question!

Melodix · Jul 25, 2009

It will be important to understand the processes you learn in A&P since you will be seeing this information again as you go through nursing school. The information will be reviewed very generally in nursing classes however professors will expect you to have the basic understanding. The "anatomy" aspect may not be as important but some of the processes will come in to play quite often.

Here is an example, in A&P you learn about the kidney's anatomy (think glomeruli, proximal and distal tubule, etc) - a general understanding of this will suffice for nursing. However, you will also learn that the kidney releases a hormone called renin, which works with two other hormones (aldosterone and angiotensin) to insure the body maintains proper fluid balance. Understanding this "renin-angiotensin cycle" will help you when begin learning about fluid & electrolytes.

I hope this helps.

elacer08 · Jul 25, 2009

It really did help thanks but I feel that my knowledge of anatomy and physio is not as strong as it should be I just hope I will do ok

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2009

understanding what is going on with your patients a&p as a result of their disease process is part of your responsibility as their nurse. many times it is critical information that you need to know in order to solve your patient's nursing problems. you are in nursing school to learn how to solve patient's nursing problems. as you learn the different diseases there is generally a little refresher of the a&p. in nursing school the focus is more on the pathophysiology of the disease. the pathophysiology is how the disease process has altered the normal physiological process in order to produce the signs and symptoms that we see. in understanding the pathophysiology it helps to review the normal a&p first. there is nothing stopping any student from opening up or looking at the a&p of the organ or body system involved in the medical disease or condition they are covering in nursing school at that time on their own. if you do not have an a&p book or one you are satisfied with this is not a problem as there is plenty on the internet you can access for free when you need it. the a&p weblinks for students are listed on post #42 of this sticky thread: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/pathophysiology-p-microbiology-145201.html - pathophysiology/ a & p/ microbiology/ fluid & electrolyte resources. check out some of them and bookmark the ones you like. the pathophysiology weblinks are listed on post #52. it will be helpful to use the critical thinking flow sheet for nursing students when you are actually in nursing classes and studying this information in order to help you organize and bring it all together.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2009

for example. . .see this thread: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/cardiovascular-system-important-405475.html - cardiovascular system - important things to know

this is a nursing student getting ready to study the heart in nursing school and wanting to know how to prepare and what they should study first.

elacer08 · Jul 25, 2009

Thank you so much for the help I really do appreciate it :]

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2009

Everybody worries about this stuff. They worry that having no experience with patients is a problem as well. I've been a nurse for over 30 years and went into nursing school with absolutely no experience. This is what I can tell you. Be a good student first, love to study and look for the answers to questions. 30 years later I am still trying to find answers. That is what it is going to take. I was told very early in my nursing program to ask "why" about things and look for those answers and that would pretty much carry us through. They were right. Its not so much about "this is how the lungs work" as it is "why do the lungs do this?" The answers to each are very different. Nursing school is going to teach you how to think.