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!

Midterms already?!

I've been in school for 7 weeks already and time is just flying by! Everybody said it would be like that, too, so I should be a nurse in no time at all ;) To keep myself steady, I write every assignment in my planner and cross it off as it is done. I only look week to week so I don't get too far ahead or fall behind. I even have a schedule of when I can sleep and when I have to study! I'm working at the hospital overnights every weekend and a weekday evening shift here and there. I refuse to be blindsided by huge assignments or exams that I "forgot" about so organization is key.

As for my very first exam, I did not do as well as I had hoped. My second exam in the same class is tomorrow and I found a few girls in my class to study with and feel a lot more confident than the first time around! This is for A&P and Dream School's standards are set pretty high; you have to get a 75% average on all of the exams/lab practicals in order to pass the class. You can have 100% on all of the quizzes, homework assignments, participation, etc. but have a 74% average on exams and you FAIL. You cannot pass go and you certainly cannot collect $200. On the first exam, I got a 72% so I was depressed for a few days. However I got a 96% on my first lab practical which brought my exam average up to an 80%. Oh happy day!

One thing I absolutely love about all of these classes I am taking is that they are healthcare field related.  I'm not learning about parasites that only infect whales and I'm not learning about sociology in random cultures. I'm learning about REAL things that affect humans that may affect how I care for them when I'm a nurse! And when I take math next semester, I won't learn calculus or how to find the area of a triangle, but I will learn how to calculate doses and convert from metric to US.

Lastly, I will just share a study technique that I have found really helps me and that is using Quizlet. I use my professor's PowerPoints as a guideline, then add to my flashcards things from the book that I don't quite understand. Quizlet also has an iPhone app that can help me when I'm on the go. I especially love searching topics and studying what other people have made flashcards for. :) I make flashcards for every class and can share them with my classmates. Making my own flashcards really helps me retain more information. What ways do you study that helps best?

iPhone Apps

A few years ago, I purchased my first smart phone - an iPhone - and immediately fell in love. I had always been the owner of a "dumb phone" so I was set once I was able to have the internet at my fingertips. While I admit I am on my phone a little too much, there are plenty of perks to owning an iPhone. Over the last several months, I have been accumulating different (FREE!) apps that could potentially help me with Nursing School! Here is a list of what I've come up with so far. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to comment below and I'll look into it.


iTriage - It can be very frustrating at times to feel awful and not know the cause right off the bat. This app is good for everyone, not just nursing students. It can be used as a starting point when it comes to starting care plans and also has a medication database.

Resuscitation! - This is a virtual patient simulator where you get a case and have to diagnose and treat the patient. It is geared more towards medical students but I have lots of fun trying to figure out what orders are important. I've also learned a lot about different radiology imaging and lab tests. The app itself is free but to buy more cases, you have to pay a small fee. It gets fairly addicting, so be careful ;)

BlackBoard - Dream School does not use BlackBoard but my previous college did. I included this in the list because many people don't realize they have an iPhone app :) Notes, PowerPoints, and communication functions are readily available and you can even set push notifications to let you know when announcements and grades are posted.

Lippincott's NCLEX-RN Review - When I was doing research on what new nurses should do, I frequently read to start studying for the NCLEX the first semester. I only have this app for now until I learn more about different study books and which program is the better choice for the way I study best.

Figure 1 - Healthcare professionals use this photo-sharing app to learn and share their experiences. I have seen photos ranging from amazing to gross to how-are-they-even-alive. Best of all, there are editing options where you can crop or cross out any PHI to keep patients protected. Categories allow easy searching. I have learned so much from this app and seen many things that students don't get the chance to see during clinical.

Epocrates - I haven't messed around with this app too much but I have only heard good things.

8tracks - This music app contains user-submitted mixes rather than app-created playlists. You select what you are in the mood for to narrow down your options and I haven't really found a playlist that wasn't on point! For the time being, there aren't tons of ads either. I use this much more than Pandora, especially when I'm burning off stress at the gym. You can also go to their website on their computer to listen too!

Hippo Remote - Y'all, I can get really distracted sometimes. I love my laptop, but it's so easy to switch from PowerPoints and Bing to Facebook and Pinterest while studying. It got to the point where I would put my laptop on the coffee table, sit back on the couch, and use my toes to click through the PP. Seriously. I discovered this app that uses your iPhone as a clicker remote for PowerPoint so you can give presentations easier. I use it while studying! It's perfect in that I can't physically get distracted.