I need some advice on A&P!

TitusNoir · May 26, 2015

The first thing you need to check is whether the nursing program you are applying to will accept an online science and lab. Many programs do not.

My program does accept online labs, however since science is the core of what we are learning I did not feel comfortable with the independent learning required with online learning. The sciences are literally the only classes I'm doing in person.

Hope it works out for you.

mkat123 · May 26, 2015

OH, that's what I forgot to mention. Yes, my nursing program accepts online A&P lecture and lab. I feel as though online would be more challenging but I'm just nervous for this on-campus professor.

mirandaaa · May 26, 2015

I took A&P II online last semester. It wasn't bad, actually. It takes a bit more study time than an on campus course, but it is doable. They also sent a fetal pig, heart, and kidney along with dissection equipment that I was required to do at home.

StarvingRtist · May 26, 2015

Based on what you're telling us, I'd say you should take it online. Having a better rating professor is so much more important than the class setting.

Just make sure you lock yourself in the room and study all the time. The entire A&P I & II in the summer is intense as hell. Forget that you have a life or friends, you have to bury yourself with the books this summer.

TitusNoir · May 26, 2015

I took A&P II online last semester. It wasn't bad, actually. It takes a bit more study time than an on campus course, but it is doable. They also sent a fetal pig, heart, and kidney along with dissection equipment that I was required to do at home.

Wow that sounds interesting!! What school was that??

Also, OP, you probably want to remove your real name from your username and your picture from your icon. Never know who is out there that might see what we post here.

Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM · May 26, 2015

I'm going to be honest with you...take the campus course.

I had so many questions in class I could not imagine taking something that complex online.

A&P is no joke. I did the same thing...I took both during the summer and even though my summer was flushed down the toilet (I am not kidding, sleep became an interruption in my day), it was brutal, I managed an A in both courses.

I would make the investment and do the CC.

kaschu66 · May 26, 2015

Before going with the online course based on the good reviews, I'd double-check and see if those reviews apply to online or in-person classes. I've taken classes for a professor based off reviews, but sometimes how a professor handles an online class is very different from how they'll handle an in-person class.

I'd also consider if your plan is to get your ADN, or if you're thinking of going on to get your BSN at any point. An RN to BSN program that I was looking at only accepts in-person labs, even if your ADN program took online labs. If your plan is ADN, though, that might not be an issue.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · May 26, 2015

Gotta say that ratemyprofessor isn't exactly evidence-based practice material. When you consider that it's well-demonstrated that people who want to complain are four times as likely to do so as people who want to give positive feedback, and complainers tell an average of 25 people their beef while noncomplainers share their experiences an average of five times, well, you can do the math and pretty much discount about 80% of the "bad" reviews.

Sometimes an online course gets great reviews because it's easy...because the professor doesn't expect so much of the learners. Then when those same learners come up against someone who had a tougher professor that insisted upon actual learning, they lose. Then who had the better professor?

I am personally acquainted with a professor who demands a lot from her students, mostly first-year college kids. They whine about her on RMP because they think she should be teaching them, as opposed to making it so they have to do work on their own. They don't want to "teach themselves," but research in the field shows that students who do experiential learning in it retain the material far better and go on to do well in subsequent classes in that major. The complainers are still in high school mode. Her A and B students are earning their grades and going on to do very well in higher-level courses in the department. So ... does she rate a low RMP "grade" or a high one?

Campfire · May 26, 2015

Will your school accept A & P from 2 different schools? Do they follow the same body systems in each semester? My school stIpulates that they must both be from the same school.

I would definitely take A&P in a classroom setting.

MKIVSupraRN · Jun 1, 2015

Why are all the so cal girls on this forum so cute compared to the girls in my area. I think I need to move....

GageMicheal · Jun 3, 2015

Hey there! I know what you are going through and I want to tell you to defiantly take anatomy and physiology in class because it is a really tough and intensive course. I know you said that the professor teaching the face to face class has really bad ratings ,but some students tend to overreact and give poor ratings just because they thought the class was hard or the teacher didn't give them a good enough grade. We have a teacher at the college I attend who teaches a&p as well and everyone says that he is hard and makes you look for the answers yourself, in some ways that is rough but in other ways it's very beneficial because as a nurse you don't just get things handed to you, you have to dig deep to find out answers to your problems. I hope everything works out for you and good luck in everything you do!