Bone Test

Published

My bone practical is next Tues and I am flipping out. Of course I have to spend some time studying for it but how the heck am I going to remember it all? I mean the bones are one thing but the different parts are well, I will never use that. I just get upset when we have to know stuff we will never use. Can anyone give me a idea of how to get to know these bones easily? Perhaps spending one day on the skull, another on the skelaton, etc. I am not a flash card person so thats out. I am very scared because my last to practicals I got an A and B but this one is going to bring me down.

Specializes in OR.

Relax...but don't relax too much...I spent 3 weeks learning the bones..then as much time learning the muscles ect. I would suggest you take it piece by piece start with the skull, work your way down. If you have a lab at your school that would be helpful....I am a visual learning so I didn't even try to learn from the book. There are some online sites that could help reinforce what you learned. It seems like alot, but repetition helps memory..so you will have to dedicate some time until next week. Good Luck!

Specializes in Operating Room.

Name a bone, point to it on your body, then name all the things you need to learn about it.

Go from bone to bone, have pics printed out as well. One labeled, one not. All this together can help.

The more you repeat it, the better you'll learn it. (There's nothing wrong with pointing at yourself during an exam.) :chuckle

I also broke it down by regions and created some stupid Mnemonics. There are some avail for foot and hand bones on the web...

I found breaking into small chunks was easier than the whole ball of wax- think of how you remember a phone number First three digits then four, not all one big string.

How I seperated it: Head, Upper limbs, lower limbs, torso, lower limbs, hands, feet, spinal column, ribs & Ear. Some is an overlap but all made more sense when I did it this way.

I also copied all the items out of my book and whited out the names, copied again and made "test sheets" to continually test myself and found that this worked well. I knew exactly what my grade would be and studied my butt off until I was In "A" territory knowing I may make a few mistakes during the test and it paid off!!

WannaBemaleRn, you will have to know the bones if you are planning to be a nurse. If you have a patient with a right broken femur, if you do not know where it is, how are you going to help? You have to think like that in order to take the time that is require to learn the bones. If anyone can learn the bones, so can you. Stop been lazy, go to the lab, get yourself a lab partner and get busy. Getting upset is not going to help you remember the bones. You have to find a system that works for you. Stop having a pitty party, go to the lab and start from the brain and work your way down. Good luck to you.

I dont think getting a A and B on my last two practicles is lazy and I dont appreciate your response. I am only in my lab once a week. I drive 1.5 hrs each way to class once a week so I wont have time to get back in there before my test. I understand I have to know the bones but not so much in depth. I thought this forum was to help people not tell them how lazy they are, I am sorry for posting and will be sure NOT to come back again.

He said the parts of bones, not the bones themselves.

You can do it! Trying starting at the skull, going over it repeatedly and adding a new section of bones on, going over it all repeatedly. Good luck!

I dont think getting a A and B on my last two practicles is lazy and I dont appreciate your response. I am only in my lab once a week. I drive 1.5 hrs each way to class once a week so I wont have time to get back in there before my test. I understand I have to know the bones but not so much in depth. I thought this forum was to help people not tell them how lazy they are, I am sorry for posting and will be sure NOT to come back again.

I am truly sorry if I said anything to hurt you. I did not mean any harm. I just felt maybe if you put the time in, you can do it. Lazy is not a bad word, we all get a little lazy sometimes. Good luck to you!

Specializes in Neuro.

It might help you to remember what some of the terminology means (like fossa, crest, spine, etc.) so if they point at something that looks like a ridge, chances are it's a crest of some sort. It might (MIGHT) help also to think about WHY that structure is there... what muscle attaches there, what nerve goes through that hole or along that structure. In my anatomy class we did regions of the body and did bones and muscles, etc. at the same time, so I'm not sure of the best way to study for the whole skeleton at once.

Hi WannaBeMaleRN,

I completely freaked when I saw what I had to know for my bone test. I literally almost had a panic attack in the lab. Anyhow, with lots of studying I ended up getting a 100 on the lab practical. I agree with some of the others about starting from the skull and working your way down and learning what fossas, spines, etc are. Once you've learned that stuff half the battle is over as far as strange bits on each bone.

I also found this link really helpful for practice. Just click on the skeletal part.

http://daphne.palomar.edu/ccarpenter/models/model%20index.htm

If your professor teaches anything like mine did, knowing all of those strange parts will come in very handy when you get to the muscles, which is usually next, as well as the nerves.

Good luck!

Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

When I took anatomy our teacher got all materials for the power points from the web. We students found many good web sites to help us study. Especially the bones! I think all we did was google stuff like anatomy and bones etc. Just try it! They had websites that listed everyting and some that also tested you. It really helped a lot. I hope you do come back and post and let us know how you did. Good luck on your test and in your journey to becoming a nurse. :)

+ Join the Discussion