How did you get an "A" in anatomy?

Published

Specializes in Emergency Care.

Successful students please share your wisdom. This would not just be the super smart, but those like me that have to work for thier grades. I'm a 42 year old male who has about a 3.6 gpa so far and am looking to maximize my gpa for preparing to apply next year.

I currently have a coloring book, flash cards, and a positive mental attitude.

Thanks for any ideas, advice, etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Keep up with assigned readings. Know what you're supposed to be reading and when. Don't fall behind. Skim the chapters first, reading topic headings, check out all illustrations, read the chapter summary. Then go back and focus on reading the chapter, specifically looking for the information you just saw in the illustrations and summary.

Take excellent notes, and maybe offer to swap notes with another classmate. Sometimes they see/hear something that you missed. One guy in my A&P class had a digital voice recorder that he would have on during class. Then he'd get home at night and play it through, making sure to take notes on anything he missed.

Use those flashcards! Take them with you everywhere! My box of flashcards actually came with a little jumpring that I could put a section on and throw in my purse. While waiting at the doctors, for the kids, etc... it was easy to pull out and study the muscular system for the lower extremeties for example.

Do NOT skip lab time! I know so many students who did, and it just doesn't make sense!

Ask questions! My instructor was awesome about responding to emails, voicemails, etc.

Utilize the website from the publisher of the textbook. Mine had WONDERFUL slides of tissue cells, muscular cells, etc. Made them really easy to identify. Also, they had a fantastic section that really explained the physiology behind the various body systems.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg.

I didn't. :D

But I got a B+ by doing lots of repetition on the cat. Visual stuff works best for me. For lecture, I would rewrite notes 3 times before the exam, and supplement with flashcards for terms I had difficulties with.

I don't remember much else because this was 2 years ago. And now I'm in the nursing program! I'm sure you'll do great!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Successful students please share your wisdom. This would not just be the super smart, but those like me that have to work for thier grades. I'm a 42 year old male who has about a 3.6 gpa so far and am looking to maximize my gpa for preparing to apply next year.

I currently have a coloring book, flash cards, and a positive mental attitude.

Thanks for any ideas, advice, etc.

I learn by rote. I write all the information down over and over literally thousands of times.

X is connected to F and does L. Y leads to B and is used in the transportation of Z. There are I number of T starting from the head down E, R, H... You get the idea.

Of course this takes an almost obsessive dedication and it only works in 'memory' type classes like Anatomy, Bio and Micro.

For the 'comprehension' classes like Math all I can say is don't bother memorizing things. Math is a way of thinking. If you understand 'Why' it is simple. If you only memorize the 'What' (equations and rules) you'll never get it. The same goes for Chem and any other 'Math' based science.

I probably didn't really explain that very well. It works for me though. I still have a 4.0 GPA.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Care.

Great advice Colleen and Rhody Girl! Attendance is never an issue with me. Part of my good gpa is 100% attendance in all classes. Maybe it's an age thing but I don't miss class or labs. I like your idea about skimming before reading the detail of the chapters. Re writing notes also seems very good.

First I have to get into Anatomy by means of a lottery... so wish me luck!!

Steve

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiac Care.
Keep up with assigned readings. Know what you're supposed to be reading and when. Don't fall behind. Skim the chapters first, reading topic headings, check out all illustrations, read the chapter summary. Then go back and focus on reading the chapter, specifically looking for the information you just saw in the illustrations and summary.

Take excellent notes, and maybe offer to swap notes with another classmate. Sometimes they see/hear something that you missed. One guy in my A&P class had a digital voice recorder that he would have on during class. Then he'd get home at night and play it through, making sure to take notes on anything he missed.

Use those flashcards! Take them with you everywhere! My box of flashcards actually came with a little jumpring that I could put a section on and throw in my purse. While waiting at the doctors, for the kids, etc... it was easy to pull out and study the muscular system for the lower extremeties for example.

Do NOT skip lab time! I know so many students who did, and it just doesn't make sense!

