Help I'm failing Anatomy for a 2nd time?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I keep failing anatomy, this is the 2nd time taking it and I am failing it again. My school only allows 1 repeat of a failed class out of the 3 pre-req's of Anatomy, Physiology and Microbiology. If I can't pass anatomy, how can I pass the other 2? Not to mention, schools will see my F from my first attempt of Anatomy. My grades in other courses aren't A's but at least they are passing. I have a strong desire to be a nurse, but I feel as though it might not happen. I just took my last exam tonight, and a lot of the questions didn't line up with the lecture videos, I tried to read the text book on the last exam, but the professor told me I don't need to read the book, just go off the videos and power point slides. If that's true, why do I keep failing? I feel like I am cramming a lot in my brain, I can't memorize all this stuff at once, its too hard, and I am not at all understanding the material, its like my professor is not speaking english. Don't get me wrong he's super cool and all, but sometimes I think he rambles on, and I'm like huh? How can I become a registered nurse? I'm afraid to go to a private school, because they go even faster with material.

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anatomy and physiology is really just memorization and it's pretty hard to do without mneunomics. I always used the "for dummies" or mometrix version of whatever class I was in for about $25. It annoys me that colleges make you purchase textbooks by making you do those quizzes at the end of each chapter. Has anatomy & physiology really changed much in the last 10 years? College Algebra different version every 4 years? it's ridiculous. The mometrix is about 1/5 as long as the textbook and will teach you about 95% of the material. Adderall is something I didn't get on until my mid-20's and I really wonder what my academic history would have been like if I had had it in high school. I thought being spacey or the feeling like you're in a dream-like state was normal, almost like there was this invisible barrier between me and the outside that always kept me being an observer. I don't know, it's hard to explain. I think you should think about getting on some ADD medication and see how that affects your memory retention.

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If your program has a retention coordinator, don’t waste any time getting an appointment to see this person or someone in the academic counseling center. Can you align with an A student who likes to help? At this point you need to figure out what is wrong and start drastic measures or it will be over before you start.  First take a deep breath, then calmly plan what you will do before you get started.

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Specializes in Student.

I am taking AP-1, AP-2, and Micro in the same semester this fall. AP is split into 2 8 week courses. I have completed 1 already. The thing I have realized about these classes is that it is a lot of work. Let me repeat, IT IS A LOT OF WORK!! It is 12 credit hours but it feels like 24. I spend 25-30 hours a week at a minimum studying, reading, doing homework, and watching different lectures of the same material on Youtube.  My method of studying is this:

1. Read the chapter and study body parts and try to have 85%+ memorized before class. Memorize all key terms and their definitions listed in the chapter. 

2. Attend Lecture. I do not take notes and focus 100% on listening to what is being said. 

3. Do the chapter homework/associated lab.

4. Watch lecture on Youtube of the same material but presented by someone else. There are a lot of good Youtube channels that present this information very well.  

5. read chapter power point slides 2-3 times

6. Take chapter quizzes to help study 

8. re-do homework/lab if grade was less than a 90. 

9. memorize all body parts 

repeat for each chapter.....

 

For memorizing all the body parts, repetition is key. First I will look at the figures in the book of the body parts and work on one figure at a time to try and memorize it. Then I will usually draw the body parts out myself and label them from scratch, noting what areas I cannot remember. Then I will take a blank body part worksheet and try and fill it out completely from memory. The things that I miss or am not certain on I will focus on those areas to refine my memorization until I have it all down.

 

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Specializes in Dreamer.

There is already a lot of great information on how to prepare for classes/ how to improve your grades in these prereqs. I just want to say do not give up! You can do this! Even if your school limits the amount of times you can repeat a course there will be other schools that look at other things besides the number of times you have taken a pre-req. Trust me, I thought I would never get into a nursing school because of my pre-reqs, but I did. People learn differently. You might not yet know the best way for you to learn. I know it is crazy right now, but take some time to get help and also check out resources on Allnurses about people that were in a similar situation as you. Going through posts on here definitely helped me while I was applying. Best of luck to you! Please do not ever doubt your ability to become a nurse based on your performance in the prerequisites.

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On 11/16/2020 at 7:44 PM, ns12 said:

There is already a lot of great information on how to prepare for classes/ how to improve your grades in these prereqs. I just want to say do not give up! You can do this! Even if your school limits the amount of times you can repeat a course there will be other schools that look at other things besides the number of times you have taken a pre-req. Trust me, I thought I would never get into a nursing school because of my pre-reqs, but I did. People learn differently. You might not yet know the best way for you to learn. I know it is crazy right now, but take some time to get help and also check out resources on Allnurses about people that were in a similar situation as you. Going through posts on here definitely helped me while I was applying. Best of luck to you! Please do not ever doubt your ability to become a nurse based on your performance in the prerequisites.

You could always try lvn school then transition down the line.

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WyzSci on Youtube is phenomenal when it comes to AP1 and AP2 his videos have helped me a lot and he teaches from a nursing point of view

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My professor tells us to just memorize his notes and basically scan the PowerPoint. I hate his notes because they are short hand. I have absolutely no idea what they mean when I first read through them and it's even more confusing because we're exclusively online so there is no lecture to flesh it out. I've basically decided to teach myself. I read the text, I watch lectures on Youtube that focus on the subject we're covering. I also watch other videos related to the topics (I like crash course).  I write the entire PowerPoint out by hand instead of printing it out and only then am I able to go through his notes because that's when they finally make sense to me. I also use quizlets to study. It's tedious but it's been working for me. Anything to make the material memorable. If I don't understand how things tie together it's not going to stick. Good luck to you, hang in there!

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