Please! Please! Help me! I'm overwhelmed! Prerequisites

Sammygrll · Jun 22, 2007

I was just searching about Anat and Phys..and came across this GREAT old thread!

I jus read it and it's SOOO helpfu! Great study tips!! So i'm bringing it back.... hope you all don't mind! :)

RNBSNGRADUATE · Jun 22, 2007

Hey April --

I think you should try the suggestions and figure out what works for you! I've found that SO much is individualized. As a matter of fact, I've never been too good @ studying in groups b/c everyone has their own little "way" about them.

Something someone suggested to me ages ago--sounds simple & silly even maybe--BUT, to my surprise it has worked...been doing it for years.....

I use yellow legal paper to take notes on. My friend suggested I use red ink pens -- as an eye catcher. It works:) I use blue too, but red is great!

Also, I'm a HUGE advocate of note (index) cards. Again, lol, I don't just use plain white (though it's fine if it works for you) -- I use the flourescent ones:) Really works for my memory.

Does your text have a CD or workbook to come along w/it? It has been my experience that those are good study aids and sometimes test questions come word for word from them.

I've never used one--but I hear the _______ "For Dummies" or "Idiots Guide to _____" are really good! Maybe there's A & P for Dummies? Please don't take offense to that!!!

Everyone has their way of doing things, good luck in finding yours! I wish you the absolute best!

medifacts · Jun 22, 2007

This is my first semester in college and I am taking English 101, Anatomy & Physiology I, Anatomy & Physiology Lab,
and Psychology. English and Psychology is not hard, but A&P is killing me.
I would appreciate any tips or techniques on how to study and prepare for the midterm,quiz,and finals.
Any tips on how to study?
Where to study?
How many hours a day?
I am also having problems memorizing some of things in the chapters I've read. Do u know by personal experience if the professors are expecting u to remember everything from each chapter for the tests?
I'm not great in science but, I know I can do this!
I'm willing to sacrifice my time, because I want to earn good grades at the end of the semester! Tell me any of your personal way of studying that works for you or any techniques you know of please!!
Thank You So Much!!! :)

Hello! My name is Micki and I am a retired geriatric nurse practitioner with a long history of teaching. I now just write textbooks and study guides. I want you to know that I have been there and done that, and you will do just fine. You can email me 24/7 with any study problems you may be having or help in any subject and I will get back to you right away. I am up early and stay up late (comes from long hours as a Director of Nursing). I offer myself to you and any other students reading this. I do this because I want to see the new nurses get off on the right foot - my priviledge and my pleasure to do this - no charge, just your commitment to being the best you can be.

firstaiddave907 · Jun 22, 2007

wow these are some great ideas and i rember the saying from A&P that real nice RN said. im in a medical assistant program at bryant stratton college and il be getting my assocates degree but they never had a lab for A&P 1 and 2 is this normal?

medifacts · Jun 22, 2007

wow these are some great ideas and i rember the saying from A&P that real nice RN said. im in a medical assistant program at bryant stratton college and il be getting my assocates degree but they never had a lab for A&P 1 and 2 is this normal?

OK, firstaiddave, first, I have never heard of an accredited college/univ A&P course without a lab of some sort. Now, I may be old (that is a given) and maybe things are done very differently these days, but........I think you gotta check it out.

RNMeg · Jun 23, 2007

I like this mnemonic for the cranial nerves because it gives you the first couple letters of each nerve, and it's in order:

OLd

OPie

OCcasionally

TRies

TRIGonometry

And

Feels

VEry

GLOomy

VAGue

And

HYPOactive

JeepDudeRN · Jun 26, 2007

Hi! I just finished A&P 2, and now Im on to Fundamentals. I survived by flash cards. Make them your best friend. Also, most books these days have companion websites that have really useful tips. There is also a sticky here with excellent A&P sites that really helps. I can tell you though, A&P is very time consuming. Try asking your instructor what exactly you should concentrate on ( lecture or straight from the book, or a little of both). Good Luck!

