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
We can make this thread for anything to do with Micro! Where is everyone from and where are you taking micro and for what program??
Micro was the first class I took when I decided to try for a BSN degree - seems like a bizillion years ago - in '01. Boy was I in for a shock. Up until that point I had been taking semi-easy general ed classes. Micro was not easy - I made a 60 something on the first test (and I'm usually an A student). After that it was memorize, memorize, memorize. And for labs we not only had to grow stuff that stank, we had timed tests, like find the bacterium with a microscope in 30 seconds and pour auger into plates (-10 pts for every drop you spill). It seemed like torture at the time, but it helped me prepare for checkoffs in nursing school, and for that I'm thankful.
So hang in there and study hard, because you'll need the skills you're learning now for nursing school.
Seren
LMAO...the bacteria is SOOOO smelly! thats so funny that they made you pour the agar...lol talk about cheap labor! hope you had steady hands too!
dont think so but im sure ill have the pleasure soon!!! lol... i have such a sensitive sense of smell so I can smell them through the agar plates...sometimes when i have to describe them i have to look kinda close and since there is always condensation on the lid i have to take it off and stick it right in my face..ugh....lol
I took Microbiology last semester and managed to pull off an A in the class but it wasnt easy. Not because the class was hard but because the professor sucked so bad. It is so true that a good professor makes all the difference. I really dont feel like I learned anything in that class, in fact, we missed out on 6 labs because the lab tech was out sick and the professor wouldnt set up the lab for us. So over all we missed out on a lot of important information. If I have any extra time I may pay to audit micro with a different teacher so I can really experience what this class is suppose to be about. You dont even want to know about our unknown bacteria final LMAO what a joke!
dont think so but im sure ill have the pleasure soon!!! lol... i have such a sensitive sense of smell so I can smell them through the agar plates...sometimes when i have to describe them i have to look kinda close and since there is always condensation on the lid i have to take it off and stick it right in my face..ugh....lol
Believe me, if someone swabs something and Proteus shows up, it will smell up the lab room as soon as the incubator is opened!!! Nasty!
Has anyone done the "unknown" lab yet?? if you have how did you figure out what your unknown was or more so what was the best way? what did you have and what were its traits?? im doing my unknown next week and want to get a jump start:) thanks guys!
Has anyone done the "unknown" lab yet?? if you have how did you figure out what your unknown was or more so what was the best way? what did you have and what were its traits?? im doing my unknown next week and want to get a jump start:) thanks guys!
We are doing a practice unknown right now. So far, I think mine is Gram negative rods...either that or coccobacillus. I kept my slide to look at it again tomorrow night. I felt so rushed tonight; We had a lab practical, a quiz, and regular lab. I didn't leave until around 10:10PM, and the lab was supposed to be over at 9:40PM!
Anyway, once I make a decision on what the morphology is, I will narrow it down to gram negative bacteria. (I may to a acid-fast stain on it to make sure I didn't over decolorize my smear.) Then perform other tests on it, and hopefully come up with an answer that is correct.
I really like the lab portion of Micro, but the lecture is worrying me!
I think the best approach is to start with a gram stain. Once you've made the gram +/- determination and the morphology, that narrows it down (In my class, there was only one bacteria in one of the categories. One guy only had to do a gram stain to determine his first unknown). Then you just have to look at that category and figure out which tests (try to use the most reliable ones, and don't do any tests on a Friday where the results/color could change by Monday) will narrow it further. Usually after about 2 or 3 tests, you should be pretty sure. Then just do 1 or 2 more to confirm it.
This scared the crap out of me when I took Micro. We had 2 organisms, 1 was 10% of our grade, the other extra credit. As nervous as I was, I ended up getting them both right.
Our unknown is 100 points, which is a about a third of our lab grade. (110/quizzes, 90/3 practicals, 100/unknown)
85 points is just documentation in a journal, testing and documenting results, etc. Only 15 points is actually given/taken away for guessing the unknown correctly/incorrectly.
I think the best approach is to start with a gram stain. Once you've made the gram +/- determination and the morphology, that narrows it down (In my class, there was only one bacteria in one of the categories. One guy only had to do a gram stain to determine his first unknown). Then you just have to look at that category and figure out which tests (try to use the most reliable ones, and don't do any tests on a Friday where the results/color could change by Monday) will narrow it further. Usually after about 2 or 3 tests, you should be pretty sure. Then just do 1 or 2 more to confirm it.
This scared the crap out of me when I took Micro. We had 2 organisms, 1 was 10% of our grade, the other extra credit. As nervous as I was, I ended up getting them both right.
I get my unknown next week...its our LAST lab...thank goodness....ive been lucky so far and have made all a's on the first 4 tests...i have gotten all 15pts on all 7 labs thus far and our unknown is worth 30...we have two tests left..one this monday and the final in about a week and half...i cant wait for it to be over...if i never have to see another gram stain in my life i would be soooo happy:) Ill prob need your guys help next week
(I actually like the gram staining, etc., not sure, but I think I bombed my first test. Good thing our lowest test grade is dropped!)
I get my unknown next week...its our LAST lab...thank goodness....ive been lucky so far and have made all a's on the first 4 tests...i have gotten all 15pts on all 7 labs thus far and our unknown is worth 30...we have two tests left..one this monday and the final in about a week and half...i cant wait for it to be over...if i never have to see another gram stain in my life i would be soooo happy:) Ill prob need your guys help next week
Most of our unknown grade is our report with our processes, etc. Our actual findings are a small percentage of the grade, like some others have mentioned. I am really enjoying this class so far, but some of it is skeeving me out:uhoh21:
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GrnHonu99, RN
1,459 Posts
LMAO...the bacteria is SOOOO smelly! thats so funny that they made you pour the agar...lol talk about cheap labor! hope you had steady hands too!