studying for a&p before the semester even started

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Just curious. Has anyone started studying for A&PI out of anxiety before the semester even commenced? How did you go about it? :)

I started studying early, but not in the texts I was going to use for the course. I had a couple of books/journals that were more informal, or took a more offbeat approach, and I read through those, following up any links that interested me. I wanted to connect, first of all, to what intrigued me about the subject.

The three resources I used:

1. a set of anatomy lectures on tape that were at my local library, in some kind of "great professors" series.

2. A terrific "kids' book" on anatomy & physiology called "The Way We Work" by David Macaulay. Absolutely the most helpful pre-resource I found, it followed my course exactly, beginning with the chemistry & biochemical processes that my course covered in 5 chapters. Fabulous illustrations, funny and memorable text.

3. A special issue on The Human Body put out, I think, by Time Magazine. I saw this when I went to buy the Macaulay book and it was a nice counterbalance. Instead of illustrations, cutting-edge computer-generated graphics and all kinds of odd tidbits about the body.

It paid off for me. The A & P I class was a bear, though mostly because it had to be done in 10 weeks instead of a full semester. But I got my A and--just as important to me--it really all started to "click" for me, how the body was put together and how its anatomy serves its physiological functions.

I plan to use my time before A & P II to look those over again, as well as review the semester's work in the A & P coloring book by Marieb. It's important for me that I don't feel pressured between semesters, so I don't like working on the main text itself, just some of these alternatives.

Dina

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Specializes in Renal medsurg.

Hello to all,

Just a quick thing of advise. don't just memorize to get an A, understand what it is you are memorizing. If you are in A&P 1, bones, muscles, cells types & functions. A&P 2, endocrine, immune, fluids & electrolytes, circulatory system. I have finished my first semester of RN prog. and these are the ones I needed to know and understand very well. I have also been reviewing my A&P for my 2nd semester, as well as studying ahead, for my med-surg rotation.

You are on the right track and keep up the good work, it's worth it. ;-)

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Specializes in Dialysis.

For the anatomy portion, it really helped me to have the Anatomy coloring book. It breaks down anatomy by section and type. It made a big difference to me. For physiology and studying ahead, I think the most difficult section was the sliding filament muscle contraction. It had 18 steps that we had to know! I would familiarize myself with it, if I were you. http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/matthews/myosin.html

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Just curious. Has anyone started studying for A&PI out of anxiety before the semester even commenced? How did you go about it? :)

I have started to study, and even started on my own notes, to add to my lecture notes. I'm so excited,but also so scared to even start, because I'm afraid that I'll fail and make a fool out of myself. so yes I have started studying. I been reading the chapters over and over, to see if I might have missed anything. I read it so much that I have could probably tellign you every sentence in the chapter.:D You just need to find your style of studying, Try reading a chapter, and then try answering some practice questions to see if it has sunk in.

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Hello to all,

Just a quick thing of advise. don't just memorize to get an A, understand what it is you are memorizing. If you are in A&P 1, bones, muscles, cells types & functions. A&P 2, endocrine, immune, fluids & electrolytes, circulatory system. I have finished my first semester of RN prog. and these are the ones I needed to know and understand very well. I have also been reviewing my A&P for my 2nd semester, as well as studying ahead, for my med-surg rotation.

You are on the right track and keep up the good work, it's worth it. ;-)

Good to know!

The Kaplan A&P flashcards for medical students helps out too.

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Its not a bad idea. I took an EMT-B class one semester (it was a regular, for-credit, college course that satisfied a Health Ed requirement)

Its the most logical idea to start early. Hey mmt4 - where did you take this EMT-B for-credit class? Thx

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I took A&P I in July, and found that a lot of the lectures from UCBerkley's Integrative Biology class helped me.

here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9A701D54E8896D0E

Also, when it comes to the krebs/citric cycle, watch this:

as well as the followup videos.

When it comes to study skills, my book had objectives listed in the front of each chapter. I would sit down for each chapter before the test and answer each of those objectives and any other relevant info from the chapter. Using multiple color inks to separate different ideas/information, and to break up the monotony. You can also learn a lot by tracing/drawing your own diagrams (I did this for major joints, the brain, the eye, etc). Pay special attention to any basic cellular anatomy and biology.

It's a lot of info to learn (especially in a month), but study and try to put the whole picture together and you can do well.

Study hard!

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Its the most logical idea to start early. Hey mmt4 - where did you take this EMT-B for-credit class? Thx

UNM. It was a Health Ed 200-level six credit class - I took it in 94?. I just checked the schedule of classes and now its offered as an EMS Academy class only. My class was mostly comprised of Athletic Trainer students, pre-med students, and students in health sciences that needed Health Ed electives. There were, I believe 2 or 3 out of 15 that were not regularly enrolled students and were there only to get EMT training.

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I am. I've got 6 weeks until Fall Quarter starts, best to get busy! I have faith I'll do well, between getting a head start and the fact that my mom is an RN and aced her A&P classes with an 'A'. AND my boyfriend's mom is in NS right now, so I've got plenty of help when I need it! :)

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I am not taking A&P this semester, I have to take General Biology first, but I am taking it in the Spring. I wish I can study beforehand on my classes, or at least read ahead in the book. I cannot get my books till Monday and my classes start the 24th. I'll have a week with the books and I might get ahead in onw or two classes but not all 5!!

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I took A&P1 last fall....holy crap, it goes by fast...it seems like I just started, lol! Anyway, yeah I started making flashcards as soon as I got my books. Good luck!!!!

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i thought that i was the only one, lol! the horror stories have made me nervous, so i thought i'd give myself a head start even though the professor hasn't named the textbooks we need yet. i mainly use the stickies here on allnurses, but i have a few books as well.

hope it pays off for all of us-good luck everyone!

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