Biology & Anatomy/Physiology

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · Jul 10, 2014

For me, at least, the only parts that Biology gave me a leg up in A&P was when we were going over cell anatomy, mitosis/meiosis, genes, and energy formation (Krebs cycle, respiration, citric acid cycle, ETC). That's all I can recall from Bio, since I was also pretty bad at Biology, haha. I don't think it's absolutely necessary, however. It will just be review for those parts of Biology. In my opinion.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Jul 10, 2014

Biology is much more general in nature. A & P is focused only on HUMANS. Physiology (the 'P' in A&P) is much more in depth and complex than basic Biology. Mastery of A&P is an absolute must for success in nursing - or any health science - education. There are a ton of resources on the Internet. Simply Googling will produce a ton of results to aid your understanding. I actually discovered a terrific new one recently. Check it out -- Blausen

happynurse14 · Jul 10, 2014

Hated biology, loved A&P. If you want to be a nurse, you'll find interest in the human body processes! There were some things that trickled over from biology but I didn't remember an ounce of it from bio and rather re learned it in A&P with a fresh outlook simply because it was more applicable to my interests.

ahchicago · Jul 10, 2014

Hello. Congrats on making the decision to go back to school later in life. I'm in my mid-forties and went back to school a couple of years ago and now I'm almost done with the nursing prerequisites. Our school required Cell Biology prior to taking A&P. I wasn't in a Biology class for 20 + years and Cell Biology was tough. It was a good intro prior to taking A&P. I also took Chemistry prior to A&P. I really felt taking A&P 1 and 2 after completing the other prereqs was helpful. I noticed for younger people who more recently had Biology, etc. it didn't make a difference. So I would see if your school requires other science classes and take them first prior to A&P. Hope this helps. Good luck in your future nursing career.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jul 10, 2014

Good day, tahoe02:

Congratulations on the career change; I started last year at 50. You can do it! BTW, in high school I was great in math and ok in the sciences; I cannot say the same will happen to you, but when I went back to school, things switched up... I became so-so in math, and just fell in love with the sciences. So don't worry about how you did __ years ago.

What I did to help with AP1, AP2, and Microbiology is take a human biology class PRIOR to those classes. Granted, I could not look at how it would have went without taking the class compared to taking the class. All I know is that for me, it gave me confidence, and helped tremendously in AP1, AP2, Microbiology and even when I took a nutritional science class.

I do recommend reading https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html and being sure to set up a schedule you can follow for studying outside of class. What I did is that for non science classes, I would allocate two hours of study time for ever credit hour per week. So a three credit class would get six hours of study time set aside. For science classes, especially with labs, I would treat the lecture as a three credit class and the lab as a three credit class. I would try to set aside 2 to 3 hours per credit hour (when it came to AP2 and Micro, I upped that to 3 to 4 hours per credit hour) of study time per week.

Make sure you go to every class and lab; and stay during the entire lab even if you see people cutting out or leaving early. If your school has a learning center/tutoring center, make use of it (even though I was getting "A"'s, I was in the learning/tutoring center). If there's a model room, spend time in it. When my AP1 professor talked about how she just loved caressing bones, I wasn't sure what to think... but when I got to the model room, and started practicing... I came to understand what she meant. Contact time with the material (be it lecture or lab) makes a world of difference.

]Here are some links that may be useful in terms of improving overall study skills, taking notes, reading text books, etc.

]SQ4R Study Method

Note Taking Systems - Academic Skills Center: Study Skills Library - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Cornell Notetaking System Explained--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

Google Image Result for http://kenpitts.net/images/cornell_note_how_to.jpg

Time management

Reading University Level Materials--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Read Effectively in the Sciences--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Read and Study Medical Texts--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

More About Effective Textbook Study--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

An Effective Textbook Study Strategy--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

How to Mark a Section of a Textbook Chapter--Textbook Study Strategy--Academic Support

Thank you.

Spangle Brown · Jul 12, 2014

I'm a returning student. I took Bio the first term back. I was in shock with all the new technologies and expectations. The other students coming out of HS, the course was a refreasher, but for me, it was all new info.

I am not sure it helped with A&P 1 or 2. But we also had to take Microbiology, and it did help with that. What I found most helpful was watching videos on u-tube. My favorite courses were the Khan academy, they have their own web site. I would watch them before studying the subject. It would introduce me to the vocab, etc. All free videos.

Oh, and I would print out the lecture power point before class. 4 slides per page, and used it to take notes. If the Dr. used alot of color in his slides, I would change the print to gray scale. This allowed me to take notes where he was talking, highlight the points he/she was making, etc. And I would use many different colors of pens and highlighters.

ahchicago · Jul 12, 2014

I used the Khan academy videos too. They were really helpful on certain topics. I also printed out the Powerpoint lectures before class. I couldn't have completed AnP 1 & 2 with a 4.0 without them. I also bought a micro recorder (Amazon has them for $25) on the advice of a nurse I know. That was priceless because I picked up so many additional notes from listening to the class recording. I spent extra time in the lab memorizing the parts of the models too. They were both intense classes and took a ton of study time but in the end worth it.

Scorpiochic26 · Jul 12, 2014

Absolutely use youtube videos!! Dr Fords class on youtube is a life saver! I'm using those videos now to help me. My second lab practical is next Monday! I'm taking a&p 1 now. Also dr Fabian on youtube is good too. I also use a website called Quizlet. I have the app on my phone. They have flash cards and quizzes that I can do anytime... I took biology in college in 1996 and I have a B in A&p right now so you should be fine!!

SummerWertz · Jul 13, 2014

I hated Biology when I took the intro classes two years ago. Came out with C's in both of them. To this day I can't tell you anything about internal cell processes, mitochondria, etc. I made a C in Anatomy because it was very in depth and we only had two tests for the semester. I was also struggling with the balance of full time school and nearly full time work at the time. I just finished Physiology and made a B+. The professor I had gave us four tests, an extra credit assignment, and all of the test questions were open ended where you had to draw a diagram or bullet points. I felt that his teaching style was really engaging and made sure that you really understood what you were learning. Now, I do feel that chemistry helped a lot more than Bio in understanding physiology, especially when you get into action potentials in excitable cells and the bicarbonate buffering system etc. I know a lot of Bio students who hadn't taken much chemistry or who didn't have much of an affinity for it fell behind after those lectures.

Also, I go to a liberal arts university and it was a bit of a step up from the A&P my best friend took at a community college. She had very little Biology background and came out of A&P with A's. I think you will be fine

30pls_rn_in_trng · Jul 13, 2014

I'm in my 30 ' s going back to school. So, like you I wanted to refresh on my biology. I took intro to biology (an accelerated course) and it covered alot in the cell process for humans and plants. It also touched on dna structure. Since the course went into what Gregory Mendell was set out to figure out, it was important to cover the gene & cell process of plants!

I really did enjoy this class. My professor was tough though. I Good luck on your journey!

Meesterjojo · Jul 15, 2014

I was in the same situation, but I took A&P my first semester in college not having had a science course since 1991 in HS.

Seemed to work out, 4.0, tutored it for years, got into Phi Kappa Phi, aced all my science courses.

Depends on how you study, and how seriously you take school. We can always find a reason not to do something: not to study, not to ask the instructor for help, not to ask our peers if they'd like a study group, etc. It's harder, but more worthwhile, to find a reason to study.