Starting A&P course tomorrow

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I'm taking my first A&P class tomorrow and I'm scared to death. I really want to make an A in this class since an A will give me another point towards the ADN program. I'm currently a CNA and CMA working towards my RN. I finished my CMA class last semester and my teacher told me the taking my A&P this semester would be best since alot of it will still be fresh from the CMA class but I know A&P is way more indept and I'm really nervous. Anyone have any good tips to get over my nerves or to make the best grade?

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Specializes in OR.

I don't have any tips, but I wanted to wish you good luck. My first A&P I class is Wednesday, and my first Lab is Thursday, and like you, I'm out of my head terrified. It could be because of all the doom & gloom comments I've heard from others ("weed out course," "make sure you take it by itself"). Unlike you, though, I'm not a CNA, and the last science I took was in high school, over 1/4 century ago. My plan is simply to utilize every resource available to me and to study my butt off.

Good luck to both of us! (And to anybody else starting A&P this semester.)

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My only advice is to make sure you keep up with your studies and don't wait until a few days before exams to start studying. If you have even a few extra minutes a day (instead of watching tv etc) study, study, study.

Take notes but not to the extent where you can not understand what the professor is saying and all you are doing is writing. You have to be able to follow and take shorthand notes not word-for-word notes

I made flash cards and cut and pasted pictures from scanning the books or downloading photos and taping them to the back of flash cards. This helped the most.

GOOD Luck I am sure you will do fine as long as you do not get behind.

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I start tomorow too. Super nervous

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Specializes in CNA/LPN.

[color=#2f4f4f]i finished a&p last semester with an 88 and recently got accepted into the lpn program! i have to tell you, i felt burned out towards the end of the semester and didn't study like i should for a couple of tests, and that's the only reason i wasn't able to make an a! stay on top of your studies. make flash cards if you need to! that helped me tremendously. i also searched online for the material we were going over each week and did little quizzes that i found and practiced on all of the decent interactive websites that i stumbled across as well. a&p is a very demanding course, but if i can do it, i know you can do it! i went straight into without any previous healthcare experience or anything, and went into it not knowing how i study or what i was looking at, but since this course, i now know exactly how i learn and how to manage my time more! good luck you all, you will do just fine!

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I took AP I over the summer it was an accelerated course so every spare moment I had was spent studying. This fall I took APII along with micro and statistics plus I work part time. I managed to earn A's. If you are determined you will do well, don't be afraid. Not saying it is easy, but it is definitely doable. Good luck.

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I'm in A&P 2 now. I was a little nervous going into A&P1....but I ended up getting an A. It was the best and most interesting class I have took so far.

What helped me was to read for about 20 mins every night on what we did in class, AND read a little bit ahead to get an idea of what is coming. I also bought anatomy flash cards.

The first few chapters of A&P are an intro to biology and chemistry, so if you dont know to much about those subjects its a great review.

have fun!

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I'm in A&P2 this semester and made an A last fall. Like everyone else has said before, just make sure you study, don't let "this is the hardest class you will have to take" scare you! I love A&P and have learned a lot! I was homeschooled during high school (which was about 10 years ago!), so I never had an actual Biology or Chemistry class but I was still able to keep up just fine! I would also recommend the book "A Visual Analogy Guide to Human Anatomy & Physiology" by Paul A Krieger, I'm using it now and think it comes in handy for quick review - along with my teachers lecture notes.

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2 words...FLASH CARDS. Don't be scared by A & P. It is very in depth but if you put the work in you'll be fine. Focus on WHAT THE PROFESSOR LECTURES, not the entire book. There is too much to learn. Also, flash cards.

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Sorry for the dumb question here. What would be good to put on flash cards? Vocabulary? Concepts? Large cards with diagrams I'm not starting until the summer semester though. Good luck to those that are taking the class now! Thanks.

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I agree with the previous replies. Flashcards are great!! Good luck :-)

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Definitely flashcards.

But nursing schools still allow A&P? Here in CA, since--I think--2009, you need A and P separately.

In my Anatomy: initial 32, down to 24 students --> 2 A's and next highest grade was an 86%.

In my Physio: initial 36, down to 22 students --> about 5 A's (95% of students were in same study grp).

So I'd imagine A&P would be harder?

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