ANY advice on A&P

Streamline2010 · Oct 11, 2012

Anatomy is just mostly rote memorization of body parts and names. Go over & over it until you have memorized and you remember what's what. I think the biggest problem with A&P for most people is that they are just not accustomed to so much tedious drill and rote. But get the stuff nailed down now, because it will save you so much effort later when you have to apply it to nursing. True, you get reviews of A&P in RN school, but the more of it you have in your head going into RN classes, the less time you'll have to spend reviewing, and that's more time to concentrate on the nursing content.

I don't think it matters a whole lot who the prof is, because this is not a spectator sport, hehe. You just have to drill and drill and memorize it, and that you can do on your own. Knowing the meanings of Latin roots for words is helpful, too, but not completely necessary.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Oct 11, 2012

I read your plea for help and felt compelled to reply. I struggled with A&P 1 the first time I took it. Because of that failure, (I dropped because I was getting C's and D's on exams) I taught myself to be a better student. Because I learned how to study, I went on to earn A's in Microbiology, A&P 1, Medical Terminology, and every other class I've taken since then. Here are my basic tips. (Beware, they are time consuming) Because of my struggles in learning how to be an A student, I created a blog that has lots of study tips: Study Tips | Prenursing Student

Read the textbook chapters multiple times.
Make flash cards. Review often.
Study in a group (I had 1 tutor, I study partner with whom I had a standing once per week date and a study group I led)
Take good notes in class based on what the teacher says. What she talks about is likely to be what she tests on. Learn her verbiage.
Study a little each day so the info doesn't get stale.
Talk out the material. (I'd explain concepts to my study buddies or my 6 year old)
Only focus on material that your teacher focuses on.

For A&P Specifically:

Study for Lab separate from lecture. In other words, study physiology separately from the anatomy.
study the exact pics that will be used in practicals (you can use a camera phone to take pics of microscope slides, photocopy your books)
Go big picture, small picture. ie: know the basics / understand the general idea and then learn the nitty gritty details.
Go to youtube to listen to songs or see videos about the concepts.

Yes, this seems like a lot to do, but I did it while raising 3 kids who play multiple sports, while being married to an unhelpful person first and later as a single mom who worked super part time. I think the time can be made to study properly.

I found creative ways to build study time into my busy schedule.

rmolander · Oct 11, 2012

Personally I don't pay much attention to the power points... other than things I know I'm not understanding. What works for me is to read the chapter ahead of time and teach myself. Attend lecture and focus on the things that are fuzzy to me. After lecture I work the problems at the end of the chapter. In preparation for exams I find as many questions as possible over the material - form a study group and you each create a 20 question quiz, look up practice tests online, etc.

Good luck

confettirose · Oct 12, 2012

I was 41 years old -had 3 children at home one was 9 and the other was 1 -if I can and did do it you can too-

keep on top of things find a study buddy and repeat repeat it will sink in by the way I loved the class our bodies are amazing good luck-I did get study guides they explain it in detail and 300 people in one class yuck do the community college they have help if you need it and get the help before to late

Elladora · Oct 12, 2012

Break it into chunks. Unfortunately A&P is one of those classes that can take a LOT of time. Are you talking lab or classroom? If it's lab (such as bones, muscles, cells, etc), spend time in the lab. A lot of time. One thing that helped me was to take pictures of everything and study them when I couldn't get into the lab. If it's classroom, spend a lot of time going over your notes. Something that might help is to retype them each day after class. You could also consider finding a study buddy - someone that can help you go over the concepts until they become familiar.

If you are a visual learner, consider getting a good set of flashcards. I used Anatomy Flashcards by Stephanie Mccann and Joanne Tillotson and they helped me tremendously. I also used the Anatomy and Physiology Coloring Workbook by Elaine Marieb. (Don't get too hung up on making it super pretty though.)

Something kind of goofy my classmates and I did...we were taking A&P in the fall, so we bought small Halloween skeletons and used them to help us with bone practice. Of course they didn't have all of the bones we needed but they had enough to help us get a good start.

Here's an example of a cell picture I took. I did two for each cell we had to learn - a broad view and a close-up. On the back of each, I wrote the type, the function and the location (that's what we needed to know).

Best of luck to you!

princezzav · Oct 12, 2012

Try recording the lecture and/or study groups. Talk to the other students and find out what their having trouble with. You might find that the professor is the problem and not you.

lnicole35 · Oct 12, 2012

One other piece of advice I haven't heard mentioned but CAN happen is overkill. Sometimes we can study TOO MUCH information and a majority doesn't end up on the test. We all learn differently and have to find our own niche. That being said I am more of a visual learner and memorizer so in order for me to really understand body functions (physiology) was to draw them out on paper. Make your studying visual. For anatomy draw out everything. Works wonders! Best wishes.

That Girl · Oct 12, 2012

A&P is almost all memorization. When it comes to the anatomy...use the model skeletons and other models to study. My school let me into the lab when there were no classes going on. When it comes to the physiology...youtube is a great resource. You can find videos and lectures to explain almost anything. For me, sometimes I have to have things explained 3 different ways before it clicks and youtube makes that possible. Also, take adantage of any and all extra credit opportunities. Hang in there...A&P2 is easier! :)

Today I had my second A&P test and failed it one point lower than my first one. I got a 54 on the first and a 53 on the second. Is there ANY advice you would give? I studied much harder on the second test and feel I would have gotten at least at 70. I really like anatomy but I don't know what i'm doing wrong. ANY advice would be appreciated!
I talked to my professor after the first test and he offered advice and I took his advice, I even went to a tutor...I feel like i'm out of options.
Thank you!

T-Bird78 · Oct 12, 2012

Sing with me, "the leg bone is connected to the knee bone, the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone" etc. A&P is so dry that it's hard to make it more fun and interesting. My A&P teacher would get so upset at the drawings in the book (the lymphatic system is NOT green, and I have never seen a blue spleen, etc) and he'd complain about it and would lose track while teaching. Just try one body system at a time. Anatomy is all memorization so try finding a blank skeleton and labeling the parts yourself and check against the book. Oh, and good luck when you get to the nervous system--that section about kicked my butt!! There's a pin on Pinterest with a neat drawing of a body and the 8 cranial nerves and what they control, see if you can find that. :)