Six a day

As you begin a new anatomy and physiology course, you will likely feel a bit overwhelmed with the flood of new terminology.  Or a lot overwhelmed with all the new terms.

However, it need not be as big a struggle as you might first think.  There are some tricks and shortcuts . . . and I'm here to let you in on a few of those.

Today's tip comes from my friend Jane, who is a very talented professor of foreign language.  She told me that research as shown that most people can easily learn five to seven new words a day.  That is, if you work at it, you can add about six new words to your vocabulary each day without too much trouble.

That doesn't seem like a lot, but if you spend a few minutes a day you can easily pick up about 45 new terms a week.  That's over 700 new terms in a semester!

But of course, the trick is to put a little bit effort into every single day.  Simply make yourself six or seven new flash cards, each with a new term, every day.  Review them for  just a few minutes, but do that several times throughout the day.

Don't forget to spend a few minutes reviewing your cards from the days before . . . you don't want to forget those new terms.

If you make this a habit, then you'll find that those few minutes a day can really make a huge difference in your mastery of the terminology of A&P.

Here are some more tips to help you get started learning the terminology of A&P:

There's more! 

Click here to browse my many tips for mastering the terminology of A&P.

Why be honest?

What if your health professional
cheated their way through school?

As you begin a new semester of anatomy and physiology, the notion of academic integrity is worth thinking about.

What is it?  Academic integrity is the honesty with which you participate in your course and other learning activities.

Characteristics of students with academic integrity include:

• Honestly represent personal work as their own.  These students do not copy the work of others and represent it as their own work. 
• Communicate with the instructor and others truthfully.  These students do not make false statements about computer failures, family emergencies, etc., in order to extend deadlines, excuse absences, or gain sympathy.
• Engage other students with integrity.  These students do not enable academic dishonesty by illicitly providing test answers or other academic assignments to other students.  They do not "look the other way" when they observe dishonesty, but instead report it to the instructor.

The main reason you want to be honest in your anatomy and physiology course is that you need to learn these concepts.  A&P is the foundation of everything else you will encounter in your professional training program and your career.  If you use dishonest shortcuts to give the illusion that you have learned more than you actually have, then you will be underprepared for the rest of the course and the rest of your academic program.  It's likely that you won't be able to successfully begin your career.

If you get through your program by cheating, which is not very likely, you may later cause death or illness in a client! How?  Because there will be concepts missing from your professional knowledge base.

Now is a great time to develop an ethical, professional mindset.  And that mindset MUST include integrity because this is so important for health professionals. You don't want to set yourself up for  failure as a professional and as a person, do you?

A few more reasons students want to practice integrity in the A&P course:

• They want their credentials from their course and their college/university to be "worth something" . . . and the credentials won't be worth much if integrity is not the norm.
• They don't want to be one of the folks listed in the professional newsletters that have been censured, suspended, license revoked, jailed, sued, etc. for offenses that are essentially failures of integrity. Often, these are the "one time, this won't hurt anyone, itty-bitty" cheating incidents.
• They don't want their classmates caring for their family and friends (or handling their health records) if their classmates made it through school by cheating, even a little.
• They want to be prepared fully for the next class, the next program, the next profession.  And you cannot be fully prepared with missing pieces in your training.
•  They don't want to be known by your colleagues, your friends, and your teachers as a cheater.
• How will they find folks to give them glowing references if they are known to them as dishonest?

When it comes right down to it, you should ask yourself . . . what kind of person do I want to be? You'll sleep better every night for the rest of your life having made the better choice about integrity.  This is a big deal when you are older and suffer from insomnia.  Just wait.

You may want to review my prior article Why are you here? addressing the importance of learning everything you can in A&P . . . rather than just trying to get through it.

How to start concept mapping

Concept maps are a great way to bolster your understanding of human anatomy and physiology. 

They're easy . . . concept maps are merely simple sketches that summarize the elements of a concept.  Concept maps can also show how different concepts relate to each other. 

By drawing out a concept, you are arranging ideas in the way that your mind works.  It's how you picture an idea, not how your teacher or your textbook author visualizes that idea.  Therefore, it makes the concept easy for you to understand and remember.

As you construct a concept map, you may run into spots where you're not quite sure how things fit together.  That's great!  This shows you where your "weak spot" is with the concept . . . something you may not have discovered until you faced it in a test.  But when you face it in a concept map, you can stop and figure it out.  You can even take your map to your instructor, your tutor, or your study group and ask for help in figuring it out.  Then you'll "own" the concept and will not likely forget it.

Because it's a picture of a concept, a concept map helps you recall a concept easily.  You'll have the concept stored in your mind as a picture that makes sense to you.  Memory experts tell us that pictures of concepts help us recall those concepts.

