Pre-Nursing student, A&P2, and discouragement

[Hannah10]

Hello! I have not posted on here in a very long time. I have been accepted to Nursing school for the Fall semester of 2019. I’m ecstatic! I still have to take my TEAS exam and successfully pass though.

I have taken A&P1 and passed with a B+ and currently am taking A&P2.

I usually am not one to complain, but my professor is not organized and his teaching is very confusing. I am so thankful for passing 1, but I am afraid that I will not retain as much as I need. And as for 2, I am having a very hard time with grasping the information. He decided to do a “flipped classroom approach” for the endocrine system and special senses chapter at the beginning of the semester. This is where you are doing lectures at home with videos and learning the material before class . We then would go over questions in class. It was terrible. I still don’t feel I have a grasp on the endocrine system and some of the senses.

My main reason for writing this is because I am extremely discouraged. It’s a dream I even was accepted and I am feeling very underprepared from this class.

Is it common for people to struggle in anatomy and possibly but still pass and then make it to nursing school and do well?

As for the body systems...I am afraid I am not comprehending in depth how the heart really works. I have been watching people on YouTube and I grasp it better when they explain things then when I get his lectures and hear him teach.

Needless to say, I have a feeling I will pass A&P2 and move forward. Just wondering how it will affect me in the long run considering I did not have a good professor and am really putting in the time and effort. I don’t want to be clueless in nursing school or struggle badly.

i would love to hear from Nurses, students or anyone who wants to offer any advice on anatomy and physiology and what it’s really like in nursing school.

Thank you so much!

[Mergirlc, MSN, APRN, NP]

I'm a bit dumbfounded as to how you get accepted into a nursing school without having a TEAS score already submitted and while still in the process of taking A&P2! Wow! I know some programs for people who already earned a bachelor's degree don't always require a TEAS or HESI, but this is amazing. Are you enrolling a private school?

I can totally see what your professor is doing and there's a reason behind this. It's been my experience (as an older student who had to take these classes amongst younger students) professors do this because they are tired of lecturing in front of a class of students who choose to sit there and Facebook, text, Snapchat all through class and not listen to lecture or take notes. Then they get together during lab time and copy each other from an assignment handed to them from the previous semester's class so they can all leave early. Oh yes, unfortunately this seems to be the norm -- at least at the community college level.

What your professor has decided is to force you to have to watch the lecture on your own, write down all the questions you have and ask them in class. You stated in your post: " I still don’t feel I have a grasp on the endocrine system and some of the senses." If this is the case, then you have to take it upon yourself and ask the questions in class. Trust me, 98% of the time, the other people have the same question(s) and are too afraid to ask because they feel they look dumb. You are not dumb for asking questions. That is why the professor is there and getting paid. They want you to ask questions.

In my Microbiology class, I was the only one asking questions for the first 2 months. I noticed the majority of the time I asked a question and the professor answered, more than 1/2 the class was jotting down the explanation. Why didn't they ask it? Who knows, but apparently they had the same question I did and just wanted to sit there and wonder about it.

Trust me, if the professor thinks the questions you are asking are more because you need extra help, they will tell you to please see them after class or before class and they'll help. If he/she thinks it's stuff most people are hung up on, he/she will go over it. I find that sometimes one question will open up the ear of somebody else in the class and then you will get more information and that helps.

Good luck! Ask questions and don't feel shy! You are there to learn and the way to learn is to ask questions.

[sunshineee]

totally agree with Mergirlc! Ask questions!! I was that student that sat in front and asked questions and when I didn't understand something the teacher could tell and asked me if I understood or if I wanted her to repeat something. I was also an older student (10 years older at least). Sometimes the teacher would laugh at me when I asked very basic questions (a lot of students didn't like her and were scared to ask questions), but I didn't care because i'd rather ask it now then answer wrong on an exam. My goal was to get a good grade and by the end of the semester I think the teacher actually liked me because she knew I was trying hard. I ended up getting an A, which she only gave a few.

[Erobles1103]

Hi there!

I understand where you are coming from. I barely passed A&P I with a C! And I mean barely! Find different and more effective ways to study. I like to study by using a white board, writing out notes, quizlet/flashcards, teaching other people and watching videos. WIshing you well. ?

Erica Robles

[Ifi]

Check out crash course for a basic overview. It could help you understand the more basic concepts to help you ask questions about the more complex ones.