Broward College A&P--what's it like?

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I'm going to be taking nursing pre-req's at BC starting in January. I'm wondering what A&P I and it's lab and A&P II and it's lab are going to be like? What is the lab like? I'm interested in the course work we'll be doing. This will probably sound dumb, but are we going to be seeing or working on bodies/animals...? I just don't know at all!! Am very new to this. Before BC I was a psychology major for 3 years at UCF. So as you can imagine, this is all a bit of a blank slate right now.

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It's mostly a lot of memorization. You do a few dissections in lab, (sheeps brain, and cows eyeball) but the majority of "lab" time is really just sitting down in front of plastic models and memorizing every bump, nook, and cranny.

A+P I covers histology, skeletal systems, muscle systems, nervous systems, maybe integumentary system?

A+P II covers the heart, blood, blood vessels, respiratory system, digestive system, urinary system, and reproductive system. Also, in the lab you actually get an entire pig that you reuse over the course of the semester for the different systems. It brings things together a lot more.

I'd reccomend doing some research on the professors before you sign up for a class, because the teacher makes a huge difference.

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I'm so excited to start classes. I can't add any til the 23rd though and so will likely end up with whatever teacher still has seats... :/ Do you have to take A&P I before A&P II? I know that sounds logical but some classes you can take together or even backwards so just wondering if it's one of those types.

How has your experience at BC been? I'm going to the Central campus, and I haven't really heard such great things about it...but it's the one closest to my house, that or South. I've heard North is best, but I suppose it's probably different for every student. I don't know how the other campuses look, but Central just has this run-down sort of feel...not that that necessarily has anything to do with the teaching. Hope not!

Anyway, I really look forward to hearing back from you.

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I'm so excited to start classes. I can't add any til the 23rd though and so will likely end up with whatever teacher still has seats... :/ Do you have to take A&P I before A&P II? I know that sounds logical but some classes you can take together or even backwards so just wondering if it's one of those types.

I'm not entirely sure about that. Material wise, they're almost completely unrelated. They cover completely different systems, with only basic histology that really ties them together. I know a lot of schools break it up into anatomy classes and physiology classes, and even some that don't allow you to take both at the same time. I don't think BC is one of those schools though. And I honestly wouldn't reccomend it unless your motivated and under a time crunch. There's a lot of material to cover, and I wouldn't put it on myself to take both classes at once. But some do, and do great in it.

Another option, which I know BC allows, is taking them in different sessions. In one semester, you have the first session which runs the entire time, and the two other sessions that are more accelerated and only take half of a semester. So you could take API in the first session, APII in the second session, and still knock them both out in the same semester. But be sure you're willing to put in the effort, it won't be easy.

How has your experience at BC been? I'm going to the Central campus, and I haven't really heard such great things about it...but it's the one closest to my house, that or South. I've heard North is best, but I suppose it's probably different for every student. I don't know how the other campuses look, but Central just has this run-down sort of feel...not that that necessarily has anything to do with the teaching. Hope not!

Anyway, I really look forward to hearing back from you.

I really hope you're kidding about central looking run down...That has to be a joke. (Or wait, I seem to remember you transferring from one of the state schools, so in comparison maybe it is) But I was actually amazed at how much nicer the central campus was. North is just trashy. Central does have a bad rap, but only for the nursing program. The HCP class I'm taking there has decent professors, but granted the class is a little crowded. I'm not in the program yet, so I'm not going to slam the NS professors. But I have heard bad things. Overall though, I've had a great experience at BC as far as instructors go. Mostly because I feel around for what to expect before I choose one.

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By the way, here's a set of the lecture notes from another college.

http://sites.actx.edu/~howard_re/a_and_p_notes.htm#tissues

It may be a little more in depth, or it may focus on different material then what your specific professor will cover, so don't feel you have to memorize the whole thing. But it'll give you a pretty good idea on what topics you'll be covering.

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By the way, here's a set of the lecture notes from another college.

http://sites.actx.edu/~howard_re/a_and_p_notes.htm#tissues

It may be a little more in depth, or it may focus on different material then what your specific professor will cover, so don't feel you have to memorize the whole thing. But it'll give you a pretty good idea on what topics you'll be covering.

I, too, am going to take A and P One, next semester. I have been to the A and P lab, in the library LRC, on North Campus, but I did not see much in the way of anatomical models. Are there enough models to go around? Do other campuses have A and P labs. Also, there are computer learning programs too? I would appreciate any and all information about A and P and A and P labs at Broward. Thanks so much in advance. Mari55

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Hello, Mari. I took both anatomy classes at north, so I've only been to those labs. You spend about 2 hours a week in a lab class, where theres plenty of models to go around. As far as the LRC goes, I think they have a few of each model. In my experience, it's usually enough. Sometimes, you may have to get together with another student to share it. It gets pretty crowded around midterms/finals though, and your access will be limited.

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Hello, Mari. I took both anatomy classes at north, so I've only been to those labs. You spend about 2 hours a week in a lab class, where theres plenty of models to go around. As far as the LRC goes, I think they have a few of each model. In my experience, it's usually enough. Sometimes, you may have to get together with another student to share it. It gets pretty crowded around midterms/finals though, and your access will be limited.

Hi,Silent Mind, Are there ten or more models? If there were one or two, I would even consider buying them. I am thinking that I will need even more practice with the lab than the course (and the course will be an enormous, tremendous amount of memorization) because my visual memory is much worse than my verbal memory, which is good. I am the kind of person that has to visit a place at least three times before I can recognize the neighborhood, but I can remember what I heard or read very well. Thanks so much. I don't know how to send you my email address, privately, without sharing it with the website. Do you? Thanks, again. Mari

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Don't be silly. Theres absolutely no need to purchase the models, as there are many and I'm sure they aren't cheap. The LRC has almost everything the class has, and it's open 12 hours a day. Yes, there is a lot of memorization, especially in API. I'm in APII now, and I haven't really used the models much at all. I just memorize whats in the book and have an fairly easy time linking them up. That wasn't really possible with the muscle systems. You're going to be starting in January as well?

You should see a picture next to my name that looks like an envelope. That lets you private message.

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