Is A&P 1 the most difficult class in nursing?

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Hello all! I read an article a while back about how the hardest class throughout the nursing track is A&P 1. My teacher is the one who I got the article from, and he said he agreed with it. He said that if you can get an A in his class, the rest is a breeze (relatively speaking of course). So I'm wondering what your opinions are on the matter. I am currently a freshman just starting on my nursing track and would really appreciate some input! Thanks a bunch :)

Specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

definitely not

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Specializes in CVICU.

I feel like Chemistry was the hardest prereq course for me, but none of the prereqs can touch nursing school in terms of difficulty. Nursing material isn't even really "hard" to grasp, it's just a lot to take in.

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I'll just toss out there the idea that A&P (both semesters) are the most important of your pre-reqs. Learning that material WELL will be a big advantage to you. At the very least, in your nursing classes they will ASSUME that you already know that material and are familiar with the proper terms for everything.

Study hard, and you'll do fine, I'm sure. And check out Marian Diamond's A&P lectures on youtube. She's fantastic.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

I suppose my answer goes against the general grain of other respondents, but I found the A&P courses quite challenging. In fact, I felt A&P was harder than the nursing courses.

On the other hand, the actual nursing coursework was not that difficult to me.

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Specializes in Acute Care, CM, School Nursing.

IMO, no way was A&P the most difficult. I think microbiology and pharmacology were much worse. And that's not even getting into the actual nursing classes... *shudder*

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I got straight A's in my prerequisites...had a 4.0 actually. Then nursing school happened :) I'm still a decent student, but A's are very rare, B's make me jump for joy, and C's I'm completely OK with. Not only do I think the content is harder, but the time to actually read the enormous amount of chapters assigned, do homework, study, go to clinical, complete clinical paperwork and still have time to eat and sleep is the hardest part IMO :) Time management is a must during the nursing program!

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Trauma.

For me, A&P was definitely when I learned a new way to study and approach information, but it was nowhere near the hardest. At the time, it was the hardest class I had ever taken. However, now that I've been in the actual nursing program since January, I see that no prerequisite was quite as difficult as nursing classes simply because they're completely different types of classes.

It is definitely good that A&P is easy for you, but don't assume that this means nursing school will be a breeze for you. I know from personal experience with myself and other classmates that how you do in pre-reqs is not a good indicator of how you will do in nursing classes.

Best of luck to you! (:

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I had an Advanced A&P class that was both 1 and 2 in one semester. And is it cakewalk to Nursing School. I get A's and A-'s in nursing school but the sheer amount of work and taking tests in NCLEX style (which is where you are basically given 3 right and 1 wrong answers and you have to pick the BEST right answer) is exhausting and overwhelming at times.

So would I recommend someone who has trouble with A&P go to nursing school? In a word, No.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Haha not even close. A&P I was one of the easiest of the prereq classes. If you think that's hard wait til you get to patho and pharm. BTW, the people who are failing exams in these classes are the ones who are weak in their A&P knowledge. So make sure you really learn it while you're taking those!

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Specializes in Hospice / Psych / RNAC.

It all depends on the teacher. With my prerequisites, nutrition was insane. Started with 42 in the class and only 14 left standing when the smoke cleared.

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Specializes in LTC.

Personally, I think microbiology has been the hardest pre req. A&P is really easy to me but micro is rough. However, like many of the pp have stated, nursing school is definitely harder than all the pre reqs.

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No. No it is not.

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