Who else is taking/has taken Microbiology??

mchup · Apr 29, 2005

Hi all!
Anyone out there taking Micro this quarter?? I am and so far its pretty hard! Thought we could start a thread about our micro experiences...I had my first test today and it was soo hard over 80 questions.....ugh...we had to grow some smelly bacteria this week too....My instructor is not very good at lecturing and forgets to actually lecture then she just expects you to know it....how am i supposed to know what hemolysis is if you dont tell me! ANyway, here is a good link for micro...it has some awesome quizzes and online notecards...http://www.mhhe.com/talaro5

I took Micro last summer, and although it's not easy, I ended up really liking it. What helped me the most is the MICROBIOLOGY COLORING BOOK. You should be able to get a copy at any major book retailer, or online.

The website cellsalive.com (I think that's what it was called. If not that, then it's something very similar and a search engine should be able to find it), was also very useful.

I'm sorry your instructor doesn't lecture well, because the subject matter isn't easy to figure out on your own. We had the benefit of a great instructor.

Start right now making notecards to categorize each of the microorganisms you'll be studying...like gram pos/gram neg; obligate anaerobes; fastidious (sp?), etc. Organization is the key!

Best of luck!

-m

TCASII, ADN · Apr 29, 2005

I found it easy, except for all the DNA stuff. We had to learn a lot about the DNA and metabolic processes of certain organisms. I wish we would have spent more time on learning the actual health-related specifics about these microbes rather than their genetic makeup. For a healthcare prereq. class we should have. Other than that, the teacher was very cool and made the best of a difficult subject. I liked her.

She was actually a substitute sitting in for their fulltime instructor. I first started micro with another teacher and dropped the minute the first class was over! :rotfl: She was so obviously a royal pain in the a** teacher, I knew I would be in trouble. She went on about class assignments, written projects, and research papers, Looking at the syllabus, it was clear she thought no one worked or slept.

Try not to get to frustrated, just learn as best you can. Maybe another person or a group study before class.

galaxy781 · Apr 29, 2005

I found it easy, except for all the DNA stuff. We had to learn a lot about the DNA and metabolic processes of certain organisms. I wish we would have spent more time on learning the actual health-related specifics about these microbes rather than their genetic makeup. For a healthcare prereq. class we should have. Other than that, the teacher was very cool and made the best of a difficult subject. I liked her.
She was actually a substitute sitting in for their fulltime instructor. I first started micro with another teacher and dropped the minute the first class was over! :rotfl: She was so obviously a royal pain in the a** teacher, I knew I would be in trouble. She went on about class assignments, written projects, and research papers, Looking at the syllabus, it was clear she thought no one worked or slept.
Try not to get to frustrated, just learn as best you can. Maybe another person or a group study before class.

thanks guys..its our 2nd week of class and we had our first test today...it was ok but only bc i studied hard for it..i have a feeling a lot of people in my class failed..a good teacher makes all the difference...oh well that just means more work out of class for me!!! Who else is taking micro??

AKAKatydid · Apr 29, 2005

Who else is taking micro??

I start micro this fall ... Summer is for physiology

Something tells me I'm going to get no reprieve!

galaxy781 · Apr 29, 2005

I start micro this fall ... Summer is for physiology
Something tells me I'm going to get no reprieve!

no anatomy with that physiology? lol :)

Peachy720 · Apr 29, 2005

I'm taking Micro this semester.

I was TERRIFIED of this class beforehand, but it is a LOT easier than I expected. I need a forty-something on the final to keep my "A."

The advice I have for you:

-copy your notes every night

-at the end of the week, type up the notes from the week

-i didn't, but a lot of people taped the lectures--if you do, i recommend re-playing them while you're laying in bed, about to go to sleep

-if the book has a website, USE IT! Sometimes there'll be animations, games, practice tests, flashcards...

I'm not sure how your prof will be, but after the first test, I didn't even read the book (whew! so glad i made a copy of a friends' at the beginning of the semester instead of buying!)

