Failed anatomy and physiology course...questioning my choices

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Dec 20, 2012

Encourage your parents to go to nursing school - :yes: since they think it is such a great career path. LOL.

PPs have all provided you with excellent advice. I do agree that 'everybody' should know how their bodies work - so A&P is great knowledge to have; like a 'users manual' for humans, right? But for heaven's sake, don't beat yourself up because it just isn't your thing. Just be aware, that pretty much all of your future nursing clinical classes will also involve A&P - so if you hate it now, it's not going to get any better from here on out.

shamrokks, ADN, ASN, RN · Dec 20, 2012

It is not the end of the world. My GPA is not up to par with alot of others that I see applying to an RN program. I work full time and I'm a single mom of 2 children. Fortunately this past year I've had a wonderful boyfriend who is a huge help now but he has not always been there. My parents are a great support system. Even with all of them behind me my average is more B/C. It's rough juggling everything, especially when you're tired and you're falling asleep while trying to study. But I tell you what, I just got accepted into a LPN to RN bridge program today. Life is not over after one bad grade. I will get my RN while working my full time job as a LPN. Strive for what you want. If you don't want it bad enough for yourself then you will not get it. Best of luck in whatever you choose to do in life. It's yours and you're the only one who can live it.

dsh0012 · Dec 21, 2012

Thanks for the responses everyone!!

I am willing to retake the class if I am able to, but I'm worried about how that one failing grade looks to the schools when I apply. :/

eauzirus · Dec 21, 2012

You know whats crazy is I meet a girl in your same sitution this semester and she just ook the class over and aced it because nursing is something she wants to do. I know for my school there defintly going to see u failed it but just make sure u ACE that class thats a great way to redem yourself.Also in the essays u have to write you could include somethings about that struggle. Lastly I notice ur pareents suggested this field and my quesation is do u really want to become a nurse liek REALLY??? oo and dont compare urself to other students I thoug I was the best cuz my gpa then bam found out theres others who have the same if not higher ones then mines the goal is to stay confident in yourself and hope for the best really.

ps didnt read the other comments so idk if u answered my question in those

msnursecp · Dec 21, 2012

If nursing is what you really want, then don't give up. I started to tear up because I was in your exact position. I am also a sophomore in college. My freshman year I attend a university and lived on campus (which was bad because parties and yeah you get the point) A&P require alot of attention. I fail with a D! I cried and started to second guess myself too. I transfer to a community college to be closer to home. I retook it and got a B in lecture and and A in lab. I am soo HAPPY! So don't give up! I 'm about to take A&p 2 in the spring.Most schools allow you to retake classes. And also remember that you can always applied to many nursing schools around you not just the one your at! Good luck

FutureNurseShammy · Dec 21, 2012

just retake the class over the summer or during the school year. recognize your mistakes and challenges & next time around you'll do fine.. Also have faith & pray. that always helps me when I'm struggling with a class/course and my prayers are ALWAYS answered.

Sent from my iPhone

meeep, BSN, RN · Dec 21, 2012

Also, a lot of schools will replace the failing grade with the retake, so schools might not ever see you failed it. However, some schools do not do this, and average the two grades instead. Different nursing programs also have different policies on retakes. Some schools will only allow one retake, etc. It is in your best interest to determine what your current school's (as well as any nursing schools you are interested in applying to) policy is on retakes. Best of luck!

CDEWannaBe · Dec 21, 2012

I wouldn't retake the class until you're sure nursing is something you want to pursue.

Get some books on Myers Briggs personality types and take the test & learn about your strengths and weaknesses. Then consider career options that play to your strengths. Have you had jobs that you felt really great at? What was it that you liked about those jobs and can it translate into a career?

Most people do not work in the field in which they get their degree. And a lot of parents are off base in recommending either nursing or law or pharmacy as a guaranteed secure job. Because of that misbelief, there is a glut of graduates in each of those areas and job prospects aren't great in a lot of areas. It's better to find something you are good at, or that you can do fairly happily, that pays the bills.

olivia60 · Dec 15, 2013

My A&P instructor flat out ignored me, interrupted me, and told me I would never get accepted in any nursing program anywhere. In the first 6 weeks of class, he gave a fill in the blanks test on the names of every single bone in the body. I barely had time to breath in his class much less know that by the sixth week. So I thought it best to withdraw. I am wondering if the classes are too hard for me. I am not sure, I received an A in A&P some 30 years ago. I went on my computer the day I decided to withdraw and saw an email by him to all of the students, excluding me of course, that the skeletal system test was now only worth 20 not 150 points. This just left me so depressed. I am trying to snap out of it, but I haven't been able to. I don't want to do any other profession, but I guess I need to get over it and find a new career.

