a & p hard? opinions

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Hi everyone, starting nursing school in April and I am just so excited. I hear the hardest thing for most nursing students is A&P. This will be in my first set of classes. One girl who attends my school and is a semester in front of me said the whole class failed the first test. Well......my thoughts are....if I start studying now, I have 2 months to get thei a & P thing down before classes actually start. I went to the library and rented 6 books. Any thoughts?

or I guess what i am actually asking, is there something particular I need to pay attention to? Or just study everything and study it hard? Is it mostly memorization? Looking for those that have already been through a & p.

I didn't think A&P was the hardest nursing course. Where I live it's only a pre-req to nursing and then you get into the real nitty gritty. So to speak. :wink2: It is a lot of memorization though. Secondly, don't listen to what others say, everyone's experiences are different. That being said, let me tell you how our class was...lol It's a very busy class, meaning fast paced. As soon as you kind of understand one concept you're already in the middle of another. Get a recorder and take good notes and review them often before the actual test. Get a study buddy, they may understand something better than you and vice versa. Having had both nursing (in 203 now) and A&P, A&P was like a cake walk. I'm not saying it's easy...no no no, but nursing is a totally different world. They may cover some of the same material, but they're completely diffrerent. You won't fail the first test if you're prepared. You'll do fine and you'll pass. Good luck!

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Specializes in geriatrics,emergency,hospice.

I have A & P right now, and have an A. I owe to all to flash cards. They are my best friends (lol). Seriously, it really helps me to make me own, because I have to write the defs. down, it helps me memorize better than printing them out. Also, read, read, read. There are alot of good A & P sites listed on the sticky that help me too.

Good luck!

Chris

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A & P isn't hard, but there are so many "parts" to memorize that it can drive you insane! We also used models for our tests that we didn't have access to at home.

I had so many parts in my head before the muscle test that I actually FORGOT how to get to the school! I showed up late because I couldn't remember the exit, the street to turn down, etc. It was weird.

Luckily, we had two groups testing that day and I was allowed to go with the 2nd group. I have always scheduled my biology labs late in the afternoon so I could look over my notes all day on the day of the test.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I am an LVN who is currently taking my second semester of prerequisites with hopes of getting accepted to an LVN-to-RN bridge program soon. At this time, I've found that A&P is not particularly difficult or academically vigorous. A&P requires plenty of studying, discipline and memorization, but it is not difficult so far.

I am doing something unique: I am taking A&P I and A&P II all in the same semester (concurrently) at my local community college. I attend A&P I with lab on Monday and Wednesday evenings, then go to A&P II with lab on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even with an outdated textbook, I am doing quite well in both classes to date. I scored a 95 on my first A&P II test, and a 98.5 on my first A&P I test. In addition to two A&P classes, I am also taking English Comp II, Speech, and Psychology.

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For me, A&P wasn't that bad. Yeah, it was alot of studying, but it was definently doable. A&P I wasn't bad at all. A&P II was a little more difficult. Just read the book, study your notes and you'll be fine. I remember writing things out over and over again, especially the physiology part, it really helped me understand how things work. Also labeling diagrams of the different parts (especially the skeletal and muscular systems) really helps too. I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck!!

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thankyou everyone

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I haven't read all the posts so if this was said before, I apoligize.

I am in A&PII so have had some experience. I believe the reason so many people think A&P is really hard is because when you start, you usually start at the cellular level, something many of us are totally foreign to. I mean, everyone knows a bit about their body & how it works, but how many know about the parts of the cells & what they do, osmosis, diffusion, Recumbant DNA miosis, & the chemistry part... you get my drift. I'm lucky because I can learn easily but those first 4 weks or so of A&P really stressed me out. Once I got past that part, it was so much easier & I realized that I did learn that first icky stuff. It all ties together & in my class now, we often allude back to those lessons.

So, if I were to do it again, and had the time that you apparently have, that's what I'd work on. Come into A&P feeling pretty confident about it. I suspect that any textbook would start with those subjects. They aren't the most interesting though.

Just so you understand, this will not make A&P a piece of cake. I study many many hours a week but I'm really learning a lot.

Just for fun, you might want to rent the movie, Osmosis Jones. Our instructor assigned it to us. A good part of it is animated & it's kind of fun but if you pay attention, you'll get a handle on how the body fights infection. At the time I watched it, I didn't have a clue about how some of the systems work together but this movie does a pretty good job of showing it. By the way Osmosis Jones is a leukocyte but in the movie, he's a police officer.

Dixie

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thankyou Dixie- and what a fun family movie too! I will do that tonight! I have rented some a & p books from the library, and the good news is I find them very interesting. Which I am glad. It is so hard to learn and pay attention to something when it is boring to you. So hopefully that will help me too. I am going to go ahead and keep reading these books so I can go into it with some confidence. I do notice, many people on this thread said a & p isn't too bad, but on the other threads I notice that seems to be the class everyone struggles and has to repeat-so I figure if I do some study in advance it can't hurt any. thankyou

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I passed my A&P I class, but not with the grade I wanted. My problem was that I did so well on the first half that I assumed the second half would be breezy. If you know you love learning about molecular structures but have a more difficult time with the nervous system, use that to your advantage. While everybody is worrying over a test you know you'll do well at, study what you're not sure about, even if it comes last in the class.

My biggest problem was the nervous system. My advice? Go ahead and learn the cranial nerves now. Memorize them!

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I totally agree! Start learning the cranial nerves NOW and ALL their functions. You will certainly use this information again in Assessment, but then you will be physically testing the functions of those nerves. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the nerve functions.

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