Tips for Anatomy?

alanyse88 · Jun 18, 2014

I'm taking A&P during the summer and I've made a 104, a 96, and a 94 on my exams by just studying the day off the test......also known as cramming and this past test when i didn't study at all. Like didn't even open the book I made a 58. then again my a&p is the "easy" one. it's fro the LVN program which I know doesn't go into as nearly as much detail as A&P for an RN program

cracklingkraken, ASN, RN · Jun 18, 2014

Pay attention. Be sure to read chapters ahead of your lecture. That way, when you're learning in the lecture, it will be review and easier to remember in the future. Study a little each day rather than cramming (this will help with retention). Look up YouTube videos (there's a bunch) for concepts you need to review or have trouble understanding. There are a lot of available resources on the internet. I honestly didn't find it as difficult as some people say. I feel like people can exaggerate how difficult it really is. It's a matter of memorization and understanding how different physiological processes interact with each other. Good luck!

ThatOneDude822 · Jun 21, 2014

Thanks guys!

I looked up my professor on ratemyprofessors.com and she continuously got really good reviews (though people were still stating that the class was hard, they said she was a very helpful professor), then all of a sudden around 2012/2013 the reviews took a total turn and she kept getting bad/average reviews, saying she was constantly "cranky," and one reviewer even went to the extent of calling her "completely incompetent in the area of human biology." Not sure if something happened and she really has changed from the previous reviews, or if the more recent reviewers are just coincidentally people who failed the class and, ergo, blamed the professor. This should be an interesting quarter... Luckily I've always been the type of person who was interested in most areas of Biology.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Jun 21, 2014

Good day, ThatOneDude822:

While I use ratemyprofessor.com, I always take the ratings with a grain of salt. I've had classes with professors that had terrible ratings stressing to NEVER take the professor; and found the professor to be among my favorites. One thing I try to remember is that on any rating board, you typically get both extremes -- those that love, those that hate. You get a lot less moderates. Those that hate typically find or make the time to really express their anger. Those that love... maybe they don't have the time. Add in that not everyone who takes the courses know to post a rating.

In terms of tips...

* Record lectures if you are allowed; listen to those over and over again. Make a playlist that goes with the exam unit.

* Take handwritten notes in every lecture; review and rewrite / organize the same day of the lecture.

* Participate in class often. You will either have bad information thrown out right away (this is super fantastic) or have good information reinforced.

* Make sure you go to every lecture and lab; stay the entire time.

* Unless your professor makes you stay in one stop in lab, consider floating from group to group sharing what you know, and learning from them --- this way, you also make friends with your classmates where their networking may pay off (what classes to take in the future, what professors to take or avoid -- more accurate than ratemyprofessor most of the time, etc).

* If your school has a learning center/tutor/modeling room, make use of them -- early, often.

* Learn your learning style, use it; but, also be open to adapting it for section to section of material, class to class.

* The moment you get a bad grade, THEN see the professor, get help... don't be the xTH person posting on this board that you got a __ bad grade after the final asking for what to do better next time. Catch it early.

Thank you.

TLizS · Jun 21, 2014

I printed diagrams and used white out to cover the labels....I slid them in plastic sheet protectors so I could use a dry erase marker to label them over and over......this is what helped me get my anatomy down.....flash cards helped some but actively labeling repeatedly helped me a ton....since labeling was most of the anatomy portions of our exams....the physiology section I made note cards and reread the chapters repeatedly....(A&P are one class together at my school)

neekzie · Jun 21, 2014

I took A&P 1 and 2 and it was brutal!! Definitely read ahead of lecture, take notes and ask questions if you do not understand something. Also, study a little every night. You will not get it if you cram.

deedee6280 · Aug 1, 2014

I printed diagrams and used white out to cover the labels....I slid them in plastic sheet protectors so I could use a dry erase marker to label them over and over......this is what helped me get my anatomy down.....flash cards helped some but actively labeling repeatedly helped me a ton....since labeling was most of the anatomy portions of our exams....the physiology section I made note cards and reread the chapters repeatedly....(A&P are one class together at my school)

That is the smartest thing I've ever heard, great idea!!

Ancher · Aug 1, 2014

I had a membership to quizlet to create custom learning sections. Used tons of mnemonics and acronyms. Read things out loud several hundred times.

Oh...

Flash cards !Flash cards! Flash cards!

mdock · Aug 2, 2014

A&P is a course that requires time, I have met very few in fact I have never met a person who said they only put fort minimal effort to obtain an A in the course. With that know it may require lots of time and the best way to go about it is to utilize your time the best way, so know what works best for you and do not diverge. For instance, read the lecture chapter before going to lecture that way you kind of have an idea what is going on, that helped me. Also, take advantage of youtube it was invaluable to be able to break down the more complex functions in regards to physiology. If you have access to a study lab spend time there studying the anatomy aspect. It may seem daunting at first in fact I thought there was no chance I would be able to get an A in the course and I really doubted I'd be able to get a c at the start of the course. I eeded up with an A. If I can do it, anyone can. Just work hard, find out what works for you because everyone is different and stay motivated.

Oh, and flashcards!

dorkypanda · Aug 2, 2014

I agree with what everyone said! I loved to used my recorder too, you get to hear lecture more than once. I thought physiology was harder than anatomy but not too much. I also had a bad rated professor on the site ratemyprof but it turns out that she wasn't bad as people put it although test answers can get tricky in physiology depending on the professor. My professor loved to give two very similar but good answers that tripped me up sometimes. Try to study daily for anatomy and physiology. The sites I liked were getbodysmart.com and innerbody.com if you like apps there's an anatomy app on google play that's not expensive it quizzes you on the location of the heart,etc. Good luck in your courses.

AmberK1026, ADN, BSN · Aug 3, 2014

Khan academy is an excellent source to help with Anatomy and Physiology. Its free and the videos really did help me understand the parts that I was having trouble with. Anatomy was hard- its a lot of memorization so make flash cards, print out diagrams and white out the labels so you can practice labeling body parts.