Broken and Depressed

[LSUgirl13]

So my teacher emailed me again today. He informed me that I was in danger of failing my anatomy class. AGAIN. A little background on my situation, this is my second time taking anatomy. I dropped before last semester because with commuting and taking three nursing classes, it became too much.

Now that I'm no longer commuting and only taking the anatomy course and the physiology course (which is a repeat course as well), I feel disappointed and ashamed in myself that I'm failing. AGAIN. On top of everything else in life deciding to crap on my right now, the fact that the number one reason for breathing right now, getting a nursing degree, is running further and further away from me. I'm starting to think nursing school was a mistake if I can't get out of the first block.

I guess, mainly I'm just asking for your opinion. Is nursing school something I should give up on if I've retaken and failed a class twice (well, essentially once since I dropped it the first time before I could get an F)? I really don't want to keep wasting money I don't have on classes if I have no hope of passing :/

[crossfitnurse]

Honestly I thought A&P was so much harder then my nursing stuff! Only because it's SO much info. How much time do you spend studying?

What approach do you use to study?

Do you have any supplemental books to help you?

A&P is the class that helped me learn how I study as an individual and that has carried over to my nursing courses.

Have you asked your teacher for help or gone over tests with them to see why you missed certain things?

Good luck, you can do it. I feel your pain - I have a few friends taking it currently and they are stressed beyond belief as well. So it's not just you:) that class is all consuming!

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day:

Have you examined what are your stumbling blocks for the course?

Have you looked at changing how you study? When you study? The tools you use to study? Etc.

Does your school have tutoring services available? Have you sought out a tutor?

Have you talked with your professor to go over your weak areas, and get suggestions for how to strengthen those areas?

What is stopping you from getting an "A"? Be specific -- you don' have to post here, but you should get into the details such as time management, study time, study methods, etc.

If you can narrow down what needs to change, then you have a direction to take.

Thank you.

[minniebrown]

Try to breath and relax. You are not the only person who has struggled with Anatomy and Physiology. Different study methods would probably help you in this situation. Have you met with your instructor to try to figure out why you are not absorbing the material? Have you gone to tutoring, study lab, joined a study group, purchased an A & P review book? What are you doing differently this time around? You have to figure out why your current study methods are not working.

I know that school seems like the most important thing in the world right now, but there is more to life than school. You are a valuable person and you are not a failure even if you fail at things in life. Perhaps some soul searching is necessary about nursing school in the grand scheme of things. It is not balanced to make it your reason for breathing. I think talking with a counselor could help you sort out some of these issues.

[cjjiv]

I cannot offer anymore advice than what you are receiving above but I can tell you that even if you fail the course it is NOT the end. You can always retake the course again and I know MANY who have done just that to go on to very successful careers in nursing and other medical related occupations.

Prayers for you and my heart aches that you are struggling so.

♣Colin

[Caribbean Character]

That is why I am so glad that I took A&P 1 and 2 over the summer. We took each class in half the time as a regular semester, but they were the only classes I was taking at the time so I had much more time to concentrate.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

I have experienced many (many, many ...) situations in which I realized that I simply was not going to be able to overcome a barrier no matter how much additional effort I expended. At a certain point, it was only stubbornness & a misplaced sense of pride that convinced me to try harder, work longer, invest more time, spend more money, etc. . . despite the fact that I really knew deep-down that it wasn't going to make a difference in the outcome.

I once had a very wise mentor who tried to point out the clear differences between "losing" and "being defeated"... but it didn't register with me at the time. Now, I understand that he was trying to tell me that additional effort would be futile... I simply could not succeed. I had been defeated and since there was nothing in my power to alter the outcome, it was much better for me to realize this and simply move on. Hindsight is wonderful, right?

Advice to the OP? Don't keep beating yourself up and further eroding your self-esteem. Take some time to reflect - what are the factors that make nursing so compelling? What are some alternative careers associated with those same factors? For instance, if the primary goal is "helping others", there are many other professions in which this can be achieved - which do not require A & P.

[krisiepoo]

I think if you were to fail, you wouldn't be the first and you wn't be the last. Getting into my nursing school is based on a points system and they actually give you an extra point if you got a passing grade in A&P on the first try.

our A&P program had an open lab with tutors assigned at variuos hours. you could go in and talk with them and do independent study. find out what you would need to change and see if you can do it.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

If you're looking for a different way to get the information into your head-- visual / tactile learner vs. aural, for example-- at least take a look at the Anatomy and Physiology Coloring Books, available in Amazon for short money and 2-day free shipping or students.These are not jokes and not baby stuff but real, useful texts that will engage different parts of your brain and make it easier to retain what you learn. Can't hurt, might very well help. I have had a lot of students love 'em.

Get the hard copy, not the online download or the iPad version, because part of the reason it's so good is because it engages different parts of your brain when you use your colored pencils to help you retain the material.

There are no shortcuts for A&P because they’re a big part of being a nurse. This is definitely NOT a course you will pass and put out of your head, because after you take it and get into the nursing coursework it will be an integral part of the critical thinking process; your faculty will expect that you remember it. These books will be excellent reference for you when you start seeing real patients. This is unlike any other education you have ever had, trust me. Get the books.

The Physiology Coloring Book (2nd Edition) by Wynn Kapit, Robert I. Macey and Esmail Meisami(Oct 3, 1999)

The Anatomy Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit and Lawrence M. Elson (Jul 5, 2001)