If you are primarily a visual learner or kinesthetic learner (or both), then concept maps may become a favorite (and efficient) way of learning A&P!

However, if you've never made a concept map, it may be hard to figure out where to start . . . HOW to start.  So here's a short video that shows you an easy way to get started . . .

Check out this pencast on how to start a concept map.

Concept Maps - How to Start
brought to you by Livescribe






Want to know more?

Click here for earlier articles from The A&P Student on concept mapping.

Click here for the Lion Den Tips & Tools article on concept mapping.

Want to make your own pencasts?

Cells hate calcium!

my-ap.us/p2CIFl

I always tell my students to remember these three things:

Cells hate sodium ions (Na⁺).
Cells hate calcium ions (Ca⁺⁺).
Cells love potassium ions (K⁺).

OK, that's not literally true.  As far as we know, cells are not conscious and therefore do not love or hate anything.  But they sure act like they do!

Think about it.  All living cells have Na-K pumps that pump Na⁺ out while at the same time pump K⁺ in. When Na⁺ leaks into the cell, out it goes.  Likewise, when K⁺ leaks out of a cell, it's pumped back in.

As far as cells are concerned, Na⁺ is like a rattlesnake and thus is repulsive and must be gotten rid of when it sneaks in.  And K⁺ is like a puppy that the must be brought in and cuddled.  Should K⁺ escape to the cold, cruel world outside a cell, it should be brought back inside and cuddled.

Knowing these facts about sodium and potassium ions is useful to A&P students.  Why?  Because it helps explain where these ions are likely to be found in the human body:

• If you're looking for Na⁺, look in the solution outside the cell (extracellular fluid). You won't find much Na⁺ inside the cell, because it is continually pumped out of the cell.
  
  
• If you are looking for K⁺, don't look in the extracellular fluid. You'll find very little K⁺ there. Most of the K⁺ will be inside the cell (intracellular fluid).
  
  

my-ap.us/nLkG2W

The fact that there are these sodium and potassium ion concentration gradients help explain the concept of membrane voltage (membrane potential). This idea, then, is the foundation of understanding nerve impulses and muscle stimulation.

During a nerve impulse, Na⁺ rushes into the nerve cell because of the concentration gradient described above (most of the sodium is outside the cell). This gives the membrane a temporary inside-positive charge… and that's what a nerve impulse is. The normal membrane voltage is restored quickly when K⁺ is allowed to rush out of the nerve cell, thus moving the net positive charge to the outside of the cell membrane.

All living cells have calcium pumps that pump calcium out of the cell.  Some calcium pumps also pump calcium into sacks (the smooth ER).  To a cell, Ca⁺⁺ is like a cobra. When it leaks into a cell, and it will, it is pumped out quickly or pushed into a sack.

Knowing this fact about calcium ions is useful for understanding many different concepts in A&P.

For example, muscle fibers pump calcium ions out of the plasma membrane (sarcolemma) and into the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR, a form of smooth ER). When the muscle membrane is stimulated (see the paragraphs above), the Ca⁺⁺ comes rushing into the intracellular fluid from the SR and/or from the extracellular fluid. Ca⁺⁺ immediately binds to the cytoskeleton, which then produces muscle contraction.

A similar thing happens at the end of a neuron when a nerve impulse (see the paragraphs above) gets to its farthest distance and permits Ca⁺⁺ to flow into the cell. The Ca⁺⁺ binds to the cytoskeleton and thereby triggers the movement of vesicles filled with neurotransmitter. These vesicles crash into the plasma membrane and release neurotransmitters by exocytosis, thus allowing them to signal another cell.

Ca⁺⁺ gradients are also key to understanding how many hormones trigger their target cells. It even helps explain some of the functions of sperm cells and egg cells during human reproduction.

So you can see that this idea of cells hating sodium and calcium ions and loving potassium ions comes in pretty handy when trying to understand many of the concepts of human physiology.

Study Droid

Looking for a way to tame the thousands of terms you are flooded with in your A&P course?

Looking for a shortcut to memorizing  structures in your A&P lab?

How about an easy way to practice identifying histology specimens, anatomical structures, and important concepts?

Maybe you've already found out what bazillions of A&P students before you have discovered . . . flash cards!

One of many web-based tools that you can use is Study Droid.

If you want to see one student's take on Study Droid, then check out this video.


If you want a more focused tutorial on how to use Study Droid, then check out this video.


Already using Study Droid to study for A&P, then let's hear about your experience!

The Bloodmobile

Sometimes catchy little songs can help us learn even very complex concepts.

