Best study advice for A&P

CRNA2BKY · May 13, 2007

I loved A&P, and I did well in both I and II by studying a lot. I bought a color atlas of human anatomy that showed the various parts better than our textbook showed, and I studied that a lot. I also did extra research on the various physiologic functions of different organs, and I used the internet to find articles and videos that showed good animations and graphics of cellular processes. In addition, I spent about 10 extra hours in the anatomy lab, outside of class time, looking at the cadavers and microscope slides so that I would be able to identify all the stuff for our lab practical tests. Some people liked to make flash cards to test themselves, but I never did that, as it just never really worked well for me. So, after all the extra stuff I did, it all paid off, and I got a couple of "A's". Hope this helps you do well. Good luck with it. It is tough, but definately do-able.

P.S.: for your medical dictionary question, I bought Taber's medical encycopedia (a PDA version) and I use it all the time during my clinicals. I would recommend getting a PDA if you don't have one yet, and downloading some software for you to use during your clinicals, and beyond.

zenurse · May 13, 2007

Great adivce from nurse2bKY! I just finished A&P I and II, and I recommend the following: make sure to read before you go to lecture, and then review your notes after each lecture to make sure you are clear on all points. Study every day, no matter what! I also found the web to be a great help in reviewing physiological processes, and I used additional books too. It is such an interesting class, especially if you have a great instructor! And don't be afraid to ask questions!

Nurse-One · May 13, 2007

In my state students take the two subjects' human anatomy and physiology separately, which in my opinion is so much simpler, but here's my idea.

what I found to be helpful in learning the human anatomy is by visually comparing the different body parts that I was studying to my own body (as far as locations go). Look at the pictures in your textbook and practice where the locations are on your body. This, I believe, helps when testing. In my opinion, memorizing the material will help your learn, and the information will stick with you. You have to put some time into your studying.

With physiology the focus is more detailed on things like how the body functions with different chemical, hormones, etc. and the steps the body takes to defend itself and how body functions like urination is completed. I would write out the steps one by one on a loose leaf paper in my own words so when study time came the information seemed less foriegn to me.

I read the textbook required for the class very often. I believe those books are simplified enough for anyone to read and understand. Hopefully, you luck out with a decent professor who will also give good examples. The good news is there are lots of websites that you may find in different threads on this site, or try the search engines to help you with your studies.

Gannon1qb · May 13, 2007

I just took AP1 and i did really good...but i never put so much work into one class in my life. AP1 is a lot of information and was very challenging. I studied a lot. I got an A but it wasnt that easy.

Im not trying to scare you. My advice for you woudl be to read before you go to class...even if you just skim...get the info in yoru brain, then the lecture may seem a little easier. Ask questions. And what i did was i used flash (index) cards. Thats where all of my time went. I made A LOT of flash cards. It was very time consuming but it helped me a lot. And also, dont try to memorize, try to understand. I mean of course you have to memorize...but when you get into the respitory system and other systems, try to understand what is happening. Good Luck to you.

krenee · May 13, 2007

I did many things already mentioned, but one thing that helped me when I thought I couldn't possibly find any more time to study - I have a digital voice recorder and I recorded myself reading from the textbook. Then I listened to it while doing laundry, dishes, driving, whatever. I aso carried my flash cards and studied any time I had to wait for anything. It wasn't easy for me to memorize so I basically immersed myself in it - repetition is key and I think getting the information in different ways helps - pictures, text, audio, and going over the material out loud as well as silently. I got As in both 1 & 2 classes, and believe me, there weren't many As in those classes.

Good luck!

Kelly

oneLoneNurse · May 13, 2007

I love, Human Body Revised And Expended Edition (Paperback)

by Isaac Asimov (Author), Ravielli Anthony (Author). Pick it up and read a chapter before going to bed or whenever.

