I am a pre-nursing student, hoping to apply this coming year for admission into the ADN program at my local community college (would be starting fall '10, if accepted.) I need to take a Chemistry and a Biology before I can apply, and since A&P is required for the program and it can be taken ahead of time to fulfill the Biology pre-req, I'm going to be taking both this spring.
I was already scared, having a 3 year old and a 3 month old at home, that I might be overwhelmed with the difficulty of all this work (though I am willing to work VERY hard to exceed in these classes), but it just occurred to me that these A&P labs will involve dissections. Eek! It really freaks me out. I had Anatomy in high school, did very well in that class and did do dissections (including a fetal pig), but I'm still scared about it. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has issues with this? And for anyone who's been there already, can you tell me what exactly is typical to dissect? What about A&P II?
(anyone else also having to overcome ethical blocks concerning the animals' welfare?)
I'm sure it varies by the instructor. When I was in high school and took Anatomy, it was the same thing with the labs. To be honest, both the cat and the fetal pig bother the heck out of me. The cat, because well, I've had pet cats. And the pig, and sorry to be macabre or anything, but I had a stillborn son who we decided to have an autopsy on, and the "fetal" part of it... well, I think you know where I'm going, what it will make me think of
I mean, skinning the cat before you dissect it should really be in the course description for that lab. That sounds like such a daunting task for a pre-nursing student when, an eyeball or a fetal pig is just kind of more along the lines of what you're preparing yourself for.
We also did a cow eye and a sheep brain in addition to the cat. The cow eye was actually worse for me than the cat was. I have this weird thing about eyes.........If they aren't inside an orbit where they are supposed to be, they gross me out big time!
I took both A&P I and Chem along with Wellness and Human Growth & Development last semester and managed all A's. I have 2 boys age 2 & 3. It can be done. You have to find balance. For me I implemented a strict bedtime at 8 for the boys. This gave me 2-3 hours a night to study without feeling bad for neglecting my kids. Prior to big tests/midterms/finals in A&P or Chem I would send them off to their grandparents for 1-2 afternoons to give me more study time.
As far as dissections go, we did a cat. I was the hands on one. We had 4 in our group and myself and one other were the ones that were doing the cutting and skinning. Some of the others jumped in and helped here and there but for the most part the 2 of us did it and the others observed.
Prior to doing the dissection I was a little worried. I have some death issues and figured that the best way to deal with it was to jump right in. Also, I thought that if I can't work with a cat, how am I going to deal with a human. It really wasn't that bad. We skinned him and separated out the muscles, we didn't go deep to see the organs. I have heard we will do that in A&P II.
Best of luck with your semester. Use this message board to help you through. It is full of information that will help you with A&P and Chem.
If we have to do a cat I think I might . I have 2 kitty cats and home and they are my most precious babies. LOL I am taking A&P1 in the Fall of 09. I've had to photograph a placenta while in the C/S OR while the momma was still open AND I've had to photograph a corpse as well when I worked as department sec for Education (when the PT photographer was off I got to to do it because I was going to photography school then). So I suppose I should be able to handle just about anything. I just fear doing a cat because I am afraid it will look too much like my cats and I will burst into tears. Sounds really interesting though.
Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.
I am going to be doing my A&P I online, along with the lab at home. I don't know what is involved in it yet and would love to know (I'll be ordering it next week). I did a fetal pig in HS and thought it was the coolest thing. If I do a dissection my 14 yo and 10 yo will be right beside me watching, it will be very educational for them. I do remember that formaldehyde smell, though - ick.
"For me I implemented a strict bedtime at 8 for the boys. This gave me 2-3 hours a night to study without feeling bad for neglecting my kids."
I so agree with this. My kids have always had a bedtime between 7:30-8:00 and I plan to keep that rule once I start in January.
About the dissections, yes, I am a little weirded out at the thought (although I completed dissections at various stages of development on chick embryos during Reproduction & Development and did the whole frog thing in Biology in high school). For me, it is a frame of mind. Think about childbirth---you've done that. Think about how you put your mind in a different place to deal with the pain. Do the same thing before and during dissections----think as 'clinically' as possible and avoid emotion. Think about how fascinating what you are doing really is.
Good luck!!! I'm sure we'll exchange stories, as I'm doing my A&P classes during 2009, as well!
If we have to do a cat I think I might . I have 2 kitty cats and home and they are my most precious babies. [...] I just fear doing a cat because I am afraid it will look too much like my cats and I will burst into tears.
I don't know why statements like this bother me so much...maybe its the way so many of my classmates [all female, incidentally] delivered them. I have to say, when girls would freak out about this in class, and go on and on about the things you mentioned above, well....they just seemed less competent, somehow. Terrible as it may be, I couldn't help but think less of them, as students. How is a cat any different from any other animal? Is it that the cat is "cuter" somehow? No one seems to have a problem trimming the fat off beef, or cooking ribs, so why does making a few cuts into a dead animal suddenly fill people with so much fear? Personally, I think these people need to grow up and look at the lab exercises for what it is, and quit drawing connections to their "precious babies"....
I did a fetal pig in HS and thought it was the coolest thing. If I do a dissection my 14 yo and 10 yo will be right beside me watching, it will be very educational for them. I do remember that formaldehyde smell, though - ick.
:heartbeat:heartbeat:heartbeat
I can already imagine how many mothers would be horrified at the thought of their 10 year old watching them dissect a cat, but I think you have a wonderful attitude toward the whole thing. I wish more people would realize how interesting dissection can be.....
If we have to do a cat I think I might 
. I have 2 kitty cats and home and they are my most precious babies. LOL I am taking A&P1 in the Fall of 09. I've had to photograph a placenta while in the C/S OR while the momma was still open AND I've had to photograph a corpse as well when I worked as department sec for Education (when the PT photographer was off I got to to do it because I was going to photography school then). So I suppose I should be able to handle just about anything. I just fear doing a cat because I am afraid it will look too much like my cats and I will burst into tears. Sounds really interesting though.
nocheapones
133 Posts
I'm sure it varies by the instructor. When I was in high school and took Anatomy, it was the same thing with the labs. To be honest, both the cat and the fetal pig bother the heck out of me. The cat, because well, I've had pet cats. And the pig, and sorry to be macabre or anything, but I had a stillborn son who we decided to have an autopsy on, and the "fetal" part of it... well, I think you know where I'm going, what it will make me think of