Become a successful Nurse if you hate A&P?

[Enmc412]

I have researched this question high and low but would love some input from the members on this site.

I finally felt like I had a "calling" and knew exactly what I wanted to do professionally. I have been on the "other side" as a patient and a family member (with my NICU baby and my Mom who has severe health problems) The Nurses I have encountered have motivated me and inspired me to finally take the plunge to go back to college.

I have been dreaming of one day becoming a Nurse Practitioner or even possibly a Nurse educator of some sort.

I am now seriously questioning my decision and wonder if I had some sort of idealistic view.... I am taking Intro to A&P and I seriously do not like it. I hate reading my text and find my lab class absolutely boring. I am able to learn the material and have been making very good grades but, I really feel like I am just memorizing words and nothing is really making any sense (if that makes any sense)

My lecture Professor told our class on the the first day, that if we do not enjoy this course and find it interesting, then we should consider changing our major as this is the foundation for Nursing. We are only on our third chapter so, I maybe jumping the gun as most of the info has been over cell structure and chemistry. I have excelled in my psychology courses and and love reading and learning about it.....

So, is it true, am I really doomed in Nursing if I do not like A&P?

[Picklefreak]

I think you may find it more interesting after you get into nursing school and start learning the pathophysiology of disease. That's where you take all the boring stuff you memorized in A & P and apply it to how you care for patients. :)

[CrimsonAlchemist]

I didn't find A&P very interesting either, but now that I've started Nursing School, and am pulling it together with Microbiology and nursing principles, it is a lot more interesting.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

"So, is it true, am I really doomed in Nursing if I do not like A&P? "

No, it really does not matter what you do or do not like. What matters is what you are able/willing to master in order to become a nurse.

That which you detest (but must conquer) will later become your best friend as you utilize your knowledge base in your nursing practice.

[Dalzac, LPN, LVN, RN]

I absolutely loved A+P! I underrstood it better when I compared it to how a car ran. When I was a teenager my dad taught me how an engine runs and what it needed to run good. He didn't have any boys to teach so he taught me and my sisters. When I took A and P I could hear him in the back of my mind. Even the tiniest detail was important. Maybe that can help to get by for a while

[canesdukegirl, BSN, RN]

Let me see if I can change your mindset. I have used this analogy time and again when speaking of the building blocks of nursing:

Scenario:

You are having a dinner party for your friends. You have all decided that a spaghetti dinner would be PERFECT.

You put on the water to boil for the pasta. The pasta is the foundation of your dinner (A&P). Without tomato sauce, the pasta is quite boring, yes? However, you can't very well have a spaghetti dinner without pasta! It must be cooked juuuust right....too soft and it will taste like mush. Too hard, and your guests will question your cooking skills. You must time it perfectly. If the pasta isn't done right, the rest of the dinner doesn't really matter.

You then prepare your tomato sauce (nursing fundamentals). You choose your spices (med/surg, pediatrics, geriatrics, OR, oncology, gyn, etc.) to make the sauce your own special art. Then you add all of the finishing touches like Parmesan cheese and bread (end of year exams, projects, NCLEX). Once everything is done and you are ready to serve your guests, you are treated to the praise of your guests for your efforts in making the perfect dinner (landing your first job).

Starting a nursing career is much like putting together a dinner party. There is a lot to plan for, you must be cautious of unexpected events, you must be able to roll with the punches gracefully, and you must always hold yourself to a high standard. You have to start with the basics. You build upon those basics to make a work of art!

I hope that this analogy will provide you with some insight. You are JUST starting. The 'wow' factor will follow, but must be a logical step in the foundation of your education.

I wish you the best, and hope that you will continue in your endeavor. Nursing is a wonderful career, and is ever-changing. You will never be bored, and you will never have the same day twice. It is exciting as long as you will LET it be exciting.

[AgentBeast, MSN, RN]

You can hate anatomy and physiology but you need to have a basic understanding of them to be effective as a nurse. The same holds true for psychology. Kind of hard to see the relevance of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, or Erikson's stages of psychosocial development sitting in class. The same holds true for all the anatomy and the physiological processes. It get's easier to see once you transition from book learning to clinical learning.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I didn't care for A&P or Micro and found it just not my cup of tea. I've been a rn for just over 1 yr and a lpn before that for 1yr. I was a cna for too many years to count. I knew I was a nurse before taking these classes. It helps to know a bit of each, but I can't say I just loved going to class. It's just another hoop to jump through so if you are willing to get through it, you might just be fine. Good luck to you and remember, it is what you make it. Give the instructor what they want and move onto the next class.

[MissTrina]

Personally I HATED A&P. It was so boring. Patho was better. I am in my 2nd semester of nursing school now and I love it! A&P is just the nuts and bolts but it is mostly memorization. Most nurses and student nurses I know are more hands on people.

[ImThatGuy, BSN, RN]

I honestly don't know of any nurses or nursing students that liked A&P or any other science classes. I'm the oddball. I liked the science classes more than the nursing classes. Pathophysiology and pharmacology were offered by the nursing department, and I enjoyed them more than any other nurse course. Sadly, they just weren't in-depth enough. Sigh.

[PetiteOpRN]

I hated anatomy. Neuro anatomy in particular. Now I specialize in neurosurgery.

I set a goal (become a nurse) and one of the things I needed to do was pass A&P, which I did. It wasn't until years later that I gained an appreciation for anatomy and learned to love it.

It sounds like your teacher has a very high opinion of themself and their subject. You won't like absolutely everything in life, but that doesn't mean you should abandon your goals.

[Good Morning, Gil]

"We are only on our third chapter so, I maybe jumping the gun as most of the info has been over cell structure and chemistry."

This to me, says it all. To me, cell structure/chemistry was a little dry, important to understand, but dry nonetheless. Wait until you learn the systems, pathophys and see how you feel. That is much more interesting. You may find that you like it. If not, like others have said, it's not the end of the world. You can still be an awesome nurse and not like A&P. Give it some more time. You'll probably like it more once you see how disease processes affect your patients and see how the drugs/procedures/comfort measures heal them (well, at least temporarily). If you said you hated taking care of patients and did not like any area of nursing that you were exposed to, that would be very different.