Trouble with A&P I

[guest517]

So the fourth week of class is starting tomorrow and I'm feeling discouraged. I got a D on my first exam and a B on my first practical. There's lab and a class, and they're both completely separate from each other which I feel ridiculous. I think I may have just found a more productive way to study which is through quiz-let and many online diagrams because I tried to write out all of my notes and it was just too much to keep rewriting. Literally takes me a whole day to do notes on 1 or 2 chapters and I only have so much time because I work full time. Any study suggestions that actually work? I don't care to get an A at this point, I just want to pass the course. Anyone who found the class easy and passed with flying colors, I'm not interested in hearing so don't comment. People who struggled through the course and found it difficult but DID pass, I am interested in hearing from.

Thanks!

[studentbear, CNA]

A&P was rough for me, especially physiology. I failed a bunch of exams in A&P 1 but somehow just barely passed. A&P 2 was easier than 1 for me. I actually had to retake A&P 1 because I got a C and needed a C+ (somehow I got a B in A&P 2, not sure how that worked out but praise God.) The good news is I've been doing FAR better in actual nursing school and in retrospect, I have no idea why I struggled SO much with A&P. Really try to learn the physio because, in my experience, that is what you're going to rely on a lot later on in classes like pathophysiology.

But anyway, when I retook A&P 1 was when I figured out how to study properly and actually retain the info. This is what worked for me...

Anatomy:

1. Spending as much time in the lab with the models as possible-- hands on helps me learn. I would use my atlas or the key or whatever and quiz myself.

2. Labeling photos of the models: I would take a photo of the models with my iPad and then label it with an app. More quizzing.

3. Flash cards/Quizlet/random free A&P quizzes online.

4. Coloring book.

5. This really cool app called Essential Anatomy. It lets you look at different parts of the body in 3D and also has some quizzes. It was nice to have this for reference during lab/class when we were covering a particular system.

Physiology:

1. Relisten to the prof's lectures.

2. Watch videos on Khan Academy or YouTube breaking down the processes.

3. Writing out the processes and then re-reading them out loud. This worked best when I would make myself explain as much about whatever it was as possible without looking at my notes.

4. More flash cards/Quizlet/etc.

Good luck!!