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I'm trying! I was in mega burn out mode for a while there. I'm taking A&PII with Weight Training next semester. Taking I with English and working fulltime was kind of kicking my butt! Wow, two people!? That is insane!

Hi everyone! I haven't read back so I hope everyone is doing well. I have not had much time to keep up with any forums I generally read and participate in. How is everyone fairing? We have our last lab practical on the 8th! The class we started out with is certainly not the one we end up with, we've lost more than half of the students. Oddly, we lost most early on, no one waited for the drop date. Anyway, I am doing OK. If I can kick butt, I can probably get a decent A, if I don't kick butt, I can squeeze one out or get a high B. Man, this class is insane. I feel more prepaerd for A&P II, but that doesn't make me any less nervous :)

Swamped is right. Our lab practical is the 18th and I've only just gotten the anterior, lateral and some of the inferior view of the skull down. I woke up reciting all the parts of the mandible and it was involuntary. Very odd. Our lecture exam is the 13th. I'll have my head in my book all weekend! Have a great night everyone.

Glad I'm not the only one. I'm insulin resistant and meats and salads keep me healthy, unfortunately, who has time to cook!? I've gained 7 of the 25 I'd lost. Very annoying. On the upside, I'm doing well in class. Maybe it's all related :)

The skeletal system will be my weekend project. I printed copies of the skull labs from my Holes lab book and I'm just going to do them over and over and over. Hopefully the bookstore has a good chart or flash cards. I'll be staying in this weekend. LOL. Has anyone gained weight since starting these courses!? No time to cook a decent meal! (Off topic, sorry) :)

*frets* We've been out of school since last Wednesday due to Hurricane Rita. During that time, I didn't even think about A&P! We received a very late notice type email that we're still going to have our 100 question lab practical today. Well, not still, it was supposed to happen Tuesday. Man, I aced my first test, I hope I don't bomb my lab practical. We've not even covered tissues due to missed classes. *frets*

I hope everyone made it back OK. Looks like coming back was smooth sailing in most areas. It was insane and I still can't believe it was done, but 2.5 million people were evacuated and by Friday morning, the streets were empty.

Awesome, Casi. I did this for tissues. I printed out pictures (In color at work! Gotta love laser printers) and pasted them on note cards -- described the tissues on the back. I will have to do this for the skull as well.

Thanks stpaulgirl! I will definately give you a shout. I am writing a narrative essay and half is due Monday. I just hope my brain can CHURN something out. Science is so much more fun. I had my first test today. Out of 76 multiple choice, I missed four... two of those are bugging me. However, I will remember hypertonic and hypotonic forever now! There was six essay questions as well, I'm 90% positive I did fine on those. Man, I studied my butt off!!! I was so bad at school when... not 'in' it, but at it... I can't believe how much I am enjoying it this time. Kayel... the FIRST thing out of our instructors mouth was that 50% of us would fail. He said he's not proud of it, but it is what it is. He said some schools only have a 15% passing rate for A & P! I was like, DOOOOOOM! I also agree with you about labs... I can't concentrate in them. I think it's the atmosphere. I study so much better at my kitchen table. :) I have also never watched Survivor! Netflix delivered some Six Feet Under DVDs today though... I will probably fall asleep to one. :) Good luck CopperTop, your teacher sounds pretty strict.

stpauligirl, that's very rude of people, you sound like you handle it very well though. I always walk into class expecting what you've received -- and I've been "let down" everytime. So far my classmates all seem friendly and eager to learn. Today is our first test! He said it's 100 multiple choice and a few short answer (cell theory, laws of thermodynamics) and you have to draw a cell meeting criteria he asks for. Oddly, I'm more confident and excited about this class than I am about English 1301. I took it ten years ago and got a 'C', so I wanted to try for an A (get a better GPA for nursing college admissions). I hope I don't regret that decision!

Luckily, I have the time to study at work. That is a HUGE help. I use up at least four hours a day at work looking at the materials. I would be disappointed if our tests were set very far apart, it doesn't sound crazy to me! I am nervous about learning three chapters worth of material for our test next Thursday, I can't imagine six or seven! Looking at the syllabus -- we have four lecture exams (every three chapters) and four lab exams. The lab exams. Our first test is next Thursday!!! Oddly, I'm kinda having fun being a student---even if I can't stay awake past 9PM most weekdays because I'm drained from work, studying and class. :) How is everyone's teachers? Do they lecture from the book or their own notes? I have been recording my lectures and listening to them. It helps. I tried the anatomy coloring book but I seem to drift off when I'm coloring.

Thanks Kayel! I'm betting you're right on number 8. I appreciate you pointing it out. I've found that once I know an answer, it's like, duh!!! And it sticks to my head. This website is such a life saver!

I'm new to this as well. It's been 10 years since I've set foot in a classroom. What I've found that's helped the most is filling in the blanks -- over and over and over. I do the same with practice tests. I also read my notes over and over. I record my lectures and listen to them over and over. My school offers tutoring but only during the hours that I'm already in class! So I just try to make the best use of my time. Repetition really helps, making connections does as well (for some wacko reason I could not remember the name if the serous membrane around the heart and then I stepped away and realized, PERICARDIUM! Cardium, cardio, heart! Making connections has helped me a ton. Good luck!

