I will be starting nursing school in less than a week and I've just realized how much of the information learned during my A&P prerequisites I have forgotten. I took my a&P classes almost a year ago.
Is this normal?
I feel like now I'm gonna have to study even more than anybody else because I've forgotten so much about Anatomy and Physiology.
What can I do? I feel so clueless reading through the book. I do remember learning about it but I don't remember the details .
For example, this is how my reading on the respiratory system went:
I forgot what surfactant was for, I forgot the name of some of the parts of the upper respiratory system, I forgot the function of the epiglottis, I forgot how many lobules each lung has, I forgot what pulmonary ventilation, respiration, perfusion were.
It's completely normal to forget some things you learned, but forgetting things such as # of lung lobes and function of epiglottis is pretty scary because they are so basic and uncomplicated. Like another poster said, there's usually a review section on A&P in every chapter. Read and study it.
There's no point in trying to shoot the messenger. Just think of me as Lady Violet, without the excellent diction and jewelry. She may have forgotten more than Lady Mary will ever know, she does her best to get her points across in ways that startle but are generally unforgettable, and there's never any doubt where she stands. And she will probably be that way until she dies.
Now, back to physiology and anatomy. Because it's critical to what we do. :)
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone in this forum for their support and responses. I seriously love this place b.c it has always been able to guide me through my pre-reqs and I'm hoping it will do the same during the nursing program.
Second, for the people who have asked me about the class I will be taking, it's called Nursing 110.
This is what the class will look like:
SEQUENCE OF TOPICS:
I. Circulation across the Lifespan
A. Assessment of Circulation across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Circulation across the Lifespan
II. Oxygenation across the Lifespan
A. Assessment of Oxygenation across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Oxygenation across the Lifespan
III. Promoting Wellness through the Life Span
A. Application of Growth & Development
B. Immunizations
C. Morbidity & Mortality
IV. Safety
A. Assessment Related To Asepsis and Protection from Injury across the
Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Asepsis and Protection from Injury across the
Lifespan
D. Pharmacology
1. Principles of Pharmacology
2. Nursing Process with Medication Administration
3. Introduction to Drug Classifications
V. Activity
A. Assessment of Activity across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Activity across the Lifespan
VI. Regulation/Sensation
A. Assessment of Regulation and Sensation across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Regulation and Sensation across the Lifespan
VII. Rest and Sleep
A. Assessment of Rest and Sleep Patterns across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Rest and Sleep Across the Lifespan
VIII. Roles of the Nurse
A. Nursing Process With Documentation And Reporting
B. Confidentiality
C. Legal/Ethical Implications
IX. Nutrition
A. Assessment of Nutrition across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Nutrition across the Lifespan
X. Elimination
A. Assessment of Bowel and Urinary Elimination across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Bowel and Urinary Elimination across the
Lifespan
XI. Fluid and Electrolytes
A. Assessment of Fluid and Electrolytes across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Fluid and Electrolytes across the Lifespan
XII. Skin Integrity: Bathing and Wound Care
A. Assessment of Skin and Tissue Integrity/Hygiene across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Skin and Tissue Integrity/Hygiene across the
Lifespan
XIII. Human Sexuality
A. Assessment of Sexuality across the Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Sexuality across the Lifespan
XIV. Sensory/Perception/Mental Health Needs
A. Assessment of Sensory, Perception and Mental Health Needs Across The
Lifespan
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions That Promote Sensory, Perception and Mental Health across
the Lifespan
XV. Physical Assessment across the Lifespan
A. Methods of Assessment Including Cultural Variations
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Documentation of Assessment Data
XVI. Social, Cultural, Ethnic
A. Cultural Assessment
B. Nursing Process with Introduction To Nursing Diagnoses
XVII. Death and Dying
A. Assessment of the Physical and Emotional Needs of the Dying and Family
B. Nursing Process with Introduction to Nursing Diagnoses
C. Interventions to Assist With Meeting the Physical and Emotional Needs of
No, it's not normal. Nursing school isn't like what your high school buds are doing as English majors. You don't just take the course, pass the test, sell the book, and move on. You will be held responsible for having a good working knowledge of everything you learned in past semesters, and for applying it at increasing levels of complexity as you move through your major.