Here are some reviews of the book from Amazon:

eviewer:Chris Fendrich (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

(REAL NAME)

It's been about two years since taking Anatomy & Physiology, and this book served as a nice review of the human body's systems & functions. Isaac Asimov communicates so well, so clearly through-out this book, describing processes in a language that the reader can't help but understand. The author's expansive knowledge (genius, really) brings a context to each topic-- or several contexts-- such as comparative anatomy, the evolutionary context, disease -- Asimov speaks eloquently from all these perspectives, and his complete picture of the human body is awe-inspiring. I am now about to pick up his companion book, The Human Brain: Its Capacities & Functions.

Comment | Was this review helpful to you? YesNo (Report this)

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Mr sci-fiction talks talks structure & funtion, May 8, 2001

Reviewer:jeff wolfe (Indiana) - See all my reviews

He starts us out withone cell and the keeps our mindeye focus through the process that makes us we. Easy to stay with this guy; he keeps it simply complex by throwing cool facts your MD would have to look up. Along with witty analagies that re-enforce the that people are best at nothihg but master of everything per small chaneges that gave us the right stuff. nice quik read prior to college Anat-Phys

coopman712 · May 13, 2007

Wow thanks for all of the great advice. Unfortunately I don't have too many extra hours to devote to the lab other than class time. I study every night at home though (I've got 2 kids). Great ideas about the coloring books. Those are listed as optional as well for my class.

For those that make flash cards, which aspects specifically do you find them helpful for? I made many for micro when I took it.

Thanks again!!!

catzy5 · May 13, 2007

I'm starting A&P next week and am nervous about how much there is to know. Luckily my professor will test us frequently so less material is included in each one. I'm wondering what your best study advice is on how to tackle the class and the memorizing.
TIA!

my best study advice is 1. don't fall behind and 2. read the material before lecutre.

catzy5 · May 13, 2007

I just took AP1 and i did really good...but i never put so much work into one class in my life. AP1 is a lot of information and was very challenging. I studied a lot. I got an A but it wasnt that easy.
Im not trying to scare you. My advice for you woudl be to read before you go to class...even if you just skim...get the info in yoru brain, then the lecture may seem a little easier.
This is such the best advice and yet I ran into so many who never even read the book and were so lost and frustrated in class drove me nuts with their stupid questions that were easily answered in the reading.

x_coastie · May 13, 2007

Hello,

I have made it through AP1 and 2, and the best advice I can give is to record the lectures on a mp3 player and re-listen to the lecture with your notes and book in front of you. My teacher took most of the test questions from the lectures, so this helped a lot. You would be surprised how much you miss from a lecture the first time. I have a mp3 player that also has a recording function that was around $40, although I have seen them on sale for less.

Something else I do that helps a lot is I take lecture notes on the right side of my spiral notebook leaving the left side of the spiral blank. Then later I will write questions on the left side that pertain to the info on the right side. This makes your notebook into a giant flash card, go through the questions and if you need help look up the answers on the right side. This has helped me through many classes and works good for outline format notes.

Good luck, aim for an A

CuriousMe · May 13, 2007

A&P 1 has a lot of information to memorize, I think the best thing you can do is to figure out your learning style and then maximize your studying that way. For me, it was all about flash cards. I use these ones called RingDex made by Mead...that have two rings going through them...these make it easy to ALWAYS have a set of cards in my pocket to study with.

As far as what I put on them? I take my notes and put them in the form of questions and then answer the question on the back of the card. In A&P1 I also put the structures I needed to know and then the function (or whatever I needed to know about it) on the other side....including model numbers for practical exams.

For histology I grabbed microscope images from the web and put them on flash cards and then put the labels on the other side of the card.

I also took pictures of the models and used them to study....but I put them on my iPod, not index cards :)

As you can see....almost all of it went on a card :) I did also read the textbook ahead of time and record lectures...anything I could do, I did.

Oh, by doing these things, I got A+'s in A&P1 and 2.

Good luck and enjoy :)

Peace,

Cathie