Anatomy and Physiology is a pre-requisite for many healthcare programs. It also happens to be a class that many people struggle with because it’s a lot of information that you need to know. As a nursing student, Anatomy and Physiology was my favorite pre-nursing class that I need to take! If it’s a class that you’ve been dreading, here’s how to get an A in anatomy and physiology! I want to help you earn that A because it will feel so good when you’re completed with the class and this is just one step closer to reaching your goals!

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Here’s How to Get an A in Anatomy and Physiology

If you would rather watch this in video form, check out the video below with all the same information!

Take Medical Terminology if You Can

Medical terminology isn’t a class that’s required for A&P, but it’s extremely helpful. Medical terminology goes over the pre-fixes, root words and suffixes for the language of medicine. I don’t think it’s necessary to get an A, but if you are concerned about taking A&P I feel like it prepared me. My recall was better since certain parts of anatomy and physiology related to the Latin roots that medical terminology went over.

Take Chemistry and Biology Beforehand

It depends on the college that you’re attending, but biology and chemistry aren’t always required to take Anatomy. At my university, all through organic chemistry was required. For my college, only chemistry was required. Biology and chemistry will be briefly reviewed at the beginning, but taking it prior will be very helpful. Concepts like the Krebs Cycle and the ETC are reviewed in A&P and Biology. It will seem like a review if you’ve gone over it in-depth before.

Take A&P Seriously From Day One

There were many people in my class who dropped out within the first few weeks of taking A&P because they got too far behind or underestimated the course. Take it seriously on day one! If you get ahead of the course load you’ll thank yourself in the future. Some sections are harder than others so if you can get ahead of the curve you can be prepared.

Don’t Overwhelm Yourself with Other Responsibilities

If you are worried about getting a good grade in A&P and know if might be something you will struggle with, cut down on your responsibilities. I understand that it’s not always possible to do this. If you can cut down on hours at work or the number of credits you are taking it might be helpful. If not, time management will be crucial so that you can allocate time for studying.

Don’t Skip Class

Skipping class will not help you! As much as you might want to (especially if your teacher doesn’t penalize you), it will not be beneficial in the long run. Skipping class or lab means you might miss the information that you need. It also might mean that you’ll get behind or miss help on a concept you might struggle with. That aside, if you miss a certain amount of labs you can also usually be failed so if you use some of your allotted amounts by skipping, in the event you actually have to miss a class you might be screwed.

Find a Study Tactic that Works for You

Notecards will be your best friend! These were especially helpful for A&P. You can write your own notecards for lectures and if you want notecards with pictures for lab try these from Amazon! Repetition and review are KEY in A&P. Notecards are the best way to review and learn concepts. Of course, everyone has a different way of studying that works for them, so if you know yours then try that too!

A&P Coloring Books Can Help You Familiarize Yourself

I got this A&P coloring book and it helped me visualize locations for anatomy before locating on the cadaver or models. It was also filled with information on certain body groups and anatomy that helped me to review some of the information from the lecture. The coloring book is based on the book I needed for lab, Netter’s Atlas of Anatomy. If you are a visual learner I highly recommend a coloring book.

Go to the Lab After Hours

If there are open lab times that you can go to and study in, do it! I found labs to be more challenging since there were so many different aspects. We needed to learn about cadavers, dissections, models, and microscopes. Labs were also only a few hours so taking pictures of models with labels or microscopes and bringing them home was also helpful. Cadavers are also more challenging to study because you can’t exactly bring them home. Make sure to spend enough time in the lab so that you learn what you need to know.

Watch Youtube Dissections, Crash Course, and Model Reviews

If you don’t have access to the lab tech or want to review for yourself at home, take advantage of videos! There are so many resources on YouTube. Detailed dissections and model reviews were helpful to see what you need to identify during quizzes that a coloring book or textbook really doesn’t go over. You can also take your own videos of models that you can review later if you’re unsure when you’re trying to identify.