Anatomy and physiology 1

BBboy · Mar 30, 2016

When i took those classes i honestly spent a fifth of the time you do studying but always had one of the top grades due to what i will explain next. I love sharing how i studied for those classes and still apply the same method. Say you have class M W F. You take notes on all three days. Study half of the monday notes on monday, then the other half on tuesday (while going over the first half as well). Repeat this method for W & F as well while repeating the previous lectures notes the following class day (All of Monday on Wednesday, All of M and W on Friday). Now on Saturday and Sunday go over all of the weeks notes on both days. Commit these notes to your memory, make sure you actually know what they mean, and be able to teach it to another individual, this ensures that you actually know the material (i found repeating the material over and over outloud helped so much). For the lab/practicum portion thats literally just memorizing the landmarks (which bone is which, what the different portions of each bone is, memorizing all the arteries and veins, heart, brain, kidneys, labs, blood, etc.), all i can say is go over that stuff frequently and it'll be engraved in your mind. I would take pictures of everything and try to go over it whenever i had some free time. The average time i spent studying daily was around 30 mins or less. I swear this method will change your life, you just have to make sure you actually UNDERSTAND the information with the memorizing

Nurse2BeCam, ADN · Mar 30, 2016

Did you take biology before a&p?

jlopez28 · Mar 30, 2016

I'm a nursing student. I graduated high school in 2012. I work as a CNA for a little over 3 years, 2 years in a nursing home and a little over a year in a hospital. At the school I'm attending, when you fail/withdraw from A&P 1, A&P 2 or microbiology you lose a certain amount of points that you need to get into the nursing program. I took A&P1 twice. I withdrew from the class the first time I took because I was failing and for another reason. So I already lost 3 points. I also took microbiology and failed it because I didn't think it was that hard and lost 4 points. I had a rough start and its my fault for not trying that hard. I didn't think these classes would be that difficult because I didn't good in my science courses in high school. So I talked to my advisor and she said I still have a good chance getting into the nursing program. At this point I was getting discouraged and was thinking about dropping out of school because I was struggling a lot in these science courses in college. I honestly don't see myself doing anything else. I knew I wanted to be a nurse and I loved working in healthcare.

I took A&P 1 a second time and worked my butt off. I cut back on hours at work and I got rid of distractions. I studied every single day. I went to the tutoring every day and met with the anatomy tutor and she was a HUGE help. If your school offers free tutoring I would definitely take advantage of it if I were you.

For lecture, my professor gave us a PowerPoint book and that's what he tested us on. He didn't test us on anything that was not in that book. I would rewrite my notes in a tablet because that helped me memorize. I also did made charts which would make studying easier and was easy to read when you put 3 pages of notes in one chart on one piece of paper. I would also read it out loud.

For our lab exams, I was in the medical model room every day and went over the models at least twice. I printed off the PowerPoints of the medical models and would go over those when I wasn't in the medical model room.

I ended up passing A&P 1 with C which I was very happy with and proud of myself because I worked really hard.

I took A&P 2 the following semester, first time taking it. I took it with chemistry (I HATE chemistry) and taking two sciences and two labs was tough. The nursing program at my school doesn't look at your chemistry grade it was just a required course. But I did it and chemistry ended up being the hardest class I have taken at my school. I passed A&P 2 with a B which my advisor was happy about and so was I. A&P 2 lecture and lab was actually much easier than A&P 1. I'm taking microbiology now for the second time and I do want an A but I'll be happy with a B.

I'm so sorry for such a long post! But I was kinda in the same position you are in. I'm very passionate about nursing and I LOVE taking care of people. Even though it can be discouraging failing an important class but all you can do is think positive and be confident. That's what I did and now I get to apply for the nursing program this summer.

Don't give up! Even though it can be hard at times think positive and be confident! I know you can do it!

jlopez28 · Mar 30, 2016

I'm a nursing student. I graduated high school in 2012. I work as a CNA for a little over 3 years, 2 years in a nursing home and a little over a year in a hospital. At the school I'm attending, when you fail/withdraw from A&P 1, A&P 2 or microbiology you lose a certain amount of points that you need to get into the nursing program. I took A&P1 twice. I withdrew from the class the first time I took because I was failing and for another reason. So I already lost 3 points. I also took microbiology and failed it because I didn't think it was that hard and lost 4 points. I had a rough start and its my fault for not trying that hard. I didn't think these classes would be that difficult because I didn't good in my science courses in high school. So I talked to my advisor and she said I still have a good chance getting into the nursing program. At this point I was getting discouraged and was thinking about dropping out of school because I was struggling a lot in these science courses in college. I honestly don't see myself doing anything else. I knew I wanted to be a nurse and I loved working in healthcare.
I took A&P 1 a second time and worked my butt off. I cut back on hours at work and I got rid of distractions. I studied every single day. I went to the tutoring every day and met with the anatomy tutor and she was a HUGE help. If your school offers free tutoring I would definitely take advantage of it if I were you.
For lecture, my professor gave us a PowerPoint book and that's what he tested us on. He didn't test us on anything that was not in that book. I would rewrite my notes in a tablet because that helped me memorize. I also did made charts which would make studying easier and was easy to read when you put 3 pages of notes in one chart on one piece of paper. I would also read it out loud.
For our lab exams, I was in the medical model room every day and went over the models at least twice. I printed off the PowerPoints of the medical models and would go over those when I wasn't in the medical model room.
I ended up passing A&P 1 with C which I was very happy with and proud of myself because I worked really hard.
I took A&P 2 the following semester, first time taking it. I took it with chemistry (I HATE chemistry) and taking two sciences and two labs was tough. The nursing program at my school doesn't look at your chemistry grade it was just a required course. But I did it and chemistry ended up being the hardest class I have taken at my school. I passed A&P 2 with a B which my advisor was happy about and so was I. A&P 2 lecture and lab was actually much easier than A&P 1. I'm taking microbiology now for the second time and I do want an A but I'll be happy with a B.
I'm so sorry for such a long post! But I was kinda in the same position you are in. I'm very passionate about nursing and I LOVE taking care of people. Even though it can be discouraging failing an important class but all you can do is think positive and be confident. That's what I did and now I get to apply for the nursing program this summer.
Don't give up! Even though it can be hard at times think positive and be confident! I know you can do it!

