How hard is A and P??

[spoiltmom]

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!!

[nurse12b]

If I were you I would not bother with becomming an LPN they are being slowly weeded out of the hosp. and some LPN's intend on going back to get their LPN but never do. I am 32 and I am hopefully getting into the nursing program this fall for RN. YOu can also get your RN as an ADN or BSN there is not much a pay differance. Oh most advisors lead you astray with all the scare tactics. I do my own thing I just go to the advisors to turn in my paper work tell them what classes I want to take and that is it. I would not suggest taking Bio before A&P its a waist of time and money. That is just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

[CrunchyMama, ASN, RN]

Everyone's different obviously but I've never heard of anyone saying A&P isn't bad until coming here, lol. Everyone that has taken it at my school (including myself) has agreed it's a very hard course! And it is....it takes a lot of time with reading and studying. You pretty much have to read constantly.....so it's basically a taste before getting into nursing. Our A&P courses were compared to pre-med by someone I talked with at an area nursing school. Maybe the fact that we deal with cadavers makes it harder, I don't know. Anyway...to answer your question, I would go for RN. And depending on your school....they may require chemistry (if you didn't take it in high school) before starting A&P, mine does. They also require biology but I took that in high school. Anyway...good luck!

[brillohead, ADN, RN]

I would definitely take chemistry before A&P. The people who had the hardest time in Physiology (my school teaches Anatomy one semester, Physiology another semester) were the people who hadn't yet taken chemistry and the people who were just lazy.

If it makes you feel any better, I took high school biology in 1982-83 and high school chemistry in 83-84 (I graduated in 1987). My college accepted my high school grades (A for both classes) in those classes, so I didn't need to take the pre-req bio and chem college courses, and I went straight into Anatomy. I got an A+ in Anatomy and followed that up with an A+ in Physiology the second semester. If I didn't have that rudimentary understanding of chemistry (ions and electrical attraction, etc.), my Physio class would have been MUCH more difficult.

I would also go for the RN right off the bat -- job openings are easier to come by for RNs than LPNs. My community college teaches the program such that at the end of the first year of nursing school, you can sit for your LPN license, and then you can be working (if you want to) as an LPN the next year while you attend school for your RN.

If you have other classes besides A&P that you'll need to take to apply to nursing school, maybe take a couple of those first, to "find your groove" for balancing family and school, then take A&P after that. But I don't necessarily think you need to take Biology first, unless you'd need to be taking it anyway because it's a pre-req for nursing school. Don't pay for a class that you don't really need. There are lots of books out there (like "A&P for Dummies" and such) that can help you with A&P.

Also, is your A&P just one semester long? Most schools either break it up like mine (A one semester, P another semester) or else they do A&P I one semester and A&P II another semester. A&P is a LOT of info to take in the whole human body in one single semester!

[DoGoodThenGo]

Took A&P back in the 1980's and though have heard some programs have changed things abit, it is not that hard if one goes about it properly.Only thing one can say is study, study, and study! I made flash cards and carried those darn things every place one went. It also helps to think about every day movements as they relate to A&P while doing things.