Hi Casi. That does not sound insane. LOL. I have made geez, 20 copies of my fill in the blank lab sheets and I just keep doing them over and over and over and over. I know all of my body aras (popliteal, patellar, mental, occipital, etc!). I understand body direction as follows: *Superior/Cephalic Toward the head, going up Cephalic is used more when dealing with four legged creatures (as opposed to bipeds) and Embryology *Inferior/Caudal Towards the feet, going down Caudal is used more when dealing with four legged creatures (as opposed to bipeds) and Embryology *Anterior/Ventral The front of the body Ventral is used more when dealing with four legged creatures (as opposed to bipeds) and Embryology *Posterior/Dorsal Toward the back of the body Dorsal is used more when dealing with four legged creatures (as opposed to bipeds) and Embryology *Medial Near to the midline of the body, towards the sternum *Lateral Towards the outside of the body, going away from the midline. *Intermediate Between to structures *Ipsilateral On the same side of the body *Contralateral On the opposite side of the body *Proximal Towards the point of origin *Distal Away from the point of origin *Superficial Toward the surface *Deep Away from the surface, deeper into the body That is not particularly tough, it just gets confusing when you're trying to use the same terms to describe where two body parts are 'from each other'. I stepped away and went on to comp homework, then I came back. Let me know how this sounds: 7 is A, Proximal- the back of the knee is toward the attatchment of the limb; 8 is D, Distal -- your butt is away from the point of origin in reference to the abdomen; 9 is B, Lateral - your cheek is on the side of your nose. *pop* My head exploded!

Awesome thread, Kayel. Thanks! Ok. I need help, I hope this is the right thread. If not, please feel free to move my question. Thanks. :) I am so dang lost when it comes to body direction in relation to two body areas! I understand body direction as it stands alone and I know where all the body areas are... but for some reason I can't grasp it! For example, 7)The Popliteal is ________________ to the Tarsal A) Proximal B) Distal C) MedialD) Lateral My first guess was contrilateral, on opposite sides of the body... back of knee/front of ankle... but that isn't an option. It could be distal because the popliteal is closer to the fingers than the tarsal? Huh!? I'm lost. Here are two more examples. These are off of a practice test. The more I try to wrap my mind around it, the more confused I get. Any help would be appreciated. 8)The Gluteal is ________________ to the Abdomen A) AnteriorB) Lateral C) PosteriorD) Distal 9)The Buccal is ________________ to the nose A) MedialB) Lateral C) DistalD) Proximal Thank you, Cristina

Hi guys. Wasn't there a 'neat' phrase for remembering the levels of organiztion? I thought I read about it somewhere! Subatomic Atomic Molecular Cellular Tissue Organ Organ Systems Organism

Thanks for everyone's replies! I had no idea some instructors were nice enough to let you put the recorder near them! I guess I still remember high school and remembering some of the teachers more as wardens or something... Fun2Care, you're so right! We're paying! This is a service to us! LOL.

Oh, that's not a bad idea! I'll have to do some research on it... thanks!

I would like to purchase a good digital recorder that I can use during my classes. I would like to be able to download the lectures to my computer and burn them on CD. I've heard that some teachers don't like it when you record them, so some students put them in their bags and record --- so it'd have to be able to "hear" well. Please make some suggestions. :-)

Hi redefinition, What side of town are you on? Memorial Hermann seems to be fairly easy to get in contact with for volunteering, at least Woodlands Hospital did anyway. I followed this link: http://www.memorialhermann.org/services/volunteer.html and it led me to a phone number and name. I called and he's sending me an application and he said there is an orientation next Sunday I think.

I only started watching ER after I saw the first season on Ebay for $20. The first and second season are great. It's fast paced and fun, very intense. I watched last night's episode while I was on the treadmill and all I could think was... what a soap opera! The doctors don't even have a doctor feel to them. The first season was full of scrappy interns and believable characters... after this one episode... I'm curious where the casting and writers of the past went! It seems that when you try to appeal to a younger or fresher audience, the show goes south... hence Sliders.

Houston is huge. Do you have jobs here already? That will play into your decision. Avoid Interstate 10 (Katy Freeway) at all costs! It's TERRIBLE. A friend of ours moved here recently and he was actually looking at moving to Katy and he was extremelty happy he changed his mind after driving out that way a few times. The Kingwood (North East) area is very nice. You also have Spring... which is NW or just plain north. I prefer Spring because of the various veins into town... you can take Hardy Toll Rd., I 45 or hop on down to US 59. I'm partial to the north side of town, so my opinion is biased. :)

I could apply that to the IT field. I could memorize protocols and acronyms for a short time, but it wasn't until I understood them and was able to apply them in a real world scenario that I could retain the information. I'm very "hands on". I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing when it comes to nursing.

TTT Anyone here go to The University Center? Just curious as to how they found the program. How was everyone's first semester? :)

Hi Carmeceia911! Thanks to this website (and it's handy search feature), I've signed up for A & P I. I found some links in reference to the class and found some resources. I've already ordered study materials and will get the books ASAP. I have alot of idle time at work, I can use it reading. :) My husband graduated with honors in engineering, he said the key is repetition, repetition, repetition and always do more than assigned. Good luck. :)