Feeling depressed about A&P, may drop out of school :(

dawn1971 · Sep 22, 2005

I guess it just depends on how much you want to be a nurse.... I am an A/B student that started clinicals this fall. At our school A and P are seperate. I was fine with P, but Anatomy about killed me and I ended up getting a C. BARELY. It was horrible, but if things hadn't worked out, I would have retaken it at that university or wherever I could. There was NO way I was going to let one stupid class get in my way. I am a single mother of two, so I feel your pain about still being responsible for everything at home. It's hard, but its something that I WANT to do, and that I'm GOING to do. I don't have a plan B. It's this or nothing. That's how I'm getting through. If I weren't this committed, I wouldn't be able to do it. I also waited until my youngest was 8 to start, I think that helped my sanity. Good luck, and take the time to really evauate if this is something you want to do. Lastly, examine why your spouse isn't supportive and have a real conversation about it! YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!!

Dawn

SkanauxRN2009 · Sep 22, 2005

hi everyone,
i hope all of you are doing well. i wish i was. well anyway to make this story really short, i am having a difficult time trying to understand a&p. i have been a returning student since january 2000 and all i need to finish is a&p i, a&pii and micro. however, i feel that this a&p block will be hardest hurdle in my prenursing career. sometimes i feel like giving up because i do not have the support that i need from hubby and i have to continue to do everything (you know, kids, housework, etc.) i have been thinking about dropping out of school because of this. does anyone have any advice and/or have been in similar situations? i don't mean to take up too much time on this, but i just wanted to hear other's opinions. take care and god bless! claudia

i am a mother and wife also. i got a's in those classes. it is doable but you have to study alot, i found studying at night when everyone was sleeping helped, and also i would get up at 4 am and study before it was time for the rest of the gang to get up and ready. what is it your having a hard time with in the class? a and p i is alot of memorization. a and p ii is somewhat easier. micro is difficult but just requires alot of studying also. maybe we can help you on something if your stuck. i wouldn't give up just yet. try to finish the class and see how you feel afterwards.

cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN · Sep 22, 2005

Honestly, I found that A&P required more of my time and energy than nursing school has. Don't give up! It gets easier....

Mudnuri · Sep 22, 2005

I am a mother and wife also. I got A's in those classes. It is doable but you have to study alot, I found studying at night when everyone was sleeping helped, and also I would get up at 4 am and study before it was time for the rest of the gang to get up and ready. What is it your having a hard time with in the class? A and P I is alot of memorization. A and P II is somewhat easier. Micro is difficult but just requires alot of studying also. Maybe we can help you on something if your stuck. I wouldn't give up just yet. Try to finish the class and see how you feel afterwards.

I have to agree with the study times.

I am a mom of 2 girls 8 & 9, but no spouse to help on the days/nights I have them. I do not like to study seriously when they are awake I'll read something, or flip through my flash cards but nothing that really requires my full attention.

They go to bed at 830 and by 930 I'm studying my butt off. I usually study until about 1130 and then I also go to school an hour before my classes start. My girls are dropped off at school at 8am and i go to school then. I go to the library, and watch any extra credit movies, read any articles the professor has recommended etc.

I have spoken to my a/p instructor at length about how to succeed in this class, and her biggest piece of advice to me was to come to her BEFORE I got behind. If something is not sinking in, I will email her and say "I'm really stuck on this". I go to the learning center in our school for extra independent help, and tutoring.

We had our first lecture quiz, on which I scored a 77 with a class average of 68.5. At first I was bummed, then I learned almost everyone that scored higher than me, had already taken this class once, or had taken basic a/p. They were retaking it for any number of reasons, and being as it was on body position, and chemistry, well I dont feel so bad about my 77 score.

If you feel overwhelmed, sit down with your husband, has he always been "against" you going back to school? If he's really on your side, he'd be pulling more weight with the house and the kids if you want my honest opinion. Heck, my X and i are not even together, but we changed our entire custody agreement based on what days/nights I have classes etc. Even if we are no longer together, he is behind me 100% in my desire to become a nurse. Your husband needs to be behind you as well 100% and not just when it sounds good to say it. When push comes to shove, he needs to be there to 1st- push you back to your school, and to shove himself into picking up some of what he's accustomed to you doing.

Sorry if this sounds rude, but its tough enough to get through nursing school, to not have total support from your household, its going to be even tougher

Brandy

Fun2, BSN, RN · Sep 23, 2005

First of all, why is your husband not supporting you going back to school? Is this your only problem, or is there more to it? (You don't need to answer that, just think it through.) Maybe some marriage counseling could help?

Ok, if it's not that bad, is the household stuff the only thing he will not do? Are your children old enough that they could also bare some of the chores?

I definitely agree with others, you need to have a heart to heart with your husband. Have you been going straight through since 2000, or off and on? Is he aware of your seriousness this time?

If you are really wanting to become a nurse don't give up.