Sorry, I was typing this on my phone and autocorrect happened. In the first paragraph I said "I didn't good in my science courses in high school." It should say "I did good in my science courses in high school."

kristie.castle · Mar 31, 2016

Yes I did I have taken Biology and a pre A&P prep class did fine passed both with at least a B.

For me my A&P is all online I go to the school to take the class but I used our tutoring last quarter and it was a fail, only because the tutors they have are in the class which is different then doing it online. The exams they have in class have different material so when I went to meet with our tutors at my school I was sitting there learning things that we had never learned online. I am currently also taking a positive academic class due to failing my A&P, this class helps but only so much. We check in with my nursing advisor to tell them how we are doing and if we are struggling.

For my job I already quit my old job and am working somewhere new because of school my old job was too demanding and I needed something that gave me more time with nursing. I currently volunteer at the local hospital so I know this is what I want to do but it becomes very discouraging when I have tried so hard and still fail. Also when you see people you graduate with finishing their degrees and your still struggling to just get into your program.

Another thing is that due to failing this class so many times it has brought my GPA down which is very scary for me when I do go to apply for nursing. I don't know what to do about this.

kristie.castle · Mar 31, 2016

Ok I will try that my class is online which makes it a little more tough but I will listen to the lecture then take notes then study.

jlopez28 · Mar 31, 2016

Yes I did I have taken Biology and a pre A&P prep class did fine passed both with at least a B.
For me my A&P is all online I go to the school to take the class but I used our tutoring last quarter and it was a fail, only because the tutors they have are in the class which is different then doing it online. The exams they have in class have different material so when I went to meet with our tutors at my school I was sitting there learning things that we had never learned online. I am currently also taking a positive academic class due to failing my A&P, this class helps but only so much. We check in with my nursing advisor to tell them how we are doing and if we are struggling.
For my job I already quit my old job and am working somewhere new because of school my old job was too demanding and I needed something that gave me more time with nursing. I currently volunteer at the local hospital so I know this is what I want to do but it becomes very discouraging when I have tried so hard and still fail. Also when you see people you graduate with finishing their degrees and your still struggling to just get into your program.
Another thing is that due to failing this class so many times it has brought my GPA down which is very scary for me when I do go to apply for nursing. I don't know what to do about this.

I know what you mean by seeing people you graduated with graduating from college with the degree. It is discouraging but everyone goes at a different pace. I know what you are feeling. I also noticed how my gpa dropped after failing a class and it can be scary. Does your school offer any resources like websites or apps you can use to study?

kristie.castle · Mar 31, 2016

There isn't much for studying they have online tutors but it's pretty much just question and answer last quarter I tried to put together a study group but no one wanted to from my online class

KellyVT · Mar 31, 2016

If you get a text with an online code, use it. There are so many awesome supplemental materials. I have a pearson textbook, and their online materials have been so helpful. There are videos, quizzes, labelling exercises. The anatomy and physiology coloring book is amazing (especially for muscles!) and it's only $12 on amazon. Youtube has some great videos. Writing and rewriting always helps me too. Make studying more multimodal. It makes it suck less, and its easier to stay focused. Different things work for different people. You can do this!

Youtube, look at daprofessa77 and rita thrasher

Taber24 · Mar 31, 2016

I got an A in A&P 1 and I think what really help me is I recorded the lectures, and while I was making my notecards I listened to the lectures. I would also have my book in front of me to look at the figures while listening to the lecture. All of this helped me make sense of the material in my head. As far as lab stuff goes I used quizlet for all my lab practicals. I bought the a membership so I could add pictures to the flashcards. This helped so much for spelling, and identify the varies parts. Even for microscope stuff I found pictures from the Internet, and add them to my notes. I seriously spent probably 30 hours a week studying, and preparing study material. But it paid off I ended with a 98% in the class and I just got into nursing school. Keep your head up; I had so many people doubt my ability to do well in college, and I let it be my motivation to prove everyone wrong. I know there are nursing schools out there that don't move you down in points for retaking a class. You might have to yet again move schools, but nothing should hold you back from achieving your dream.

kristie.castle · Mar 31, 2016

If you get a text with an online code, use it. There are so many awesome supplemental materials. I have a pearson textbook, and their online materials have been so helpful. There are videos, quizzes, labelling exercises. The anatomy and physiology coloring book is amazing (especially for muscles!) and it's only $12 on amazon. Youtube has some great videos. Writing and rewriting always helps me too. Make studying more multimodal. It makes it suck less, and its easier to stay focused. Different things work for different people. You can do this!
Youtube, look at daprofessa77 and rita thrasher

The hard thing with my class is the teacher gave us our book and she wrote it herself which in a sense helps with not having a bunch of fluff in there but instead the stuff we need to know. But during the text she will make jokes and create her own type of steps she wants us to know so it becomes hard using youtube videos because we may know it more detailed and she wants it her way which becomes frustrating.