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Program Type: ADN Adjusted Individual Total Score: 88.7% ATI Academic Preparedness Level: Advanced Mean - National: 64.3% Mean - Program: 64.9% Percentile Rank - National - 98 Percentile Rank - Program - 99 Reading Adjusted Individual Score 81.0% Mathematics A.I.S. 100% Science A.I.S. 83.3% English and Language Usage A.I.S. 93.3%

My A&P courses were notoriously difficult among the schools in my area (because we had some of the best professors). An interesting tidbit: I looked at A&P online courses for the heck of it, and several online programs used course materials written by my actual professor at the brick & mortar school where I took my A&P. I thought that was pretty neat yet intimidating, and there is also a Facebook group of "Zao Survivors" who pass the course, lol. Ok, with that being said, here's my advice: take notes by hand, or if you have to type out notes in class, go back over them with your materials and fill in the blanks later. I feel like this immensely helped in solidifying the material. I'm a textbook procrastinator, so I really had to suppress that urge and study in a more appropriate way. For lab, I recommend youtube videos or Khan Academy for evals. I did poorly on my muscle eval at the end of my 1st semester, and all I had been doing was using the diagrams in the book. However, I earned extra credit on the blood vessel eval at the end of 2nd semester because I used my diagrams AND videos to help with memorization (and extra lab time, nothing beats reviewing in person). I also recommend to study WELL in advance for the bigger tests/evals, so you don't have to rely on cramming the night before. Videos are helpful in this respect too; if you have a few minutes between classes, watch a video. It can only help, and you'd be surprised how much you'll remember after reviewing them for an hour straight. If you can find a good study group, I also found this to be helpful. I was careful to steer clear of students who didn't seem to take the class seriously, or were more interested in maintaining a social life. I'm a non-traditional student with a family, so the campus life didn't really interest or distract me that much. However, making a little time to wind down on the weekends was crucial. You can burn out easily without taking small breaks, just remember to get back on track and allow enough time to complete homework, assignments, studying etc. I had to make myself study in advance and work on my lab notebook (which took an enormous amount of time to complete), in order to keep ahead. If you find yourself getting bogged down or behind on assignments, take a risk assessment and devote more of your time to assignments that "cost" more in terms of points towards your grade. Just my two cents, wishing you luck!

I think your dilemma is not uncommon for college students, especially when in such a stressful situation as a nursing program. Take some time to consider this: You're under a lot of stress at the moment, and your current boyfriend is probably "outside" of it since he's not a nursing student. Therefore, the probable disconnect you feel in your relationship could stem from the fact that he just does not understand what you're going through, yet Male Nursing Student does! While this may seem incredibly attractive, it may be the connection to your fellow nursing peer that you're attracted to, and not the person. However, if you and Male Nursing Student have more in common than your studies, you should consider your present relationship before venturing into a new one. Talk things out with your boyfriend, see if you both are in same places in your lives, and if he understands what you're going through in nursing school. If not, you both may just be outgrowing one another and going in different directions. However, you owe it to your partner to be honest and have this conversation with him first before setting up plans with another guy. Considering the stress you are already facing with classes, why add to it with potentially ruining a good relationship? If you continue to pursue your new friend, you may venture into a situation that will leave you feeling guilty and completely out of focus with your goal, to graduate and become a NURSE! I hope this helps, it happens to the best of us yet you are still in control here. Make a wise decision that you won't regret and won't hurt those closest to you.