Bombing A&P 1- online

9livesRN, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2008

This is a repost, I also posted it in the A&P thread.
Well I completely bombed my second test (though I did better than the average). I'm taking it online and I just haven't quite figured out how to absorb all of this information. I'm quite stressed. My grade for the class has dropped to a C, that will still get me credit but I really wanted to do better. I have a lab test either Monday or Tuesday, I'll take it Tuesday because I'm not ready for it.
Here is how I study,
I read the lecture notes, in Java AND PowerPoint form, highlighting the book as I go. I read the chapter. I use the study guide to make notecards and then review them. I also use various websites to test myself. I utilize every moment, I study between calls at work. I am taking Statistics online as well and that does take up some of my study time.
What else could I be doing?

did you do the excercises from the websites that i had posted?

dee78 · Jun 22, 2008

I use so many different ones, I'm not sure if I used the one you posted or not. What were they?

RhodyGirl, RN · Jun 22, 2008

Try www.doctaj.com

....It's a website run by my professor from Anatomy. There is also a Physio section on there. The practice stuff is great and really helpful. I took it in 2006. I hope it helps you out!

Music in My Heart · Jun 22, 2008

I read the lecture notes, in Java AND PowerPoint form, highlighting the book as I go. I read the chapter. I use the study guide to make notecards and then review them. I also use various websites to test myself. I utilize every moment, I study between calls at work. I am taking Statistics online as well and that does take up some of my study time.

Well, do you understand and remember what you read? If not, you shouldn't be going forward - you should stay right where you are until you can summarize for yourself what you read.

Highlighting - After you highlight a page, can you stop and summarize what you just read and highlighted? If not then you're not really focusing or something because the information is not sticking in your head. Go back and read it again... and again... and again... until you have it. Don't read large expanses of material, just a page or two at a time, making sure you know what's there.

Do you know what's on your review cards? If not, keep using them. Same thing with the book -- do them a few at a time. Once you've got them down, wait for 15-20 mins and do 'em again. Alter the interval and keep at it until you know them.

I'm not a fan of websites. Rather, I prefer blank diagrams that you have to fill in. I find that there's something about typing and looking at a screen that bypasses part of my retention apparatus.

hikernurse · Jun 22, 2008

Like Song says, (sorry, I can't figure out how to get all the fun symbols in:)) diagramming things is a huge help. Try to distill the information into a usable design. It's not as important to memorize everything as it is to understand it.

Physio is a lot of work, but it's very interesting and I keep coming back to what I learned, both as a nursing student and now as a nurse.

When I was under the wire with school work, I'd set the timer for 20 minutes of study then 10 minutes of anything else--folding laundry, washing dishes or even reading a magazine. That still gave me 40 minutes of studying an hour, but I always knew a break was coming soon.

Good luck, you'll get there :).

caliotter3 · Jun 22, 2008

Are you willing to take a C for your final grade? If you really want that B or A, you should make the decision now whether or not to continue. Perhaps you should drop the course and continue to study on your own, then restart again. You will have given yourself the extra time needed to get the material down pat. I mention this because many times a C is just not good enough for getting admitted to a particular program. Good luck. Whatever you do, don't give up.

dee78 · Jun 22, 2008

Thanks guys!!!

I will use those suggestions, music. I don't know that I'm retaining the information that I'm reading ,so breaking it down and making sure that I am will help me alot.

This is my 2nd time taking it, first time was 11 years ago. I got a C the first time without hardly studying at all. I guess that's where the frustration comes in. But I know that my life is much more complicated, my study time is interrupted by children. I know that my mind is preoccupied at times so I have to re-read things.

I don't think the websites are helping much because I think I memorize where the answers are and the exact wording, not the actual information.

C is good enough for me. My GPA is high enough to get into the program and it isn't as competitive as some.

JettaDP · Jun 23, 2008

Dee, websites aren't good for me either. I tend to do the same thing; I memorizing the wording of the questions but I don't actually retain the information.

I took A&P online as well and it is extremely difficult. I also have children so I understand being pre-occupied by the little angels. I also understand how life can get in the way of reading the material. I often find myself drifting off while I read and then having to re-read the material. OMG it frusterating! I ended up getting an A in both A&P I and II but it was in part because we did a lot of lab work. Had my grade been based on my tests alone, I probably would've ended up with a C at best.

Also, just because you got a C doesn't mean you aren't going to get into nursing school. My friend that just got into the nursing program got a C in Biology and she got in. So just remember that a C isn't necessarily going to keep you out of nursing school.

Bicster · Jun 23, 2008

C is good enough for me. My GPA is high enough to get into the program and it isn't as competitive as some.

Thats really an unfortunate statement.

For what its worth, API and II are the building blocks for everything else. It is crucial to have an above average understanding of the physiological processes going on in the human body and not to mention where everything is.

Never settle. You have seen a couple tests now, you know what to expect. You know how the questions are worded and what the prof. is looking for. Give it to him.

dee78 · Jun 23, 2008

Yes, I suppose it is unfortunate. I don't like getting a C but I also know that I'm studying my butt off so a C is well earned. But that's why I asked for help, I don't want a C. I wanted advise on how to absorb the information. That sentence was in response to someone suggesting that I may want to drop out.

Thanks Spring. It is hard to study with kids. I have started taking my son to daycare even on my days off so that I can have some quiet study time. It didn't help that I took the test at my dad's on Friday. My 3 kids, my 3 nephews, my dad and his SO, and my SIL were all there. Yeah, that won't happen again.

Sadly, as I said in my first post, I'm above the average in my class. There was only 2 As on the first test. I was among the 9 Bs...that's out of 23. The average was a 77.9. On the 2nd test there were no As, 3 Bs, 5 Cs, & 5 Ds. 11 people failed it. The average was barely passing, 61%.

I'm not pleased with my grades but I also know that I'm not alone. I posted a similar question on the class discussion board but haven't gotten many responses, the only responses have been from people feeling the same way that I am.

Thanks for everyone's advice and suggestions.

coolpeach · Jun 23, 2008

I can't even imagine taking A&P online. I would drop it, and take a on campus course.