My friend Ellen recently sent along this video with the snappy tune Bloodmobile.  This song from They Might Be Giants summarizes the main functions of the blood . . . a very timely topic for those of you at the beginning of your A&P 2 course.



While we're on a cardiovascular theme, you may recall seeing my previous post Pump Your Blood that features the classic song of the same name that has been used by countless A&P students to learn the path of blood through the heart.

Have any more?  Why not share them?

Learn your anatomical directions!

As you begin studying the structure and function of the human body, you'll find that you need to be thoroughly familiar with the terminology used in anatomy to describe directions and orientation.

It may seem overwhelming at first, but it's a necessary step in learning everything else in anatomy.  It's like knowing north from south and east from west when beginning a course in geography.

Extra time and effort spent to learn anatomical directions and orientation at the beginning of the course will make most of the next semester or two . . . and beyond into other courses and your career . . . go way more smoothly.  Really.  It's hard to see that now, I know.  But trust me!

Besides your learning in the lab and lecture course, and working through your textbook and lab manual, you may find this FREE mini-course to be helpful.  It's called simply Anatomical Directions and it's provided as a free service from Insight Medical Academy. It requires a free registration to use the course, so be sure to register before trying to access the course.  Here's a brief video explaining how the free course works.

Sleeping through A&P

Research confirms it . . . sleeping helps you learn A&P! 

OK, I'm not talking about sleeping during your A&P class.  That kind of sleeping hurts your ability to learn A&P.

Although we've known about this for a long time, recent research in mice adds to the evidence that a session of uninterrupted sleep helps you learn things.  Here's a link to a brief, easy-to-understand explanation of the research: my-ap.us/ne2WaP

What this means is that you should make great effort to get a good night's sleep every day that you study A&P.  That means sleeping well on nights that follow your lectures, labs, and study sessions. Or even better: getting a good night's sleep every night!


Yeah, I know . . . there are all kinds of things that interrupt your sleep.  What I'm saying is that it's important to reduce those interruptions as much as possible.  It may mean that you need to get others in your life "on board" with your learning goals, as I explained in a recent post. It may mean changing your schedule around a bit. 

A lot of folks don't really have good sleep habits . . . at that prevents them from sleeping well.  Which prevents them from learning well.  There are a lot of resources for learning good sleep habits, so if you have trouble sleeping well you should do a bit of research or find some professional help.

Besides helping you learn, good sleep habits also help you stay awake during class . . . no matter how boring your professor is!  Regular, uninterrupted sleep also helps you stay healthy and live a longer, happier life!

My A&P students are always looking for ways to help them remember things.  So here's something that's easy: just make sure you get a good night's sleep!

Here's a short video on good sleep hygiene using tips from the CDC and acted out by students at Miami University.

The art of listening

I just ran across a short video in which "listening expert' Julian Treasuresummarizes five easy ways to become a better listener. 

He also points out why listening is important and why it's a skill that, as a culture, we are losing.  And perhaps more importantly for our quest for success in our anatomy & physiology course, he mentions why good listening skills are important for students.

I see so many students "out of focus" and "out of tune" with what is happening in the A&P lecture and lab.  So I know that good listening skills are not common in today's students.  This video will help make you a better student!

Mr. Treasure also talks about having the"listening position" appropriate to the kind of listening in which we are engaged.

He sums up with a quick acronym, RASA, that helps us remember some key points in listening effectively:

Receive

Appreciate

Summarize

Ask

Check out the video! (and listen carefully) 

Click image to view video

Not just for A&P!

If you've wrapped up your A&P course, you may think you no longer need advice, tips, and shortcuts from this blog.

But you'd be wrong!

As I mentioned in a previous article (my-ap.us/is1Wa6), this is just the beginning of a lifetime of using A&P!  I suggest staying tuned in to this blog because you can continue to benefit from most, if not all, future articles as you struggle through your professional training and the continuing education that is required of working health professionals.

An easy way to keep up with this blog is by signing up for the FREE email updates using the form at the right of the blog page or at theapstudent.feedblitz.com

And while I have your attention, I'd like to make my usual end-of-semester plea:

Do NOT sell, give away, recycle, or burn your A&P textbook!

Really, I mean it!  You will regret it if you do. You're going to need it as you progress through future studies and into your practice as a health professional.  See my advice at my-ap.us/mhYggB

Future Health Scholarship

Are you pursuing a career in health care? 

Could you use an extra $5,000 or $10,000 to help pay for your schooling?

Then you should check this out:

Tylenol 2011 Future Health Scholarship

http://my-ap.us/jV4bKy

Synapatic Cleft rap video

Need a fresh perspective on the function of nerve signaling?

