Any tips on what to study BEFORE entering A&P1?

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Since I was a CNA prior to going to Nursing School some of the classes came easy to be because I recognized the lingo. But A&P1 is another story. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on what to review, memorize or get farmiliar with before entering the class. I dont want to fall behind.

Thanks!

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Yes, the bones and muscles (all of them), and the systems (integumentary, nervous, etc) their functions and the organs they entail. The types of cells (blood, nerve, squamous, etc..., and be able to identify them on a slide

there's so much to know, but if you plan ahead, you will do well :smiley:

Good Luck

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Specializes in Surgical Derm..

Hi the two things that i found a little difficulty in A&P were Identifying and telling what functions certain epithelial tissue and another good thing to familar yourself with would be the type of blood cells and their functions. Knowing the basics of these things with help ya with micro bio too.

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It's been a while since A&P I for me so I don't remember exactly what we covered in A&P I versus A&P II.

My suggestion. Do you know what book you will be using in school? Go to your college library and look at a copy of an A&P textbook. Also go to your local retail bookstore and look at any books they have on A&P. You might find the Made Easy books or others to be helpful like "Anatomy and Physiology Made Incredibly Easy". Look at the different books at the store and see which one you like and if you want to purchase it see if you can get it used online.

To order used online I always check:

www.fetchbook.info

1. Does it have a CD and is it included? (You definitely want the CD's)

2. Is it in good condition or does it have a lot of highlighting?

3. How much is the shipping?

When I took A&P at a community college we had one instructor who was a geneticist and one who had a science degree. They really were unsure what a nurse needed to know about anatomy. A lot of students from my class in hindsite felt they were so focused on studying to pass the tests that when they got into their nursing classes they had not retained enough of what the nurse needs to know of anatomy.

Anyway my short answer. Look at books that may help you break it down in to more understandable terms. And when you are taking anatomy and physiology try to ask yourself how would this pertain to what a nurse does.

Like the names of where to check pulses.

Heart sounds, lung sounds, bowel sounds what are you hearing, where do you listen, for how long etc.

Location and names of muscles where the nurse gives injections.

The coronary arteries of the heart because they are important when you learn in nursing school about CAD - Coronary Artery Disease, or MI - Myocardial Infarction (Heart attack).

Obviously you need to learn everything your instructor gives notes or lectures on. For my class it would have been easier to retain if someone could have explained the "why" to us. Or how it would be important to the nurse.

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Also our A&P textbook came with a great CD. The CD had an excellent visual tutorial of the sodium- potassium pump. And of the heart and how it works.

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I am starting A&P 1 in January also. It will be my first class since high school (11 years ago) so I am nervous:stone:stone:stone.

I took biology and chemistry in High school so I am not required to take them again and I do not want to waste time and money.

I got Anatomy and Physiology for the complete idiot and I am studying it. I read each chapter and take notes and make online flashcards. I hope it helps I hear it is a really hard class!

I did not try to get the text book because I don't want to burn myself out on it before we even begin. Plus this way I think will help me more because When I begin to recognise things that I learned I will feel like I have "outside information" or something. It just seems like it might turn on more light bulbs for me that way. I am actually finding it really interesting!

Anyway thats what I am doing. here is a link to my flashcards, but I would make your own because I find that making them helps me learn as much as studying them later.http://quizlet.com/group/42833/

Good Luck!

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Since I was a CNA prior to going to Nursing School some of the classes came easy to be because I recognized the lingo. But A&P1 is another story. I was wondering if anyone had any tips on what to review, memorize or get farmiliar with before entering the class. I dont want to fall behind.

Thanks![/quote

I will suggest taking a Biology class, if you haven't already. But then again, the two classes are not related. A&P is a class of its own. I think a Biology course helps you understand the "how and why" the way things are, in living organisms. You will be applying those concepts in A&P. You will do fine as long as you review your notes before and after class. Repeations helped me to become familiar with the terminology used. It could be overwhelming at times. But is doable. Good Luck!

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Specializes in Home Care.

Review cellular biology including all the parts of a cell and what each component does as well as understand cellular metabolism and respiration. You will use this information in both A&P classes, microbiology and in nursing classes when you study pharmacology and disease process.

Here's a great link http://www.biochemweb.org/

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I'm returning to school after 5 years and will be taking A&P in January. Just like you, I am afraid of burning myself out before I begin, so I have been taking it in small doses. I found the usual syllabus my professor-to-be uses and am trying to familiarize myself with the content. Just knowing what to expect has lifted a weight from my shoulders.

I also found a recommendation on a nurses' blog (can't remember which one!) for http://www.anatomyarcade.com which I love! The tools and games there have really helped me clear some cobwebs!

Good luck :)

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If you have time to take a class before entering A&P, I definitely recommend you taking medical terminology. If not, perhaps you can take medical terminology during A&P. You'll find that alot of terms will come up in A&P and it'll be easier to understand the subject. I also found that my anatomy & physiology coloring book helped but it is time consuming. Still, it'll help you familiarize with the parts and functions of the body. Good luck!

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To: Cassie FL,

THANKS!!!! for sharing that anatomy sight. What a great site.

To: Duice88

I used several of the laminated study guides by Sparkcharts and Barcharts. As japanic said; knowing medical terminology is helpful. I have not taken a medical terminology course but I did purchase one of these laminated charts of medical terminology. Kept it in my class notebook throughout nursing school and referenced it often. Just by knowing a particular prefix or suffix this helped decipher many new medical terms.

I can't say enough about these charts. They take the important information on a subject and condense it into just a few pages. Many times even if I didn't purchase the chart I did look it over at the bookstore to help understand the important info on a subject.

http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/

http://www.barcharts.com/Inventory/Navision/9781423203087

To: emmasmom:

One of the most helprul things for our class when taking A&P was to answer the practice questions at the end of the chapters in our textbook. If you don't want to get your textbook too soon, if you have access to an A&P textbook at your college library you might find it helpful to take your knowledge from your studies and use that to answer end of chapter practice questions in an A&P textbook.

Best of Luck to all of you.

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