Crazy?? Anatomy AND Physiology 8-week Summer courses

justme1972 · May 14, 2007

I have twins, and I am taking API and II over a 10 week course.

How old are your kids? Mine are toddlers...so daycare was a necessity this summer, and I told my husband, I am getting ready to be the world's worst mother. We haven't planned anything for the weekends this summer. No vacations, no weekend getaways. With summer, falling behind is simply, not an option...if you fall behind, you just need to drop the class.

AP moves fast to start with and is even worse when you take it in the summer. If you are married, I would probably skip the camping trips, unless you are going to sit in a tent and take your books with you. Those couple of weekends, can cost you and entire summer worth of work.

This is the only summer that will be this intense for the nursing program, so we are willing to "chuck" it.

livinglighthouse, ADN, RN · May 14, 2007

Thank you for the honesty.

I have twins too! My kids are older........15yo and 12yo twins, so they can take care of themselves if I'm not there.

I think I have some benefit in having taken Anatomy before, at least I'm not starting from scratch on that one.......but I know it will still be tough as my brain is 15 years older now!

After looking at my schedule I have only 1 camping trip the very first week of summer school, after that I'm pretty open except for a few "couple of hours" commitments here and there.

The saddest thing is my daughter's first play ever is the first day of summer school and I would miss it.........that is SO hard for me after staying home with my kids for the last 15 years and homeschooling them all up until mid-school year this year......I've never missed anything. I hope they understand in the end.........

CRNA2BKY · May 14, 2007

Not crazy at all. Some schools spilt anatomy into one semester, and physiology into another semester. Some schools like mine put them together, as A&P part I and part II. I did both semester of A&P I and II in one summer, and each summer session was 5 weeks long. So, I got both classes completed in 10 weeks total time. It was a lot of studying, but since your kids are a little bit older, that would help you out a lot. I would recommend doing it. Just plan on studying a lot during the week, and you can have some fun on the weekends.

shancouchon · May 14, 2007

Strange but I have twins and a 3 year old as well and signed up for the Ant/Phy I and then II for a 10 week course. My class will be M-Th 4 hours each day. Are your classes set up this way as well? I do daycare out of my home currently to keep the place afloat until I become an RN. Currently I am just working on those prereqs as well. After An/Phy 1 and 2 I just have microbio left. I am hoping I will survive this summer! Does anyone have any idea how intensive this class is? Anyway to prepare myself for it now, or to get a leg up on the material?? Any suggestions would be great. I have a BS in Psych and have not been back in college for 10 years. I am hoping I am making the right career choice!! OH if only I had a magic ball

livinglighthouse, ADN, RN · May 14, 2007

Thank you for the encouragement.

Our summer session is 8 weeks long and we will meet 3 days a week

Anatomy- Mon,Tues, Thurs 4-8pm

Physiology- Lecture Mon, Tues, Thurs 8-10am

Lab Tues, Thurs 10am-1pm

I bought the flash cards to start reviewing..........I also checked many of the sites people have recommended here, found a few that work for me and have started looking them over.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · May 14, 2007

I sure would not do it, but if you feel you can then go for it. One person mentioned that some schools combine anatomy and physio anyway, but those are broken up in two sessions. This would be like taking A&P 1 and 2 at the same time. I guess this could be done, but I do not think I could do both AND pull the straight A's like I did in a regular semester along with other classes..eight weeks is a short amount of time for just one of the subjects. Anatomy is a lot of memorization, a LOT and physio is a very complicated subject. If your school only cares about having the pre-requs done and not the grade than I would say do it, but if they look at grades I would suggest you just take one of them this summer.

Think of it this way, maybe it could be done, but do you think you could retain all the information you get this summer? You will use what you learn in those classes a lot when you get into nursing school, (I speak from experience)and not just where this bone is or what this cell looks like either, in order to understand what goes wrong in the body it is much easier to have a great understanding on how it normally works. In my experience, those who rushed though their pre-requs did not do so well once they got into nursing school, some people take them so lightly; like some kind of road block that they just have to get around (not saying that you are this way, just something to consider)

meandragonbrett · May 14, 2007

If you feel like you can buckle down for those 8 weeks and really study and not procrastinate, then I say go for it. I am all for summer courses and accelerated courses.

beba42 · May 15, 2007

I work full time, have a husband and a 4 y/o son. I am also taking A&P part I in the summer along w/ Eng. so I guess we are both crazy . I am in the same boat as you, the nursing program I want to get into also gives preference if you have all your pre-reqs done before you apply. IT CAN BE DONE!! :yeah: I start on the 21. let me know how you do.

barbaratruth, RN · May 15, 2007

I don't know if know if nursing schools give preference if your prerequisites are completed. I did my A&P courses before nursing school and this made my life a lot easier for me when I started nursing school. My fellow students who are taking A&P along with the nursing curriculum are drowning in stress.

Getting the prerequisites done before nursing school may help you balance life outside of school a little better.

My nursing program had the requirement that both A&P I and II had to be done at the same institution. They also based their entrance into the nursing program on an admissions exam and interview.

Good luck.

jessica<3RN · May 15, 2007

I think as long as you're determined, and you keep your eye on the prize, you will rock it. It may not always seem easy, but it will be over in a short amount of time. Best of luck to all of you.

beck_79 · May 15, 2007

You're not alone! I'm taking A&P 1 and 2 over the summer. It should be insane.