Here's a parody of Wu-Tang's "Gravel Pit" made by students to help them integrate their knowledge of synaptic signaling and the role of neurotransmitters.

Check out the video (after making sure that your speakers are cranked up):


Download the audio

You may want to review the nerve cell outline before or after watching the video.

Did you know that the discovery of the first neurotransmitter happened in a dream?  Really! Check out Receptors by Richard Restak.

Looking for other silly songs?

Use Word Stash for learning new terms

In several previous articles, I mentioned that the first step in learning the concepts of anatomy and physiology successfully is to learn the language.  You need to master the terminology before you can begin to understand the ideas.

And in many of those previous articles, I pointed out that learning new terms--even a huge number of new terms--can be fast and easy if you simply practice, practice, practice.  Every day.  Several times a day.  But just a few minutes at a time.

And an easy way to practice is using flashcards.  Flashcards can be either traditional paper 3"x5" index cards or any of the many computer-based variations of the flashcard technique.

Recently, a reader of this blog recommended another of the web-based varieties of flashcards.  It's called Word Stash it's a great FREE tool that's very easy to use.

It gives you several options to create word lists, using previously used definitions from a database or using definitions that you write or copy from your course materials.

If you tell your A&P professor about Word Stash, they can create a "class" and load in word lists from their course.  Or your study group or tutor can create a "teacher account" and create a list that is shared by anyone who is part of that class.

I created a class called, you guessed it, The A&P Student . . . and loaded in a word list to show you how it works. Join this "class" to see how Word Stash works:

http://wordstash.com/academic_classes/190

Password: theapstudent

You'll have to register as a user during the process of accessing this class and word list.  Then play around with the different ways to practice the terms!

Practice!

Practice!

Practice!

Video on running concept lIsts

What in the world is a a running concept list, anyway?!

Put simply, running concept lists are a set of lists, each list relating to a single concept, that you update continually as you learn more about each concept.  They are easy to make and to maintain.  And they are very handy tools for learning new concepts . . . or for reviewing old concepts.

But they are even more helpful for learning the connections between concepts . . . thus developing your critical thinking skills!

Concept lists are also called connection pages because they help you see connections.

I've outlined this ongoing study technique several times before. You may want to review those previous articles.

As you grow your library of running concepts lists, you'll find that you have constructed a personal encyclopedia of knowledge!  One that you can build on (and refer back to) for a lifetime.

If you haven't bothered to learn about running concept lists before, you may want to reconsider this powerful tool.


Recently, I added this video to my page on Concept Lists found in the Lion Den Study Tips & Tools.

Why are you here?

I know this sounds like a dopey question, but I'll ask it anyway . . .

Why are you taking this course in anatomy and physiology?

Based on my experience of decades teaching A&P, I've found that all too many students can only answer, "because it's required."

An answer that is much better for the student is, "to learn the concepts of human structure and function that I will need in later courses and in a lifetime career in a health or sports career."

Really, the A&P course is required of you for a reason.  It's not simply to jump through a hoop.  Or to weed out the weak students. The reason is simple.  You cannot fully understand, or even begin to understand, many of the concepts you'll run into later without a thoroughly embedded understanding of the principles of human anatomy and physiology.  Period.

If you pick up ANY textbook from a course in the health professions, you will find references to human anatomy and physiology principles scattered throughout.  Many such textbooks will even refer to "what you learned in your anatomy and physiology course," sometimes providing a quick review before jumping into a more complicated topic.  If you fail to learn your A&P now, then those quick reviews won't be just a review, will they?  They'll be a warning sign that you are about to get into something you are not prepared for!

So why do I ask this question?  And propose a "correct" answer?

Because if you get on board with the "correct answer" now, you'll dramatically change how you study A&P . . . for the better!

The sooner you realize that you'll need all of these concepts to be successful in your later learning--and in your ongoing career--the sooner you will realize that studying for the test just won't cut it.  You have to shift out of the short-term view and start thinking about learning for a lifetime.

Instead of cramming just before a test, to learn some facts that will stay with you for only a few hours, you'll study every day so that you'll never forget what you are learning.  You'll continually review material from previous topics because you'll notice them coming up again and again.

With the long view, you'll also start working on understanding relationships among the various principles you are learning.  You'll begin to see why it's important to know the basic principles deeply because it makes everything you encounter in human science more understandable and thus easier to learn.

Not to scare you, but a conversation I recently had with some teachers in a health-professions program confirmed again for me the fact that you will fail your professional courses if you don't remember most of your A&P.

Isn't that a good reason to evaluate how you approach your studies in A&P?


[Need some help in finding ways to learn more deeply?  Besides asking your A&P professor for advice, why not try the tips I offer my students at the Lion Den Tips & Tools?]