MB37 · Jun 26, 2007

I go to a major accredited public university. and while we had "labs," with A&P, they were online and consisted of printing out diagrams and memorizing names of body parts. Most people made a 100 on every one, so they were a joke. We have a 95%+ NCLEX pass rate though, so I guess it doesn't hurt us. As far as study tips, this is a class where flashcards will save your life. There is a ton of memorization, so it helps to break it up into small chunks that fit on a 3x5. Don't waste your money buying flashcards, since making them is essentially rewriting your notes and helps you to learn. I always read before lecture, took good notes (I never used the provided powerpoints - ours were often confusing/full of typos), then took notes in my own words on the chapter, and then consolidated all than onto flahscards. Before I started studying the cards, I'd gone over the material 4 times and knew most of it, so then I could pull out cards to focus on as necessary. For where to study, that's individual - I need to have one distraction, so I do better at a coffee shop or with non-riveting TV in the background than at a silent library, but a lot of people are the opposite.

*Blessed2BaNRS* · Jun 27, 2007

Sweet_april,

Like others are saying, make use of flashcards. I am such a visual learner that I have to rewrite everything anyway. I also would go to some other anatomy sites and find pictures of what we were studying, so I could get a different perspective of the various parts of the body. I have many of these links on my own website that I made (address is down below my signature) simply so others could utilize them and hopefully get the same help. From what I have read and heard, you will need to learn how to make and use flashcards for nursing school anyway.

I took at least 4 classes each semester, and I worked full time for 2 semesters, have 4 children and a hubby, and still pulled A's and B's, simply because I did use flashcards. If you plan on going to nursing school, you need to realize that you will be taking much more than just English, Psych and A&P. You will be having tons of info given to you each day that you will need to know for the next day, on top of going to clinicals. It sounds daunting right now, but if you can learn now to study correctly by the time you enter NS, you will have no problem.

Good luck and try some of the tips and tricks that others have posted on here. I hope that you can find a balance and be able to do well in A&P~

Liebchen · Jun 28, 2007

Wow, that is a lot all at one time.

I have to agree with the posters above. Keep your study periods short, and take breaks often.

I usually studied for 45 minutes and then took a 15 minute break.

On test days, I never studied. I read a study one time that you should never study the day of the test. So I don't.

I do eat peppermint when I study, and our professors give mints during test.

I also (ask permission) recorded the A&P lectures. I listened to these lectures over and over again. You would be surprised how much you remember from hearing it again and again.

If you are not permitted to record the lecture, take good notes, and either record your notes, or have a friend record them for you.

I make sure I am not hungry and have nothing else to think about when I study. I always have my favorite relaxing music playing lightly in the background. The same study I read about for the test day study, said that this works the different parts of your brain or something, so I just always do that.

I found that in addition to the text book, sometimes the internet explained things in simpler terms. Many times, I got on sites meant for kids, so that I could understand better. I have just recently passed first quarter and know that overwhelmed feeling. You can do it.

Good-Luck...

gt4everpn, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2007

ah yes, the horror of the ''prereq's'', ain't they a bother. well i am too a first yr college student, starting my sophmore yr in oh well about 2 months. my program requires 65 credits 2 yrs (prereqs) before you start the nrsg phase! ok, seemed like no problem, but!!!

1. my advisor gave me a small amount of classes my 1st semester- bad move! = more classes to finish in less time!

2. she recommended no summer classes- ''um hello, i wanna finish on time''

3. she wanted to give me 4 class(13 credits) also a small load, instead of 5 classes(16 credits) i had to fight just to let her give me 16 creds instead of 13 so i can start the nrsg program on time and finish in 4yrs!!!

i know this probably has nothing to do with the op, but make sure you get all your credits in, in a timely manner, i know its daunting, but take your time, study slow and give yourself small breaks in between and definitely don't take your advisors word as the last!!!

ZooMommyRN, ADN, RN · Jun 29, 2007

If you have a laptop and can type at the speed of sound, take it with you!! My friend has the laptop and as she puts it, I type like a cheeta on crack lmao we preload the power points in outline format and I type what the instructor says for each slide, it also helps me alot as I have noticed I remember alot more first time through when reviewing, I hope to get my own but untill then she's more than happy to provide the laptop, after lecture we all print them out and go over what I typed with what they wrote down and highlighted incase something was missed, once in a while the instructor will start talking like mad and I get a tad behind so it's a good way for all of us to review as well. ~almost forgot, get the coloring book for A&P from you local bookstore and a big pack of colored pencils, this helped tremendously in learning all the muscles!