Besides recording lectures, I scribbled notes in class, then once home, I wrote them out again much more neatly. Just the act of doing that was a form of studying
I also read my A&P book very in depth. When I learned the krebs cycle for example, I learned it piece by piece fully understand what I was reading. NOT just memorizing. You must READ READ READ. Unfortunately, our teacher did a disservice to many pre-nursing students. His tests were completely based on his notes that you just had to memorize. Those students struggled a great deal in the actual nursing program, because A&P is the foundation for everything.
Do you have a study partner? I think that the coloring book is also a great idea. A study partner that is organized and is working hard in the class, is very helpful.
Oh, Anatomy and phys. Well every time an exam would come up, I would spend up to 7 hours in the library studying my ass off usually 4 days prior and up to the test day each day. I ended up getting an A in both of those classes. Good luck to everyone who's currently or about to take it!
To all those struggling with the concepts in A&P, don't do yourself the disservice of only living up to the teacher's standards. A&P is absolutely the foundation of everything you will learn in the nursing program.
Ex: in nursing school you will learn about and how to care for patients with acute renal failure and chronic kidney disease. You won't be able to understand the material unless you fully understand the renal system.
The Loop of Henle in the kidneys for example. You need to thoroughly understand it's function.
If you are not fully understanding the concepts,but only memorizing for exams, please, get help from tutors or your teacher. There is very very little time in core nursing classes to review, let alone fully learn for the first time, this information.
For anatomy, you need to memorize! Go to the labs, stay until they kick you out. I made my own tests by taking pictures of the mannequin, print them out, put numbers on them, then a number key and just tested myself. We had to fill in the blank, no MC. Visualize every body parts.
For the physiology, look up the body system on you tube for additional studying. I liked Khan Academy, Armando Hasudagan, and other in depth videos that taught the functions of each systems. This is where you really need to understand the processes of each body system. You need to see how each relate to each other. It's really amazing how codependent our body systems are!
I took anatomy in one semester and physio in another. And I didn't take anything else. People make the mistake of taking other classes (even if easy) and the time they spent working on those classes took away from opportunity to study A&P. If you want to get As in A&P, you must focus only on that. Some ppl will tell you they can do other classes and still get As. To them I say great! But I wasn't one of them. I need complete focus. I spent 8-10 hours studying everyday. The time paid off for me and I got As. You can too if you put in the work and time.
Find what works for you. Reading, watching videos, flashcards, test banks, mnemonics, rewriting notes, meet with professor, etc. Just do them all. Dedication and motivation. How bad do you want it?
I wish I could click like 100 times!!!
This single response says it all.
What you said about body systems affecting each other for example: like with CHF. If you understand it, you understand why edema occurs and pulmonary hypertension with congested lungs yielding inadequate oxygen exchange and then downhill from there.
Memorization for anatomy.
Full comprehension for physiology!
I stayed in lab for hours. Whether it was the cadaver room, or when they had boxes of skeletal remains to memorize the bones. I took tons of pics to further study at home.
I tried flash cards, but honestly it was a waste of time. I recorded my lectures, listened to them on way to and from school. And I also utilize youtube, I have found a few good lectures, and it sticks better.
Anatomy and Physiology is memorization, unfortunately.
But don't focus on memorization.. focus on understanding. Be interested (and amazed ) with what you're learning. When you're interested, you understand better. And when you understand, you retain the facts, parts, etc.
I suggest writing down words and little notes in a small notebook that you can carry around everywhere. Or maybe put little notes of anatomy stuff as your ipad wallpaper, laptop wallpaper etc. so you can see them everywhere and always retain. (I know this can't be done all the time, but it helps sometimes.)
Or when you memorize the names of the muscles or bones, associate the names with another object/word/event/memory so you don't forget. Mnemonics help too.
You won't remember everything in A&P after graduating from the class, but when your interest is intact, it wouldn't be too hard to memorize!
I didn't read all of the other posts so I don't know if anyone else has written this answer.
When I was taking A & P I found a sweet website called purposegames.com. I was able to cut and paste pictures of bones and muscle groups and make quizzes for myself. I found that making the quizzes was the most helpful thing I ever did! They are fun to make, then you can use them as a speed drill. You find other people using yours tests (if you make them public) and try to beat your times. If you are competitive like me, this will really get you going! I aced A & P I and II using this free site, and would suggest it to anyone!
There are also some schools that put out quizzes on random sites, I found some of them helpful too. However, not every instructor puts the same emphasis on individual parts, that is where purposegames.com was great for me, I could individualize my quizzes for my instructor.
I took it as a 5 week summer course and like others have stated- it was fill in the blank. We used post-it notes and labeled the models and then took pictures. We studied pictures with and without the post-it notes with the answers. That way we were studying from the models that we were being tested with. We went around to stations, got about a minute at the station and had to move on and that was the exam (didn't get to go back to any stations).
Yep that was our lab tests also. 1.5 minutes at each station, no going back, and fill in the blank. We had boxes of plastic bones to take home and study though. The hardest part for me was having to say if it was right or left. Luckily we could pick up the bones and hold them up to us. If you think the bones are hard, wait till you get to the cats and identifying the muscles, arteries, and veins!! That was awesomely hard! I have a website to study them though should anyone need it.
There is a helpful app called "body atlas" that allows you to click on a virtual skeleton to see the info for each bone/muscle/organ system. It was a very convenient way for me to study. I also stayed after class to quiz myself on the bones until I could get it right every time. The bones are important to learn for a multitude of reasons, one being muscle attachment (which will most likely be your next lecture).
I know it feels like a lot of information to memorize, and it is. So don't memorize it all at once. One day, focus on learning the skull, the next day focus on the limbs, etc. Do not overwhelm yourself. For my test, my anatomy teacher laid the bones of a disassembled skeleton around the room, and each student had to go through them all and name the bone and most of the features on the bones. It isn't unreasonable for your teacher to give you multiple choice tests over this because, as others have said, this information is the foundation upon which you will build your nursing knowledge. Don't blame the teacher. Don't blame the tests. Look at yourself and analyze what you are doing and how you can improve.
) with what you're learning. When you're interested, you understand better. And when you understand, you retain the facts, parts, etc. 
SleeepyRN
1,076 Posts
Besides recording lectures, I scribbled notes in class, then once home, I wrote them out again much more neatly. Just the act of doing that was a form of studying
I also read my A&P book very in depth. When I learned the krebs cycle for example, I learned it piece by piece fully understand what I was reading. NOT just memorizing. You must READ READ READ. Unfortunately, our teacher did a disservice to many pre-nursing students. His tests were completely based on his notes that you just had to memorize. Those students struggled a great deal in the actual nursing program, because A&P is the foundation for everything.