Good luck!! Keep us posted!!

If you're taking lab with it, prepare for some serious fun!! :balloons:

Roseyposey · Apr 29, 2005

Micro is my all-time least-favorite science class. I can't wait until it's over. The instructor sits there and reads her notes to us and doesn't do it very well at that. She screws up a lot of the words and her notes are so full of typo's, I spend about 25% of my study time checking her spelling. The last section we reviewed should be titled "1001 Ways to Get Diarrhea"! I only need about a 17% on the final to keep my A - this I hold on to keep myself sane!

crb613, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2005

I will be taking my final in micro 5/5/05!! Thank goodness I hated the class, my instructor is horrible. All he does is read from notes, throw out big words & cannot teach. Our class is 2 hour long & it is pure misery. I some how have managed to keep a high B & I just hope & pray I pass the final. I would rather eat worms than have to take this class again! I really tried & I know if I had a good instructor I would have liked the class....But this guy, oh my gosh I do not know how he can be qualified to teach. I can say when our class did his eval we did not hold back on anything! :angryfire Good luck to you all I hope your experience will be better than mine. Oh, pray for me to pass the final I need all the help I can get! :)

galaxy781 · Apr 29, 2005

I will be taking my final in micro 5/5/05!! Thank goodness I hated the class, my instructor is horrible. All he does is read from notes, throw out big words & cannot teach. Our class is 2 hour long & it is pure misery. I some how have managed to keep a high B & I just hope & pray I pass the final. I would rather eat worms than have to take this class again! I really tried & I know if I had a good instructor I would have liked the class....But this guy, oh my gosh I do not know how he can be qualified to teach. I can say when our class did his eval we did not hold back on anything! :angryfire Good luck to you all I hope your experience will be better than mine. Oh, pray for me to pass the final I need all the help I can get! :)

I hear you!!! My teacher is very nice but she is just kinda out there...she takes her notes directly from the book and just reads strait off them...i can read the book! She then proceeds in lab to throw out terms that she has NEVER gone over! When I go to look them up in the book they are in chapters that we arent supposed to cover for weeks! ugh...lol...she starts sentences and doesnt finish them and in lab if I ask her for help she says ok but then wanders off and forgets I asked for help! Our second lab we had to grow some NASTY bacteria it smelled sooo bad! I just took my first test and I think I did well but the class drags...its totally uninteresting..I cant stand micro but I LOVEE AP:)

crb613, BSN, RN · Apr 29, 2005

I hear you!!! My teacher is very nice but she is just kinda out there...she takes her notes directly from the book and just reads strait off them...i can read the book! She then proceeds in lab to throw out terms that she has NEVER gone over! When I go to look them up in the book they are in chapters that we arent supposed to cover for weeks! ugh...lol...she starts sentences and doesnt finish them and in lab if I ask her for help she says ok but then wanders off and forgets I asked for help! Our second lab we had to grow some NASTY bacteria it smelled sooo bad! I just took my first test and I think I did well but the class drags...its totally uninteresting..I cant stand micro but I LOVEE AP:)

My instructor is not even nice! He has been "talked to" for some of his comments in class. We were doing throat swabs & he told this girl..... I know you women can open your mouth wider than that, if it's something you want in there!!! Can you believe that comment?? then he told whom ever talked to him he did not understand our anger!! Idiot. He hates nursing students & never fails to point out nursing mistakes when ever possible. I am just glad to done with this class! Lord please let me pass the final.

Peachy720 · Apr 29, 2005

My instructor is not even nice! He has been "talked to" for some of his comments in class. We were doing throat swabs & he told this girl..... I know you women can open your mouth wider than that, if it's something you want in there!!! Can you believe that comment?? then he told whom ever talked to him he did not understand our anger!! Idiot. He hates nursing students & never fails to point out nursing mistakes when ever possible. I am just glad to done with this class! Lord please let me pass the final.

:stone :stone :stone :smackingf

actually, what I'm really looking for is a dropping jaw! UNBELIEVABLE!!