How hard is A and P??

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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My options are this I can take an LVN certificate course first and then finish my RN or I can start my RN pre reqs this fall and maybe get into nursing school next fall. I'm 30 and I've been out of school for 12 years now. When I was in school I made excellent grades but it's been a while. I don't work I'm a stay at home mom to a 2 and 8 year old.

My adviser says I need A and P. He also says it's very hard and my GPA in A and P determines how quickly I get accepted into nursing school. He says I may want to start with freshman Biology in the fall and then A and P in the spring. He says it will be easier to pass this way.

What would you do? Would you just start off with the A and P? He recommended that If I do that I should only take one other course with it.

What would you do? The RN or the LVN? If you choose RN would you start with A and P right out?

Thanks everyone!!

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Its up to you really.I took A & P straight out of H.S and got a B+.I had taken 4 classes all together that semester.It wasnt a piece of cake but you can get an A if you study hard and apply yourself.You said its been a while since you been out of school but what you know should stick with you.Just review H.S Bio and math and you should be fine.Review your notes everyday for 15 min. when you start school.Good luck!You'll do fine.

If you plan on applying to a private school,all you need really is a 3.0 GPA.The cutoff gpa at my school was a 3.78.I didnt make it because I had 2 B+'s and 2 A's :-(((

But im giving Nursing another try!

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go with the RN. 1st semester take anatomy, 2nd physiology, 3rd microbiology (there is lots of physiology stuff in micro). the classes are hard but you have to study a lot if you want to do well. they were really hard for me but i studied my butt off and got straight A's through them all so its not impossible! i dont know how hard it is to get accepted in your area but i'm the only one of my friends who got accepted my first semester applying. they got B's in physiology and haven't gotten accepted anywhere yet. good luck!:yeah:

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Specializes in Critical Care.

ANP isnt hard its just ALOT of work...you need to study alot inorder to keep up and do well...Im taking it right now in the summer with chemistry and so far im getting and A!...hopefully it stays that way good luck :)

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The adviser acted like most people tank on it and it might not be the right course to start out with. He was making me very nervous. Maybe I'll just go with it anyway!

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I second Haneen's response, A&P is not especially hard, but it is a lot of material to memorize in a short amount of time. So, you cannot cram the day before the exam and succeed and you cannot let yourself get behind and hope to still pass with flying colors.

However, as long as you are able to spend time on it every day, there is no reason why you couldn't get the grade you want. I took it at my state university along with three upper-division major classes while working 40 hours a week and I finished with a 98% average. The one thing to be cautious of is not taking it from a prof who treats it as a "weeder class" (a class to weed out the lesser premed students).

If your advisor is so worried about the pass rate, it may be that some professors are treating it as a weeder class - if I were you I might check out the professors teaching it at your school on RateMyProfessor. I have found that it can be a good way of getting a feel for the teaching style of a particular prof - if a few people call them disorganized or impossibly hard, it is probably sour grapes, but if it is everyone, watch out!

Good luck - you can do it! :pumpiron:

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Do you think that chemistry is necessary before Anatomy? I was told that I should take chem first but I already have the anatomy book and kind of want to use it before it gets replaced with a new version.

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A&P isnt hard, it just takes TIME and EFFORT. You have to study study study study. If he recommends that you take Biology then maybe you should take it before you take A&P. I agree with what Protongirl said.

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I think you could get through A&P without chemistry, but it would be easier with a working knowledge of beginning chem. When you get to physiology subjects like nerve impulses or digestion you are essentially talking about chemical reactions.

I am probably biased by the 8 years I spent working in a lab, but I think a chem 1A or even a Chem for Allied Health class is helpful in so many ways, from the scientific method to dimensional analysis (conversion math).

If you trust your advisor, then talk to him about the usefulness of chem,but I have found that academic advisors are often overly intimidated by the sciences - so take it with a grain of salt.

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you do not need chem before anatomy. I don't recall ever using anything related to chem in anatomy besides for like taking about an "atom" or something reallyyy basic. A basic bio class would help though.

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I went back to school this past semester (anatomy plus two other online classes) after taking 15 years off. I had taken college bio right out of high school and did well. When I got in lab the first day, I suppose I had a stunned look on my face, so my professor spoke with me after class. I told him I hadnt had bio in 15 years, and he said I should definitely drop anatomy and re-take the bio. I thought about it, but decided I was going to try it anyway. I had to study ALOT, and hardly saw my kids unless I was behind a book, but I finished the semester with the highest grade in the class.

Only you know what you can do.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I took bio right before anatomy and that helped me tremondously...

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