped in A&P 1. I'd say 1/3 dropped in A&P 2, and maybe 1/3 dropped A&P 3 (we're on quarters.)

He was always cooperative and nice, so there was no reason for him to change.

Saysfaa · Sep 10, 2010

I had anatomy then physiology vs A/P I and II but the anatomy prof also talked about the different drop rates. I noticed a lot more people dropped anatomy than dropped physiology. The chemistry teacher also talked of it - in answer to one of the chem students asking how learning chemical nomenclature was relevent to nursing. She said it wasn't very important in and of itself but that it was an indicator of students who could do well in later classes. It wasn't so much about what info they were learning as it was knowing how to learn similar material.

Neither prof changed how they taught and I didn't notice the atmosphere of either class changing.

Elizabeth 123 · Sep 10, 2010

hmmmmmm. Interesting! Thanks

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2010

Hi all, I have a question about A&P I and II. In general, after approx. the first one-third of A&P I semester, after a lot of the students drop out, is there a minor change in grading or testing of labs, or perhaps more direction/cooperation from the teacher, as they know these are the hard core students?
Also, when a student gets to A&P II, is there a more consistent class without so many dropouts, because they would have dropped out in A&P I? Not sure if I am wording this clearly... Just curious as to how the flow goes, and the unspoken truths about A&P I and II, with dropout rates versus students who stay in the class and then pass.....

The grading remained the same as it was described in the syllabus after the first 6-8 weeks of the class.

QuarterLife88, MSN, RN, NP · Sep 10, 2010

For A&P 1, after the 2nd test, at least half my class was gone. We started with 50 or so, and ended with about 20-25. We even remarked as a class how many empty seats there were. Grading never let up, tests never got easier. "It got worse," comes to mind. My teacher was rough. I was crying at the end under the pressure to maintain an A.

A&P 2, way less people dropped, though we still had about 10 or so leave. I think people are used to how hardcore A&P is by the 2nd class and you've learned how to study by then, and yes it's probably full of those that were successful in A&P 1 that made it to 2.

I also think A&P 2 is more interesting/easier (YMMV) than 1. At least I never ended up crying like I did for 1.

mspontiac · Sep 10, 2010

In my A&P classes, the anatomy and physiology was combined. We divided body systems and covered half in the first section, half in the second section. The first section was harder because it was mostly cellular in nature, and we covered renal, endocrine, and respiratory systems (among other systems), which are more difficult to understand sometimes. In A&P I, we had lost about 1/2 the class just after mid-terms (many students waited to see how they were doing before they dropped the class). A&P II was a little different, because I took it in a 3-week minimester so all of the students were hard-core workers. We didn't lose anyone in that section and everyone did pretty well, I think.

In both classes, neither instructor changed their styles after losing students...it's not their job to lighten up or go easier just because people are doing well and appear to be bright or hard workers. It's their job to teach, and if students don't make it, then they don't make it. A&P is challenging material, and it's the nature of the beast for it to be tough and to lose a lot of students along the way.

Elizabeth 123 · Sep 10, 2010

I agree, the teachers are there to teach, not slack up. At least, I am glad I love the material. It is very interesting. Chemistry was dry, in my opinion - at least A&P is interesting and makes the hours of study go faster :)

anonymousandy · Sep 10, 2010

I'm in A&P right now. From what my professor's said, the class is going to get more and more difficult, but we've also lucked out with her because she holds study sessions outside of class on her own time (they're SO helpful). During one of them, this topic came up, and she said this: "I can dumb it down, but then I'd be doing a disservice to the better students...so...I'm reversing 'No Child Left Behind.'"

soxgirl2008 · Sep 10, 2010

In my school's A&P 1 class about..a third drop out I think. The professor doesn't make it any easier, he knows a lot of people who stay in the class are trying to get into the nursing program and knows we need to know this material. Not too many people at my school drop out of A&P 2 because the only people really in that class are nursing/pre health people