bio vs A&P

coolpeach · Jul 28, 2007

My school required bio prior to A&P or micro.

Bio covered some basic chemistry, and atoms, cells, molecules etc.

When you get into A&P you study not only where every single thing is located and what its called but.....it all gets broken down.

For instance you will learn the location and name of every bone in the body. You will then learn what bone is made of, how bone is made. You then start looking at the tissues of bone, identify the cells under a microscope etc.

Every organ and system is broken down to the atomic level. If you do not have a current firm grasp on biology already you will be lost (or at least you would have been in my class). There were billions times the professor would say blah blah, but I won't go into that because you should have learned that in biology. That just assume you know it and if you don't your in trouble.

Your a science major now so learn love it lol.

mesh1 · Jul 28, 2007

At my school, Biology is a prerequisite for A&P. Which means that you can't take A&P without the Biology just like coolpeach said.

ceraleigh · Jul 29, 2007

If you're not a strong science student, I strongly suggest bio prior to A&P.

cathleenrmermaid7 · Jul 29, 2007

thank you, coolpeach, mesh 1, ceraleigh, for responding so quick. I have chosen to stay the course and take Bio per your advice. Thank you and God Bless. Cathleen

This website is a Godsend. Cathleen

casi, ASN, RN · Jul 29, 2007

A&P goes back to the bio basics often, so if you aren't familiar with the biological basics A&P is going to be a lot harder. I'm sure that A&P can be done without basic bio, but you'll be doing a lot of extra studying.

I found that in my A&P course that since general biology was required teachers skipped over a lot of information "You learned this in 1020, so I wont bore you with it again. When you study refresh your brain on it and expect to see it on the test."

I might get in trouble for saying this, but it might also depend on what kind of program you are trying to get into whether or not you'll need to take general biology. I've heard that A&P designed for LPN programs, for some unknown reason isn't nearly in depth as A&P for RN courses.

Crimsonking · Jul 29, 2007

I think it totally depends on your comfort level with the material. If you feel that you could benefit on a refresher, you should take Bio. At my school, BIO is a prereq for A&P. However, if you had BIO and Chem in highschool, you could go directly to A&P.

I'm a non-traditional student and I haven't had a Bio in over 10 yrs. With that said, I was pretty good at the sciences in high school and had BIO when I first attended college 12 yrs ago. I really didn't want to take it again, so I went straight into A&P. I got an A in both A&P I and II. I found that reading the text helped me recall most of the material I studied all those years ago. If your not sure about something, ask the professor. Most of the Traditional students in the class (including those who just had BIO) had the same questions as I.

Good luck and what ever you choose, be confident it's the right call.

"True wisdom is knowing that you know nothing, Dude!"--Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Cherish · Jul 29, 2007

My school and most schools in my area do not require Bio for AP, I took AP w/o taking Bio and I did fine. In the first 2 weeks or so of AP it goes over some stuff from BIO but it's stuff you will remember. There were a lot of older people in my class and they did fine without taking Bio. I say do it, you will be fine.

ceraleigh · Jul 29, 2007

A&P goes back to the bio basics often, so if you aren't familiar with the biological basics A&P is going to be a lot harder. I'm sure that A&P can be done without basic bio, but you'll be doing a lot of extra studying.

Granted I'm taking A&P in a summer semester, but, I find that a LOT of the people who have not had bio before are floundering and dont understand. I had BIO Spring semester and now so many things are continued on. I already know the bones of the body, so all I have to learn is the individual characteristics of the bones. etc. People who have not had bio have to learn the bones plus their characteristics, etc. Maybe that's why I have an A and they don't, I came into the class with a better core knowledge than they did.

cathleenrmermaid7 · Jul 31, 2007

again thank you all for helping me decide. I am going to take Bio, also

because I'm such a compulsive worrier. Bye for now.

birthrevolution · Aug 1, 2007

I took A&P and hadn't taken Bio since 1993! You really don't need that much biology background for it. I found that a lot of A&P was memorization, you might need to memorize more compared to the other students, but if you feel confident in your ability to do that I would recommend just taking A&P. I emailed the professor, explained my background and situation, and he let me in. (I ended up withdrawing due to work reasons, but I don't think any additional bio would have helped that. I'm taking it again this fall.)