What should you do now? You should learn the anatomy of the respiratory system, what an epiglottis is for, how many lobes the lungs have, and the concepts of ventilation, respiration, and perfusion. You bet you'll have to study even more than the people who realized that prerequisites in nursing school are called preREQUISITES for a reason. You will use every single one of those things every day in nursing.
Get to work, or risk falling behind so fast you won't be able to recover. If Khan isn't enough, get the Anatomy Coloring Book and the Physiology Coloring Book at Amazon. They are real books, not jokes or dumbed-down pap, and will save your bacon for the rest of your time in school.
After reading through the texbook, I definitely feel like a lot of the material is coming back to me. I also seem to be able to memorize or "relearn" things I have forgotten at a faster rate.
My only fear now is that I don't know how to go about studying for this class. It's just so much material. for instance, there are so many reasons why a person might suffer from altered respiratoy functions. On top of that, one must remember what to do in each case, what not to do in each case, what medications do and how they work and their side effects. And I feel like that's only a small section from all the reading material we were given. How do I go about studying things like these? I just feel like it's gonna be impossible to memorize and remember all that stuff.
There are so many breath sounds and each makes a specific sound. How am I gonna remember all that? the chapter on Oxygenation is almost 40 pages long. I'm so overwhelmed. I'm reading it and trying to understand it, and I probably do understand what they are saying but how am I gonna remember so much? The worst part is that we were given 2 chapters and a half to read and I just can't comprehend how am I gonna remember all the new vocabulary, new medications, the physical assessments, the procedures, the names of the tests, the places where we have to palpate and auscultate. ..it's so much.
Thanks for your comment. I'm definitely starting to remember more now. Even relearning old terms has proven to be easier than when I learned it. Now I'm just so overwhelmed by the information in the texbook. We have this entire chapter on Oxygenation and it's kind of overwhelming. There is so much to know . I eriously don't know how I'm gonna do this..
It's completely normal to forget some things you learned, but forgetting things such as # of lung lobes and function of epiglottis is pretty scary because they are so basic and uncomplicated. Like another poster said, there's usually a review section on A&P in every chapter. Read and study it.
I haven't read on the epiglottis yet, but I feel like I might have an idea of its function. Isn't the function of the epiglottis to prevent food from going down the airways (trachea)? Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Somebody asked a question in another thread, what do you wish you would have been told before entering nursing school? My answer there applies here as well:'
You will feel like you haven't learned a thing, you will feel like like you've forgotten everything you have learned, you will feel downright stupid some days. You will also find later in your course work that those seemingly random facts you have covered are indeed very connected. Things you think you don't know are in your head and it will come back to you as you apply it in more advanced topics and those seemingly random unconnected things will make sense.
Is some review in order? Of course! Don't however make the mistake of trying to memorize the entire A & P text but do know the basics [like how many lobes are in the lungs]. Brush up on the basics and the more advanced material will fall into place e little easier.
Thank you for this!
It seems like this is exactly what my train is thought has forced me to believe. The only problem, and this is what worrying me, is the fact that I don't know what details will be significant. I don't know what is important right now. I feel like I'm over worrying about a&P and I'm now more concerned with the new material I'm supposed to learn. After reading that huge textbook, I'm definitely feeling a little overwhelmed. The worst part is that it seems like I'm not only gonna have to learn about adults, I have to learn about children, old people, teenagers. Every condition seems to affect everyone so differently, sometimes. The possible effects that a disease could have on a child are different than those it could have on the elderly. It's so much to memorize and remember. The way you examine a child is so different than an adult. The way you provide meds or take their temperature or blood pressure is different. Do you know what I mean?
