How did you get an "A" in anatomy?

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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.

In any class, what really helps is to know your learning style. If you're not sure how you learn best, I know there's free sites online that give a short assessment of your learning style. For me, an anatomy coloring book was very helpful, as I'm a very visual/hands-on learner. Also, repetition and re-writing/going over notes after lectures and labs helps to process the information overload. Study groups (in addition to self-study) with one or two classmates can also be very helpful, as they may have picked up something in their notes or reading that you might have missed.

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The students that took A&P when I took it that did not do well, flat out, didn't put the time in.

What makes A&P so hard is the abundance of latin-based terms. They are words that are hard to pronounce much less spell/remember/recall.

The best way for me, is to get out a piece of paper, and just starting writing over and over again until the word flows from your hand. You find out very quickly that some parts you remember and others you don't.

I used those as "starting" points when I had to name things for practicums so I could very quickly go down a list and get the terms correctly.

If you don't do it systematically, it will be very, very hard.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Hospice.

I read ahead of class, so when it was time for the lecture, things weren't so foreign to me. If I didn't understand it after class, I talked to an LPN friend who could put things into concepts I could understand.

I read. A lot. I studied 10 hours at the minimum for each test (2 hours a day/5 days.) Not that I needed to, but I did anyway. The night before a test I did not study at all. I read other things.

I didn't make flash cards, but I went over the questions at the end of chapters over and over till I got the right answers down.

I loved the class and found it easy... but you have to work at it. It is definitely not a blow off class.

I wound up with a 96%.

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Thought I share this with you too.

My summer A & P1 class started with 40 over student of which half were repeats. It was very intensive and demanding and half way through about half the students dropped out. So i guess those who remained were mostly repeats or those who were preparing for 4 year degree.

Despite of the demands and the tremendous workloads, our class final average grade was 87, which means that many got an A. That was really something, considering the fact that many of them were working. It was indeed an outstanding class...

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A&P is one of the toughest classes you will ever take so you have to be highly motivated. This class requires a lot of reading, review and memorization. I learn by repetition. I do all of the review questions at the end of each chapter and also log on to the book's website. Most of these websites include pictures, flashcards, crossword puzzles, study outlines and guides. In short, a wealth of information at your fingertips. A great website which helped me tremendously was McGraw-Hill's "Hole's Human Anatomy & Physiology", http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/classware/infoCenter.do?isbn=0072829532&navclick=true.

Studying on your own and then with a small group also helps a lot and you make great friends.

Another thing that was already mentioned on this thread is class attendance and participation. Sit in the front of the class if possible, and remain engaged in the lecture by asking questions. This will help reinforce what you are learning and will make class more fun.

Last but certainly not least, do not, I repeat, do not leave your studying for the last minute! Cramming will get you nowhere. Start studying a least one week before your scheduled test about 2-3 hours a day, broken up into small chunks, if that works better for you.

I managed an "A" working full-time and raising two young children. If I could do it, you could do it! :wink2:

Good Luck!

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Specializes in Emergency Care.

Thank you gang!

There is some great advice here. I did get into the class via lottery on the second day. We jumped right into cell gene function and epithelial tissues. I can tell that it's gonna get intense very quickly, but as many have said here, the material is fascinating.

I have ordered a book entitled:

"Dictionary of word roots and combining forms" by Donald J. Borror, which many have said is a life saver for Anatomy and Physiology. Anyone have experience with this book? It's a difficult little buger to get!

Steve

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i studied my orifice off! but seriously, i made flashcards. tons and tons of flashcards. i'm also 42 and find it hard to have dedicated "study time". family, job, etc always seems to present some sort of unexpected challenge. flash cards allowed me to take the material on the go and study everywhere. even at red lights or waiting at the dunkin' donuts drive thru. i'm such a visual learner and it really helped. on the tests i could picture the words on the cards and in my mind flip it over and come up with the answer. geeky? yes! successful? most definately!:typing

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I confess I haven't read all the replies, so this might have been said already.

The best advice I can give is to figure out what your learning style is. Just google "Learning style inventory" and you'll get loads of hits. Take one of these inventories and pay attention to the results. Personally, I'm a big kinesthetic and auditory learner. So, making my own flash cards were FAR more effective for me than using store bought ones (the making of the cards is kinesthetic)....I'd also use those cards while walking around and doing things. The other thing I did was get with a study group, I learn well by explaining things to others (that hits both of my learning styles). Another thing I did was to record the lectures and then listen to recordings at the gym or while walking around outside.

But my big point is that if I had turned out to be a visual learner....these wouldn't have been near as effective methods for me. So, figure out what kind of learner you are (if you already don't know) and then study to make the best of those strengths.

Oh and btw...I'm assuming you're a SCUBA Diver? You're knowledge of atmosphere's of pressure and o2 and all that good stuff you learned when you learned to dive will help you with the respiratory chapter :D

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great thread! thanks for everyone's advice - i start anatomy tuesday!

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I used the web for anything I could find on Anatomy...pratice quizzes or just info to help. There are some sites for kids that really explain the cells etc. www.biology4kids.com That site really helped since it had been awhile since I had Bio in high school and college. I used Cliff Notes for Chem and Bio to further explain what I was reading. I read an article by a med student that said you should look at the material every day to help keep it in your brain. I tried to look at something every day, notes, note cards, the book, or a quiz for pratice. I got A's in A&P I and II so hopefully you will have the same result.

The post that mentioned knowing your learning style is great advice also. It will help in the long run! Find what works for you.

Best of luck!:)

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For any topic that requires rote memorization, make sure you go over the information as many ways as possible to give it the best chance of sticking. For example, for learning muscles, you could:

- find the muscles on your lab list on the models in lab

- find them on the cadavers

- find the origin and insertion points on a skeleton

- go home and color them in your coloring book

- make flashcards with function and origin and insertion

- find them on yourself, noting origin and insertion, surface anatomy, function and range of motion

- find them on your spouse/significant other/friend/kid/dog, while telling them about each muscle

- study flashcards whenever you have time

- go back and id muscles on models and cadaver from memory to test yourself, review any you don't know cold.

That's pretty much what I did for that section (although obviously I didn't do every step for every single muscle), and I got the second highest grade in the class on the musculoskeletal exam.

In lab, I found it helpful to alternate between going over the models, cadavers, or specimens with a group of people and talking through it together, and studying by myself. Other things that helped me were drawing and labeling my own diagrams for blood vessels and nerves, and drawing out and labeling each histo slide for my notes.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Like you, I never miss class or lab. I went to the open lab once a week to study and I met with a study group every week and we quizzed each other... it was actually really fun! I loved Anatomy. The flashcards are great too for at home or other places. You'll do great... good luck getting in! :specs:

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