Having a pathetically hard time with A&P--Need advice

[anilechim]

Hi everyone,

I'm pre-nursing, and I'm taking A&P 1 at the moment and I am completely drowning in this class. My GPA is high, my study skills are normally great... but this class is killing me and I don't even know why I can't get into the swing of things. I already know that nursing school only gets harder and I believe I can do it, I'm just in a pathetic rut right now. I got a C on my first quiz and had a pop quiz on Thursday that I know I probably did even worse on and my confidence is destroyed.

What was your experience in A&P like? I have a 3 hour lecture and a 3 hour lab both once a week that involve our professor going over some topics, occasionally telling us we need to know something for a test, and our only assignments are Mastering A&P online, which I hate and don't find helpful in the least. Occasionally, he assigns us a video as well. If I'm going to learn this stuff, I need to be able to practice it more. Can anyone maybe suggest some kind of workbook, or really anything at all that helped you?

I really would love and could desperately use some tips, and also would love to know what your experience was like in class. Did you have more assignments than I'm having? Did you work with Mastering A&P? What was your lecture like?

Thank you so much in advance.

[WCSU1987]

I only have lectures, labs, lecture exams, and lab exams. Pretty straight forward with the class just memorization. After I received a high 70 with the first exam and had to change my study habits to improve my grades.

In the class given questions on the exam usually a week prior. There are additional, questions on the exam that wasn't told or miscommunicated. So I create an outline of highlight material and notes. Then type up questions with answers. I print this out as a study guide can use when not near a computer. I usually go over this for 4 to 5 days prior to exam when I have free time for 2 to 4 hours during these days.

I usually have at least 2 days off, sometimes in a row, before the exam. Those days I use Quizlet. Where I transfer the outline and questions over. Uses flashcards, scatter test, true false test multiple choice test, games, and so forth to help you learn.

This time also going to add my own notes to exam 3 from the book. With bones will add diagrams and make my own worksheets to study off of. Probably review notes.

My lab exam though bombed, but dealt less with my knowledge of AP and skills in using a microscope.

Keep your head up and good luck!

[WCSU1987]

I love it if I had extra assignmentspecial instead of exams being grades. Our GPA is based off of 8 or 9 exams. Then 1 Final. So if you have 1 bad exam it is almost impossible to obtain a 4.0.

[nurse1017]

I took both AnP 1 and 2 in 5 week summer courses. YouTube saved me. I got a B+ in both, took them 5 years apart.

Crashcourse on on YouTube was the best.

[kataraang, BSN]

khanacademy.com has great videos on everything.

Khan Academy explained nephrons like a BOSS.

Glomerular filtration in the nephron |

Khan Academy

[Julius Seizure]

Quizlet - but dont use other peoples flash cards, make your own. You will learn more from making them than from trying to memorize someone elses cards.

You can buy anatomy coloring books on Amazon, some of my friends have found those helpful for making things stick in the brain. Plus, coloring is relaxing :)

[makeuplover2, ADN, RN]

I'm taking A&P I this semester and some studying tips have really worked for me; and I actually tend to need to study less.

1. Outlining: If you're on a specific chapter on the book, try to outline the chapter. Put definitions and ideas on different lines. This way, you're taking in information piece by piece and building on it as you go along. Also, you'll be able to identify what you don't exactly know.

2. Flashcards: Use your outline and turn it into flashcards on Quizlet. All of my lecture outline that I have made, I have turned them into Quizlet Flashcards. I can study on the go and quickly before a test or quiz.

3. Break it up: Study a bit everyday. You'll find that when you break up the studying, you're feeding information to your brain slowly. Then, you're mind will build on the information previously learned.

Make sure you focus on one topic at a time.

[InfirmiereMaybe, BSN, RN]

AP can be overwhelming but it doesn't have to be if you use your time wisely. Do not wait to start studying right before the exam. I always make sure I understand the chapter we're going over before we move on to the next chapter. I make sure to take great notes and read those notes as soon as I get home. I watch YouTube videos if I feel like I'm still not getting it. Anatomy is nothing but memorization but with physiology you really need to understand the concepts. When you understand the concepts, you're golden. I tutor one of my classmates and I found it's helping me too :-)