It seems like this is exactly what my train is thought has forced me to believe. The only problem, and this is what worrying me, is the fact that I don't know what details will be significant. I don't know what is important right now. I feel like I'm over worrying about a&P and I'm now more concerned with the new material I'm supposed to learn. After reading that huge textbook, I'm definitely feeling a little overwhelmed. The worst part is that it seems like I'm not only gonna have to learn about adults, I have to learn about children, old people, teenagers. Every condition seems to affect everyone so differently, sometimes. The possible effects that a disease could have on a child are different than those it could have on the elderly. It's so much to memorize and remember. The way you examine a child is so different than an adult. The way you provide meds or take their temperature or blood pressure is different. Do you know what I mean?
The bad news..yes, it seems overwhelming! The good news...it's really not. This is a good case in point why mastering A & P is important. The body may change from birth to death, but the parts are the same. Memorizing every change through each part of the life cycle is not only impractical, it's impossible unless you are blessed with an eidetic memory! This is when your critical thinking skills will start to emerge. Take what you know and apply it to different scenarios, think about what is the same and what is different and how those differences might impact care. This by the way is not just in school, you will use that skill throughout your nursing career. After all, learning doesn't stop when school is done...we as nurses are always learning new things!
Then explain to me why it wasn't important to take the 10 seconds to learn it the first time? Are they going to forget it again? I'm not a frazzled person at all. It just annoys the crap out of me in class when we are constantly going over stuff people should already know. And yes, my instructors have said several times brush up on your A&P. But people don't know the basic concepts. In my opinion, it's more important than advanced physics. When you are in charge of lives, knowing the info is kind of important.
I don't need a chill pill. Are we still in the 80's here? I think I used that phrase in the 5th or 6th grade. I used to say it to my mom. lol. My and GrnTea's whole point is if you don't take A&P seriously enough to learn it, which is your whole foundation for nursing school, then how are you going to take nursing school seriously enough to pass it.
I see tons and tons of people in here and in my classes complaining that they are failing. They don't understand the rigors of school and then complain how unfair life is and it's the school and instructors fault for everything. Not ever taking responsibility for themselves and their study habits. I have to listen complain that the tests aren't fair and the questions are too hard and how are they expected to know this stuff. It got so bad in Med/Surg I last semester that the instructors won't take any more questions this semester. Our instructor said the first day to forget about asking any questions about tests, emails only and people need to have rationales ready and such. Which is the way it should have been last semester. I know though sometimes it is hard on the instructor when you have 10 people coming at you at once. So that is my soapbox. Sitting here explaining the importance of A&P to a new student is good so they don't fail out the first semester. I feel giving a little tough love is way better than coddling.
LMAO the 80s? Do you feel better now buttercup? Good girl!
This is an old post but I want to say thank you for posting this..pre nursing student here. Starting A&P in Jan 2018. I will need to wait a year before I can apply for the nursing program after my A&P courses and then another half a year IF (when, high hopes) until I actually start the program. I just started to realize there will be a huge gap inbetween so I thought I should start planning for this now. Which brought me to this post here. My initial thoughts to your first comment was, oh great, I'm not going to make it, I quickly started thinking if I start nclex questions after I take my teas test I will stay refreshed. THIS kind of thinking is what nurses need to have, I believe was what you are trying to get across. It worked for me, and also the reminder that when people are hard on me, I need to remind myself that they see something in me that I don't yet realize. I say this because I've read posts on vetren nurses being really tough on rookie nurses. Anyways, this hit a good spot for me and I just wanted to say thank you for making me think! 💪ðŸ¼
umbdude, MSN, APRN
1,228 Posts
It's completely normal to forget some things you learned, but forgetting things such as # of lung lobes and function of epiglottis is pretty scary because they are so basic and uncomplicated. Like another poster said, there's usually a review section on A&P in every chapter. Read and study it.