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2013

My advice....well first off you can say you have good study habits, but it did not work. So..the option is 1. quit. 2. study harder/change your ways. Is nursing competitive? Yes. Why..because if it was easy everyone would do it. Embrace the challenge or quit. No one is going to just hand you a nursing license. What you did obviously did not work. So now it is up to you to decide what you are going to do. No one else can make that decision. For me..when I was doing my ABSN I loved it when it was intense. Embrace it and hit it hard. Totally 100% up to you. No decision is right or wrong..just whatever you decide and then that is it. It is ok if you decide not to...nothing wrong with that at all. Just remember when you are old I highly doubt you will be upset for going for it..but if you don't you may look back and regret. Who knows?

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Dec 15, 2013

Good day:

OP, rather than going on what your parents think is a good field, what are your thoughts as to what you want to do? Have you thought about job shadowing where you spend a portion of a day (sometimes a whole day) with a person doing a job you think you might like?

If it is nursing -- or anything else -- there's a difference between studying hard and studying smart, working harder and working smarter as well as overall good study habits and study habits that actually work for a given topic or a section of a topic. To say good study habits and the end result is failure, then something is amiss. Maybe the overall study habits are good, but the topic or topic section habits are bad, or there was a complete problem with the course / topic (i.e. the majority were in the same neck of the woods grade average wise).

I just finished Anatomy and Physiology I this past fall semester. My study habits for this course was different than my other courses; and I had to change up how I studied for each lab. I.e. I studied a given way for the skeletal system compared to the muscles compared to our last lab which was a mix of cardiovascular (including the heart anatomy and circulation), respiratory system, and integumentary system. Had I used to "same" study habits for each lab area, I would have gotten very mixed results trending towards the poor side.

Also ,the moment you take any quiz or exam and get a grade lower than expected, that is when to seek help -- tutoring, learning center, professor for the course, etc.

OP, if nursing is for you, then don't give up... if you are not sure what to do, then work on gen eds, job shadow, etc.

Thank you.

Irish_Mist, BSN, RN · Dec 16, 2013

dsh0012 said:
I'm currently a sophomore and I failed my human anatomy and physiology I course.
I ALWAYS have good study habits--I study every day and spend all my free time in the school library. I don't make time to hang out with friends or go to parties.
But this semester, I've been so occupied with my worrying of college majors and my future. I thought I wanted to be a nurse (my parents suggested it to me because of its good job prospects) and I really believed I could succeed and become a nurse since I was so confident that my academic ethics and study habits would help me achieve my goal. I knew that since I was sure of my goal to become a nurse, I would give it my all and WORK HARD to get it.
But when I saw how competitive nursing is and how there were so many other students who seemed so much brighter than me, I began to wonder whether I can really achieve this. I gradually lost my self esteem and ambition. Instead of using my time to study for anatomy, I would spend all my time researching other possible majors for me to go into and other careers. In the end, it cost me my grade.
So now I failed anatomy and physiology and feel like I've hit rock bottom. I'm sure I can't get into any nursing school now. I know I took this upon myself.
The only grades I didn't do as horrible in is Essentials of Organic Chem, which I got a B in...and PSYCH 101 and Human Development, both of which I got an A in.
JUST A LITTLE RANT THERE heh... If anyone has some advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Should I consider other majors and just drop prenursing? Thanks.

Please do yourself a favor and only pursue a career path that YOU want and not your parents or anyone else. Upon evaluating your goals and dreams and should you decide you want to be a nurse, pick yourself back up and try again. Many people fail anatomy and physiology. When I took part one of A & P this semster, we went from over 100 people to about 30. If you are distracted and not "into it", making a good grade is incredibly difficult. If you re-take the class and do well, I'm sure you'd have no issue getting into nursing school. In fact, some schools make it known that they accept re-takes but many of them only give you three shots at most.

Evaluate your studying methods. What worked well for me was making quizlet flash cards and taking the generated tests. If you liked the professor who taught the class and plan on having him/her for the next go around, schedule a meeting with them and ask for some pointers on what to do to study better and study smarter. I'm sure that your professor would have some great tips to offer you. Also, consider utilizing your school's tutoring center. Does your school have open lab? If they do, GO! Form a connection with your fellow students and make a study group. The camaraderie of our whole class was amazing. We helped each other through some seriously scary tests.

Finally, have some confidence in yourself! You did well in Organic Chemistry! That is something to be proud of. That class has a high failure rate too. Me advice? Do some soul searching, decide if nursing is really what you want and not just your parents and then go from there. Don't give up!