Anatomy, physiology microbiology OH MY!

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Scared of taking these intense science classes! I finished the majority of my general ed right of of high school (1994) Now as a mature adult I have decided to finish school and become a nurse. I have tried to get into Anatomy the last two semesters and the class has filled up before I was permitted to register.

I so hope I can get in for spring! Is it ok to start with anatomy? Did you all have to dissect a cat? Should I take Microbio at the same time or is that totally nuts?

Any thoughts or suggestions on these classes?

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I think starting out with anatomy is fine. Personally, my school does not have us dissect anything in AP 1 or 2. I also know some people take it with micro, but I could not do it because both have so much information.

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Specializes in Emergency.

In A&P2 we had to disect a fetal pig...wasn't nearly as bad I was expecting. I took A&P 2 and Micro together over the summer so it's doable, but very stressful. (I just looked at it as preparing me for the stress and workload of nursing school.) Only you can say whether or not you'd be able to handle both classes together! All the work pays off once you can see that light at the end of the tunnel...Good luck!!

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I'm taking AP1 right now. We had to dissect a fetal pig awhile back and next week a sheep brain. To me it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be..

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I'd start with anatomy and then take micro concurrently with physiology.

In anatomy, we dissected human cadavers, 4 students per cadaver.

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I would start with the A&P classes and then take micro. Having already studied the A&P, micro makes a lot of sense. I do know people who took micro at the same time as A&P and did fine. Just be ready to study. I did have to dissect the cat. Nobody wanted to do it, so we got through it together as a group. Once you get into the actual dissection, it is kind of cool to see all the structures. You just have to get in to the mindset that this is something you must do. Hope you get into the classes you want!

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Take micro by itself. I'm taking it with math and english and it's more than enough. Lots of information :dead: I'm taking anatomy and physiology next semester..assuming I can get into both

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

After having been out of school for a decade, I took micro concurrently with physiology and statistics... it was a steady load but not unmanageable.

Only you can decide for yourself what you're able to handle.

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We had to have chemistry first

Then you could take other sciences in order

Then A&P1

A&P2

Microbiology

We need to take them in order , they don't repeat the info from the previous class, they will say you learned it in Chen or a&p, and it will show up on let's say a micro test, something from chemistry.

Good luck.

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I also was scared of taking these science classes, but I was able to successfully pass them! I took chemistry first, then the following semester I took Anatomy and Physiology (2 separate classes), and the following semester after that I took microbiology. I would say out of all the science classes, Anatomy was the most intense because there was so much information we had to know every single week. We had a human cadaver, tons of human hearts, brains, bones, and guts to look at and learn from. My professor quizzed us every week on the different parts we had to know. I had never studied so much in my life until this anatomy class so it made the other classes seem like a breeze! My favorite class out of these ended up being Anatomy! Best of luck to you, you can do it! =)

P.S. meeting with a study group really helped me!

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

First of all....don't be scared of these classes. They're actually quite "fun" subjects (except for the homework/study time) :D

I, too, am a returning adult student. I finished my associate's in 1994 and didn't go back to school until June this year. Even though I had already taken these courses back then, they are now considered "too old" to count, so I am being forced to re-take nearly everything (even though I had an A in them back then...ugh!)

I would suggest taking Anatomy first and then take Physiology & Microbiology concurrently. There is so much we're doing in Micro that correlates to what we're doing in Phys right now. Not sure if your school has a Chemistry pre-req for Phys or Micro, but it's highly beneficial if you have it. It will help you when you're learning action potentials in Phys and cellular respiration in Micro.

I actually think the toughest class I've had so far is Pharmacology. Not sure if your school has Pharm for a pre-req...ours does.

As far as dissection goes, it depends on the school you go to. When I took A&P back in the late 80s, we dissected cadavers. Taking it now, we only get animal parts (e.g. cow's eyes, pig lungs, etc.)

Good luck to you....you can do it!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Keep posting updates so we know how you're doing, OK?

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Wow, lots of people taking these classes in various combinations. I hope it's true that chem is a good base for anat/phys/microbio at my school. I'll be taking these three courses at the same time next semester (anatomy, physiology, microbiology). It's only 12 credit hrs total (minimum full time at my univ. is technically 13), yet from what I've heard it will be really difficult. Currently I'm taking chem, bio and sociology, plus working around 15 hrs a week. This schedule is making me really tired, so I'll likely cut my work schedule down to 7 hrs a week next semester, and also try to get a head start on reading for phys over winter break.

Good luck to all the rest of you in these courses! :) We'll get through it..

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