This is one of the best feelings I have ever felt in life. I not only passed the notorious A&P exam. I got an A! I almost cried when I found out my score... since I registered for this exam and left only 2 weeks study time when also I work full time at a research company. I was extremely overwhelmed at the amount of information that I needed to cram in just 14 days. (10 of which I was working from 8am - 5pm in a highly challenging and high stress working environment, coming home drained) The amount of stress I felt was worse than any stress I had experienced in college so far. I had also taken a 2 year break from college so I was not used to having a study load.
Here's what I did:
1. Rented the Martini book from Amazon.com rentals
2. paid $20 for the MyStudyGuide101 helper
3. Printed only the study guide pages (less than 200 pages) and put in a binder.
4. Wrote a schedule of what I needed to study and when I could dedicate time
5. Went on youtube.com to ANATOMYGMC channel and watched a video class on each section, and took notes/made flashcards/drew pictures. This was crucial.
6. AFTER watching each video - I went though the same info in MSG101 and highlighted/made more flash cards/re-worked the info into my head.
8. I looked over all the tutorials (2 min each) and labeling exercises, and more importantly I took the chapter practice tests. These tests have similar questions to the exam.
9. Any questions I got wrong, I corrected in my mind by making a flashcard.
10. Day before exam - spend all day reviewing flashcards and notes/pictures I drew
I was exhausted and miserable for those 2 weeks. I almost ruined my relationships and was cranky, and even studied to the point of making myself sick. (not recommended)
Here was my schedule generally:
Week 1
M-F: 4 hours each night 6pm-10pm (2 chapter videos, and 1 hour SG101 per chapter vid)
Sat/Sun (8 to 9 hours of study, 3 or 4 chapter videos, and 1 hour of SG101 for each)
Week 2
M-F: 4 hours each night 6pm-10pm (2 chapter videos, and 1 hour SG101 per chapter vid)
Sat/Sun (8 to 9 hours of study, Pearson website, practice tests, flashcards)
DO NOT FORGET TO EAT and hydrate. I had no time to cook or clean so I ordered thin crust veggie pizzas (not too bad for you) and drank meal replacements. Some days I forgot to eat... and started feeling very sick. I was miserable, and am lucky to have supportive friends and family that reminded me that I could do this.
I would recommend arranging the full 15 weeks to study, but for those who don't have the luxury of time - it's possible to pass this test. Hope this helped.
