Everything You Need to Know About...

A&P!

Y'all, I was seriously dreading this class. To make it worse, we have to take TWO semesters of it! I eventually gave in and got a tutor who took it at her previous college. She told me she despises the way Dream School has A&P set up because the way she learned it was she had 1 semester of Anatomy and then 1 semester of Physiology, not combined like some colleges do.

Honestly, it isn't that bad.

I took A&P1 at the same time as Microbiology and although that was a huge stressor, a lot of the material we covered in one class was also taught in the other!

Science courses at Dream School are rigorous: we have to have an average of 75% on the quiz/exam portion of the course in order to pass. Meaning, you can have perfect attendance, get 100% on the homework assignments, but get an average of 73% on the quizzes/exams (meaning overall grade in the class is maybe an 80% or 85%!) and still fail the class. Say what!? This is meant to ensure students actually know the material because it is extremely important to not just skim through these gen eds.

Well, on the first exam, I got a 74%. Not too bad, right?

Second exam? Yeah, totally failed.

I knew I had to get help ASAP so I went to our academic counselor and got assigned a tutor who was the bomb! On the 3rd exam, I got a 100%. I saw the grade and I cried and cried because I didn't believe it!

Bottom line, do not be afraid to get help. I met with three of my nursing school friends and we all studied together and did the homework assignments together. THAT helped tremendously because if there was something one of us didn't really understand, there were three more explanations that were available.

A&P is typically at least 4cr because there is a lab portion. That means you should be spending at least 12 hours studying outside of class per week. That's a heck of a lot of A&P!

I invested in thousands of flash cards because A&P is all about memorization. Sad, but true.

Before each lecture, I printed off the PowerPoint notes my teacher provided online. Each lecture had anywhere from 20-100 slides… yep. It's a lot of material. I went through lots and lots of paper. I print my slides like this:

For the layout, I print handouts with 3 slides per page, that way there are lines next to each slide in case I need to write my own notes. (This is a PowerPoint for Statistics - I couldn't bear to open up my A&P folder during summer ;))

During the lecture, I took any notes and highlighted my PowerPoint slides as the professor went along. Also, I got permission from him to record the lecture with a mini-recorder. Then, I uploaded the recording to my iPhone and listened to the lecture again while working out! When I met with the academic counselor, she had me do an array of tests to see what kind of learner I am… turns out, I am a bodily/kinesthetic learner. All along, I thought I was more of a visual learner, which is why I wasn't doing so well on my tests. After I got this bit of info, my test scores went up dramatically because I was absorbing the material in a way that works for me. She also advised me to get a stress ball or something I can squeeze while in class and although that might seem like a distraction, doing something with my hands helped! I'll make a post about these types of learner tests in the future. :)

After the lecture, I went back through my notes just to check if there was anything I missed or had further questions about. Being a kinesthetic learner, I have a hard time reading a text book. Instead, I keep the book on hand to go back through and fill in the missing information. I also make a ton of flash cards with vocabulary I might see on future quizzes or tests. Lastly, I invested in some colorful paper that I use to draw diagrams, make charts, etc that also helped me learn.

There were a few concepts I just couldn't grasp. One of them being everything that has to do with the nervous system. My husband knows nothing about A&P so I tried to teach the material to him and found this really works. Trying to teach someone something you aren't very confident about helps you to retrace your steps, especially if they ask questions. Even if he wasn't listening very intently, I still was able to put the knowledge in my head onto paper, then speak it out loud. Ironically, I aced my nervous system test ;)

The internet is fabulous. I used countless YouTube videos, Pinterest boards, and A&P blogs to get through my first semester of A&P. When there is something you just can't understand, try a search and find someone who does understand and learn it that way. 

A&P2, ready or not, here I come!

Getting Ready for B2S!

Hi everyone! Today I'm going to share with you a few tips on getting back into the swing of things for next semester. It seems like just yesterday I was taking my last final and smiling as I scurried out of class. Before you know it, it's going to be August and you'll be faced with heading back to school.

1) Buy a great planner. I never used a planner through high school and barely used one at my other colleges, but this past semester [first semester of my BSN program] I heavily used the same planner from the first day all the way until finals week! I was so proud of myself because not once did I fall behind and deadlines sometimes rarely snuck up on me. Late June-early July is when companies come out with 2014-2015 planners. I've used a variety of planners in the past including Lilly Pulitzer, some from Target, and the one Dream School gave to us, but this year I plan on investing in a planner from Erin Condren. They are a little pricey but I've never heard anything bad about them and they are extremely cute. Once you have a planner, USE IT! A great planner will include both monthly and weekly views. I will post about how I organize mine in the near future.

2) Stock up on school supplies. This time of year is great for buying school supplies because they are incredibly cheap compared to during the semester. Also, nothing is worse than running out of lead or computer paper when you are right down to the deadline. My pen bag usually contains 3-5 mechanical pencils, 3-5 pens [a couple ball-point and a couple of inky ones], 5 highlighters [one of every color so I can differentiate things in my notes], a chunky pink eraser, and a couple of black sharpies. If you buy spiral notebooks, college ruled often works better because you can fit more notes per page. These notebooks from Target come in adorable prints or this Etsy shop can even monogram your notebook.

3) Check local ads and listings. I've heard of several states that do a tax-free shopping weekend in August so any school supplies, books, backpacks, and clothes can be purchased without having to pay tax. This saved me a ton of money when I purchased my graphing calculator (~$120) and medical dictionary (~$60). Also, many stores do price matching including Walmart. If Office Max is selling spiral notebooks for 20¢, Walmart can give you the same sale price even if they are priced at $1 there. This is a wonderful way to save on purchases!

4) Get back into a normal routine. When I was growing up, my parents always put me to bed earlier each night just to make sure I was able to wake up early for the first day. College is no different! We get into such a routine during the summer whether we're staying up late watching Netflix or sleeping in, so a couple weeks before your first day, try to train yourself to fall asleep at a decent hour and actually getting up when your alarm goes off in the morning. A few tips to have a better night sleep include not eating or drinking before bed, listen to soothing music while trying to fall asleep, and relaxing before bed (I like to do yoga or stretch, followed by a warm shower).

5) Organize your office or study space. This was huge for me when I lived in the dorms. I hated having so much clutter on my desk because when I would try to study, all I could think about was getting the mess cleaned up. To fix this, I try my best to keep my area organized. The dollar stores have tons of cute bins and containers that can hold all of your desk supplies. I prefer to do a deep inspection of everything I have and figure out where to put it so when school starts back up, I'm not stressed with a huge mess or forget to get anything (see #2!).

via

6) Buy your books, get new scrubs, and find your ID badge. Although I'm not in clinical until 3rd semester (Spring 2015), I have already purchased my scrubs, shoes, and stethoscope required for it. Luckily, my tuition reimbursement I get through work came in early so instead of buying random stuff I don't need buying new clothes refilling my Starbucks card splurging on a new pair of shoes putting it all into savings, I decided to go ahead and get the required uniform. It was so nice doing it that way rather than waiting until the last minute, especially because that will be the Holidays, finals, etc! Also, I would have had a breakdown if they were sold out of my size at the scrub store and missed the first couple of weeks since my uniform would be backordered. Talk about a nightmare! 

7) Have fun while you can! Seriously, nursing school is stressful as it is. One or two summers, Dream School makes us do a practicum so this is probably my last summer to just relax and hang out. Plan a mini vacay before it's back to school. You deserve it! :)

See you next semester!
-Leigh