As for A&P, go to your school's tutoring center! Make flashcards! Look at different sites online. Mine is www.nursingjourney.com, but there are sooooooo many sites out there that can help you.

Is there anything in particular that you don't get? Is it just the time to be able to learn it? Are you having a problem with the anatomy, physiology or both?

Please let your school's tutors help, or let us help if we can. Good luck! :)

truern · Sep 23, 2005

Honestly, I found that A&P required more of my time and energy than nursing school has. Don't give up! It gets easier....

I've found the same thing: nothing in nursing school has been as hard as the pre-reqs...although maybe that's because I did well in the pre-reqs :rolleyes:

Don't give up, OP....but do have a talk with hubby and family. After all, this is an investment in THEIR future as well as yours.

brandyl123 · Sep 23, 2005

hi everyone,
i hope all of you are doing well. i wish i was. well anyway to make this story really short, i am having a difficult time trying to understand a&p. i have been a returning student since january 2000 and all i need to finish is a&p i, a&pii and micro. however, i feel that this a&p block will be hardest hurdle in my prenursing career. sometimes i feel like giving up because i do not have the support that i need from hubby and i have to continue to do everything (you know, kids, housework, etc.) i have been thinking about dropping out of school because of this. does anyone have any advice and/or have been in similar situations? i don't mean to take up too much time on this, but i just wanted to hear other's opinions. take care and god bless! claudia

claudia you should not give up quite yet. have you had your first test yet, what is it you are not understanding. i am feeling the same way you are as far as being frustrated, dealing with kids housework and working full time. this class is hard, but i can't give up yet. you came this far, all you have is 3 more classes to go, do you really want to stop now :nono: just wait and see. don't let your hubby not supporting you be the reason you give up. if you don't mind me asking why isn't he supporting you????

i just wanted to wish you luck, you can do this :wink2:

ps my boyfriend family moved to georgia 4 years ago, they use to live in marietta. have you lived there long? how do you like it. when i am done with school i was considering movie out that way maybe.

stpauligirl · Sep 24, 2005

hi everyone,
i hope all of you are doing well. i wish i was. well anyway to make this story really short, i am having a difficult time trying to understand a&p. i have been a returning student since january 2000 and all i need to finish is a&p i, a&pii and micro. however, i feel that this a&p block will be hardest hurdle in my prenursing career. sometimes i feel like giving up because i do not have the support that i need from hubby and i have to continue to do everything (you know, kids, housework, etc.) i have been thinking about dropping out of school because of this. does anyone have any advice and/or have been in similar situations? i don't mean to take up too much time on this, but i just wanted to hear other's opinions. take care and god bless! claudia

maybe you need to take some time off from school, and straighten things out with your husband and kids, they need to understand that school is important to you. you are soooo close with only 3 classes left. if you experience difficulties in a&p have you considered a tutor? did you not find the chemistry classes difficult? i think that those two courses are even more difficult than a&p. good luck and please don't give up your dream.

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Sep 24, 2005

Hang in there. I am taking anatomy now. I took physio and got and A, but anatomy is hard in a different way. TONS of stuff to remember!

My husband was not supportive of me going back to school either. His mother never worked and but raised kids. I am not ready for kids for a long time and he thought that if I did not have kids I needed to work until then, but at my job I was getting board and was making less than $9.00 /hr working in a family medical practice. Eventually my husband saw how depressed I was that he was holding me back. I have been in school for a little over a year now. Working only on school breaks, I am on my last pre-req.

My husband does not help around the house, I even take out the trash and mow the lawn. I guess that is the trade off for being able to go to school. Hang in there if you can. I know how you feel. I had to drop my micro class last year. I thought I would never get to be a nurse because of that class. I took it last semester and got an A.

SkanauxRN2009 · Sep 24, 2005

I've found the same thing: nothing in nursing school has been as hard as the pre-reqs...although maybe that's because I did well in the pre-reqs
Don't give up, OP....but do have a talk with hubby and family. After all, this is an investment in THEIR future as well as yours.

I am surprised to hear that news. I hope this is true at my school. I have heard it gets 100 times harder. Like 5 chapters of material on one nursing exam in Med/Surg I. That may not be so hard if the material is interesting. How do you memorize all of the drugs and their reactions? I think that will be hard to do. I start in Fall of 06, if I get accepted in the nursing program at my university. I have all of the pre reqs done except Chem working on that now. Now, this is truly the hardest class of them all.

epiphany · Sep 24, 2005

A&P is a b*tch. I totally sympathize with your pain. If it's any consolation, I believe that a strong A&P foundation will serve you well years to come, so look at this as a long term investment. Have you tried different study technics? Using mnemonics to help you remember? Using the study guide that comes with the text books and giving yourself Q&A right after each chapter? Asking Prof. Google when you have problems with a concept? Carrying around index cards? When I was overwhelmed I always found a different way of studying to keep from burning out.