Ask questions! My instructor was awesome about responding to emails, voicemails, etc.

Utilize the website from the publisher of the textbook. Mine had WONDERFUL slides of tissue cells, muscular cells, etc. Made them really easy to identify. Also, they had a fantastic section that really explained the physiology behind the various body systems.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

This is it, exactly.

Keeping up with the reading, to me, is key. I read the assignments before class, so that when the prof lectured, it wasn't "new" material. Often, the lecture cleared up any questions I might have had after the original reading. I took notes during the initial reading and during lecture. Also, the CD-ROMs that came with the books really helped cement some of the material.

Good luck to you; getting an A is doable.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Care.

Stanley- I totally get what you are saying... I worked my fanny off in Chem to get the "B" and by the end of the class I was very close to an "A" after starting out in "C" territory. Organic chem saved me and I loved it, but you are very correct in the two types of learning. repetition and time are the only ways to conquer these types of courses. It will be a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.

In Bio, I struggled with genetics, the citric acid cycle, and the other very technical areas of learning. By the time we revisited the citric acid cycle in chem, it made much more sense. Better instructor was key in the "concepts" learning like chem. A poor instructor (that may be a brilliant scientist..) will assume you know core concepts that are necessary to build from. I call this the "talk to me like a third grader" effect. At least touch on the origin of every concept so there are roots on earth for this stuff. Are you with me on this?

Thanks... great insight again.

Steve

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I still remember the first time I joined the class of A&P. (It was also my first time to study in USA and I don;t have any medical education background) It was horriable since I almost can understand nothing. I felt so depressed and I wanted to quit. But I did not. I worked so hard and I got both As of A&P I and II.

I think different study way suits different person. My key is, take good note;review the stuff as much often as I can; check the related infor from website and try to know more; try to get more harder test questions from web or book to practice.

You have an advantage over me, cause I need to overcome the language difficuty. You can get an A with hardwork.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MICU - CCRN, IR, Vascular Surgery.

What got me through -

- A genuine interest, beyond just wanting an A

- Digital voice recorder. I taped every lecture and put it on my ipod to listen to while cleaning house, grocery shopping, driving, etc.

- Never ever skipping class

- Listening to anatomy podcasts from other colleges. Sometimes a different teacher explaining it a different way was what it took for it to click for me. (Search Anatomy in the podcast section of iTunes, you'll find several).

- Some premade flashcards. I had the Netter ones from Amazon

- Hundreds (yes hundreds) of handmade flashcards from review quizzes on the publisher's website

- Explaining the concepts of the class to anyone who would listen. If I could explain it, that meant that I understood it.

- Copying the labeling picture, blacking out the words, putting it in a sheet protector and labeling the picture over and over with dry erase markers

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I've gotten A's in A&P I & II and the best advice I can offer is to know yourself and your learning style, and then attack the material in whatever way you learn best. I'm an auditory learner so I would make flashcards and read/repeat them outloud to myself over and over and over. Or I would sit in my car in traffic and point out all the parts of my body while saying them out loud. Also, label diagrams ad nauseum. Either use a website or just make copies of your book pages, blank out the answers, and rewrite over them (I used a clear plastic sheet-thing and dry erase markers). Also, GO TO CLASS. The people who missed even one class/lab were way behind compared with the people who never missed. Good luck, you can do it!!! Let me know if there's anything else I can do to help!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Ante-Intra-Postpartum, Post Gyne.

I didn't have a coloring book, but I used flash cards. For bones I made color copies (back and front) of photos of bones and cut them out so I could learn visually when I could not be in the lab ( spent as much time in the lab as possible for all areas). I never used my text book for anatomy (teacher was a walking text book for dummies), just my lab book sometimes, for me the key to sucess was being in the lab with the cadavers as much as I could

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Emergency Care.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies. I can do it!!! If I think "A" all the way, then I can only let myself down with a "B"

Not a bad safety net.

Steve

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion