Have you taken BIO 141(anatomy and physiology)?

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Dec 8, 2013

Good day:

General, FYI, different schools use different course ID's; for example at the community college I'm attending uses BIO 121 for A&P 1 and BIO 122 for A&P 2.

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html is an excellent read to cover you for all of your classes. How much you have to read per week will vary based on the syllabus for what your instructor will go over. At the school I'm attending, we covered between 1 to 4 chapters per week; some weeks 1, some 2, and some 4. It really varied based on the material we were covering. We had one quiz before each exam; four exams including the final (which we are taking this coming week). There were three lab exams (we didn't have any quizzes in lab).

For allocating study time, I learned the hard way that any science with lab course should be treated as a six credit course (not four credits) in terms of study time allocation. I.e. the "general" rule of thumb is a minimum of two hours per week of study time per credit hour. So three credits would be six hours of study time per week, four credits, eight hours and so on. Well, with the amount of material that generally has to be memorized for lab plus lecture... eight hours per week wasn't cutting it (at least for me).

If your school has a learning center or way for you to spend more time in lab with the models and what not, then take advantage of it. Even though -- THANKS TO JESUS -- I've been able to maintain good grades in A&P 1 this semester, I've also been in the learning center for several hours a week, every week during the semester.

Do not be afraid to ask for help, get into study groups as you are able to fit them in; leave study groups that are not productive. Do participate often in class; even if you are wrong, you learn things you might not have learned otherwise. If you find yourself in a position where you can help your fellow classmates, do so freely and cheerfully -- in every class. I cannot count how many times a classmate (sometimes not the one's I helped directly) helped me out because of past or current help. Be a team player.

Use flash cards -- paper or quizlet.com or studyblue or whatever works best for you. Do study often as you are able; at least for me, cramming never worked. If your instructor allows you to record lectures, record and listen every chance you get to the lectures. If you are allowed to take pictures in lab, take pictures.

Keep up a good attitude, smile, and have fun learning.

Thank you.

DadStudentPerhaps · Dec 8, 2013

We covered one chapter per week. Each Chapter had about 50 assignment questions, and each chapter ended with a quiz. The questions on both assignments and quizzes were actually multiple questions in one. Basically a 50 question assignment was actually over 100 questions. The same went for the quizzes. My advice.... DONT FALL BEHIND !!!!! Each new chapter builds off the previous chapter. It's important to understand the material as you go. If you don't understand something, ask questions. Also, make use of the many free websites, Like Khan Academy, to help you with understanding. You will start off learning how cells are made, how chemicals pass through cells, how cells build tissues, how tissues make organs, and will eventually learn about all the various systems in the body and how the body regulates. Each new chapter will build off the previous... Last thing, you'll likely get frustrated at some point. Take a break, then come back to finish your work. Plan on a lot of study time. Most importantly, you can do it :-)

By the way, LABS were a lot of fun. Plus, it followed our lecture material, so it helped with understanding.