What do you do to Prepare?

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Specializes in Maternal Child, Home Health, Med/Surg.

I'm curious what everyone else does to prepare for their next set of pre requisites. Or their next semester in general.

When I walked into AP1 I hadn't touched anything. Actually, the first two weeks I sat there thinking how easy it was. Then we had practicals, and exams. And things started rushing. It got very overwhelming very quickly. So I'm wondering, what do you do?

Since I took a small break, and am now going into AP2 I've decided to give myself a bit of a leg up, especially since there's a reason books are able to be bought early. :)

So far I have:

- begun taking books notes. I'm into the 3rd chapter, or about 5th week of school.

- started making flash cards already. I'm sure the instructor will have her own notes and suggestions, but having to change a few things is a lot easier than writing them all from scratch!

- started looking into models. I'm a sucker for buying models for home. Since I have two kids, and not flexible babysitters - I can't just live on the campus with the models, so I buy my own.

- bought every suggested item. Most instructors provide a "suggested" lost after the "required" list. Generally, these are things they've considered beneficial for students to get good grades.

- started studying already! School doesn't start until August 25th, but I'm determined to be ahead!

- communicated with my instructor! I did this because I was switching teachers in the midst of AP1 and AP2. Because of this, and knowing her teaching style would be different, I have been talking with her.

- made an appointment with the nursing program advisor. My school just changed the requirements to get into the program next year, and I want the BEST chance!

So, what have you done? :)

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School starts on August 19th for me and I'm finishing up my pre reqs (aside from CNA, which will be next semester) with two science classes and a psych class. So to get ahead (also so I can feel more confident in getting A's and working at the same time) I'm writing notes in outline form so I have an easier time making study guides. Unfortunately I have really no idea what my advanced A&P class is going to cover- it's supposed to be mostly physiology but I have a feeling we're going to get into the really in-depth anatomy now, too. So I've been studying the bones and muscles again since those are my weakest points. Developmental psych is going to be easy for me but I want to make sure those three hours lectures once a week aren't going to catch me off guard. Microbiology... well, I'm doing outlines for the whole book just because it's fascinating and it'll make studying easier. I might print the study tools that are online for the book too.

(By the way, starting classes the day after the new Doctor Who episode airs?! Lucky!!)

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Specializes in Maternal Child, Home Health, Med/Surg.
School starts on August 19th for me and I'm finishing up my pre reqs (aside from CNA, which will be next semester) with two science classes and a psych class. So to get ahead (also so I can feel more confident in getting A's and working at the same time) I'm writing notes in outline form so I have an easier time making study guides. Unfortunately I have really no idea what my advanced A&P class is going to cover- it's supposed to be mostly physiology but I have a feeling we're going to get into the really in-depth anatomy now, too. So I've been studying the bones and muscles again since those are my weakest points. Developmental psych is going to be easy for me but I want to make sure those three hours lectures once a week aren't going to catch me off guard. Microbiology... well, I'm doing outlines for the whole book just because it's fascinating and it'll make studying easier. I might print the study tools that are online for the book too.

(By the way, starting classes the day after the new Doctor Who episode airs?! Lucky!!)

Microbology is a beast and I wish you luck! It's hard but definitely fascinating. The final exam is what dropped me from an A to a B due to the plethora of drugs and bacteria to memorize. More so which bacteria caused what and what drugs were used to treat them. Pain!

(I know right! Too bad I don't get BBC America, I have to wait :( )

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Not sure about note taking, but reading ahead the book you will be using is a good thing. Before each lecture you should have read each chapter twice. More exposure to material is better.

I would read chapter summary then look at chapter quiz & answers, followed by a 40 minute quick read of chapter, not stopping for explanations but using breaks. Later same day read it again 200-300 wpm slowing down for comprehension and stopping for breaks but not further explanation. Next day or two read third time not passing paragraphs until they were completely understood by YouTube,quizlet, or other research. Having it be third read, there were a lot you could quickly skip. If after an exhaustive research you still did not understand something, write it down to bring to instructor and move onto next paragraph.

Either 4th or 5th read, skim chapter looking for potential test questions.

I've never seen a test question on A&P 1 or 2 that asked you the definition of something. You need to match the terms to the definitions, not the other way around. There is a difference and the former is more difficult. Study actual parts rather than drawings for labs.

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Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.

Good day, illusion9376:

During the Christmas break (last year) that preceded the Spring semester (this year), I was reviewing the nervous system (for AP2) via iTunes University, youtube, and various web sites including finding a song that would work for memorizing the cranial nerves. I was also working on flash cards for the first AP2 exam and the first Microbiology exam (I asked for the syllabus for each in advance). For Nutritional Science and Life Cycle (aka span) Development, I reviewed the first few chapters. Also, for microbiology I found a good site that I could test what I was learning (I already had one from AP1 that followed to AP2).

Summer I (our school has summer I and summer II semesters) I didn't do much preparation prior to the start; my brain needed a break. For this coming fall, I've been lax from a point of view; but most of my free time is practicing dosage calculations as I need to get a 100% pass.

Thank you.

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I don't do much to prepare for classes. I tried reading the book prior to my chemistry class starting but it only left me more confused and worried about the class. Prior to AP in the spring I plan to review my Honors AP binder from high school. Kind of silly but it has a ton of details about the body. We had to draw lots of diagrams and even though it's a lot harder in college than high school, I still think it'd be a lot of help to me just because we did a lot and I did really well in the class.

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