Students blog

I wish I could say I have an extraordinary story to tell about why I wanted to be a nurse. Where I saved someone’s life on a random day, or I was impacted a certain way when at the hospital. Truthfully speaking, the reason why I concluded to become a nurse was because of anatomy and physiology. When I was in high school taking anatomy and physiology for the first time, I was captivated by the beauty of the human body, specifically the heart. I was entranced by the simultaneous complexity and simplicity of the structure of the heart. From here, I entered an endless cycle of wanting to learn more.

I knew I had many exams ahead of me before I could finish my nursing journey. However, the first step was to prepare for was the TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) exam. The TEAS is a standardized entrance exam used at my nursing program to judge how competent you are to enter the nursing program. It covers areas such as reading, math, science, anatomy and physiology, and English. Considering that my strongest suits had been reading and math, I primarily focused on studying for the science portion of the exam. This accounted for my many trips to the school library alongside my anatomy and physiology textbook. Each day I would set aside 3-4 hours of studying where I really focused on the foundation of the various systems in the body. Practice questions were my lifeline. As humbled as I would be when I got an answer wrong, it made me realize that I needed to look over the material and figure out what I was not understanding. With the assistance of the Mastering A&P questions, I was able to have a trusted guide to develop my weaker areas.

Soon enough I received my score from the TEAS and got into the nursing program. Now came the hard part: passing nursing school. I cannot describe in words the culture shock I had when entering my human assessment and fundamentals class. It required a different level of understanding and analyzing practice questions, since the course transitioned from straight forward questions to critical thinking analysis. From the whirlwind of late-night study sessions, clinical rotations, and the weekly exams, nursing school has been nothing but a rollercoaster ride. However, I believe the reason I am able to comprehend and pass every exam is my solid foundation of anatomy and physiology. Once you understand how an organ is supposed to function, you can understand where it is going wrong. For example, veins take blood to the heart while arteries take blood away from the heart. Now, a patient comes in with pain in their legs that worsens with exercise, pain eases with rest and reports numbness and paresthesia. As a nurse assessing this patient, I can suspect maybe there is a problem of circulation either between the veins or arteries and can expect a certain level of care for this patient. Nonetheless, I would not be able to come to this conclusion if I did not know the way our bodies receive circulation.

On top of having a good foundation of anatomy and physiology, I have found it critical to pair that with practicing NCLEX-style questions to prepare for the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses) exam. The NCLEX-RN is a computer adaptive exam that has to be passed in order to establish licensing for an individual to work as a Registered Nurse. This dynamic combination is a powerful tool for not only passing the NCLEX exam but becoming a competent nurse. As I am passing the last hurdle of the program, I focus my energy on completing and revising practice questions. Nursing students at Miami-Dade have to take an exit exam that calculates our probability of actually passing the NCLEX. This exam covers all the principles that we have been learning from the beginning. Having questions that mimic real world scenarios requires us not only to recall information but also apply it. It is the bridge that connects our theoretical knowledge of anatomy and physiology with the practical nursing interventions required to be competent. To give an example, prioritization questions help us understand which patient should we designate care to first in critical settings. As you may know, nurses will have multiple patients at a time, but it is up to the nurse's critical judgment to decide which patient takes priority over the others. A patient going into cardiac arrest will take priority over a patient who is vomiting blood. With the recurrent practice of this style of questions I will be able to go into the real world and identify which one of my patients has the higher risk of getting hurt and who I have to assess first.

To sum everything up, nursing school is not about just passing a test. It is the foundation of our nursing care and having reassurance in knowing that we are well prepared to provide safe care to our future patients. Combining a strong foundation in anatomy and physiology with consistent practice of NCLEX-style questions will provide the smoothest pathway to succeed in the nursing field. I know that the first few years of being a nurse will be the most difficult transition in the beginning. Learning the hospital's policies and the way to ease communications with different patients and hospital personnel will be something I learn on the job. However, I can sleep comfortably knowing that I have the knowledge to provide safe and competent care to any patient that comes into my hands.

Every student knows how hard it is to study for lab exams. You spend hours in lab making observations, doing experiments, collecting data, dissecting specimens, etc. just to leave and hope that you took enough photos and wrote down enough information to be useful later. These pictures are often blurry, and you can’t go back and look at your work to take better ones which makes it feel impossible to study for exams! This frustration is what makes Pearson’s PAL (Practice Anatomy Lab) 4.0 the perfect study tool for students! PAL 4.0 is a program composed of 3D models, diagrams, real life cadaver photos, flashcards, and so much more. It is designed to help students get the same experience online that they did in the lab. Now you don’t have to scour the internet looking for “sheep heart dissection” photos!

PAL Learning Program 

PAL 4.0 is designed to help students with challenging anatomical concepts. The program consists of all the body systems and provides students with various options for learning. These options include anatomical models, a manipulatable 3D model, cadaver photos, histology, and flashcards. All these different styles appeal to different learners! Some students may be wary of the cadaver photos so they can use the anatomical model instead. Some students are visual learners, and some are not. I love all the different formats; I always struggle trying to find diagrams that teach me what I want to know. PAL 4.0 allows me to study in ways I haven’t been able to before!

Mastering 3D simulation

In the PAL 4.0 mastering 3D simulation, you can interact with an anatomical model. The model can be manipulated and viewed from any angle. With the muscular system model, the muscles included in the group you’re studying are highlighted on the figure. If you click on a muscle, a textbox will appear and tell you the name, give you the pronunciation, allow you to hide the muscle, or isolate it. The isolation feature separates the muscle from the body and gives you a 3D image perspective of every angle of that muscle. This feature is incredibly useful because it demonstrates how the muscle looks on its own and how it fits with the body.

See the real thing

I always struggled in classes that didn’t have hands-on applications, like theoretical math, biology at a cellular level, etc. I always learn better when I can see what something looks like in real life. While seeing a cadaver can be shocking at first, being able to identify things you’re learning about, in real pictures, can change how you see them. A drawing of a deltoid muscle doesn’t show the detail that a picture of the real muscle can portray. The PAL 4.0 cadaver photos allow you to see the intricate details of the human muscular system. This has helped me with exams because I remember where those muscles are in my own body. 

Who doesn’t like flashcards?

I haven’t met a college student who doesn’t use flashcards for at least one of their classes; they are an easy way to learn definitions and simple topics. In anatomy, flashcards can be hard to use. How can I make flashcards for something I have to identify? Pearson’s PAL 4.0 provides students with excellent flashcards for every body system and specific region. Once you select a deck, you can choose to study them all or just some of the structures. PAL 4.0 then creates the personalized deck just for you. You’re then presented with an image of the structure you want to study; the other side of the flashcard has the definition. You can zoom in and out of the picture and pan it to get the full idea of the image. There is also an option to quiz yourself. A multiple-choice question will appear and ask you to identify the structure you saw. This amazing feature prepares you for any anatomy diagram a professor might throw at you.

Between the flashcards, the cadaver images, and the 3D simulation, PAL 4.0 really has students’ success in mind. School can be incredibly overwhelming, especially when you don’t have the materials you need to succeed. Thankfully, Pearson consistently equips students with resources to minimize the stress of college.

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