School and Whining

Well, karma has come back to bite me in the butt big time. My classes were so easy over the summer and it seems that I am being paid back for that now....times a gazillion.

Anatomy and Physiology 1:
After the first day of class (this Monday), we had a homework assignment that even Andrea didn't easily know the answers for. Like...medical applications and working diagrams of injuries and directional X-rays and other scans. Way beyond the scope of what I felt prepared to answer. On the first day, we covered chapter 1. Today, the second day, we covered the majority of chapter 5 (Integumentary system), some of chapter 4 (tissue types), and looked at epithelial tissue slides. So now I have to draw diagrams of a bunch of stuff that I'm not sure I even saw on the slides. Much of what he lectured on today is pathology, which is not even in the book. My notes are full of words that I don't even understand the meanings of. Words like: corpuscle, keratinocytes, Vitiligo, bilirubin, Thalessemia, Hemolysis, vernix caseosa, lunago, mycogryphosis, koilonychia, and onycogryphosis. On the first day when he was walking us through the online program we are using (Course Compass), he was showing us how the grades are inputted and on the screen were last semester's students' grades. Mostly Cs, Ds, and Fs for the assignments/tests we could see. 32/50, 56/100, 23/30. When he's lecturing, he frequently says, "this will get you a 70." Today after drawing a detailed diagram of the dermis on the board, he said, "This will get you an 80 or 85." That's the highest grade he's mentioned. He has made it clear that we are responsible for his lectured material as well as stuff in the book that he doesn't even mention...pretty normal, but I'm pretty worried about the first test. Overall, we will have 8 tests, 2 pop quizes, lots of homework assignments, an oral and written mid-term and final, a paper, a presentation, 3 dissections, and a few other labs. I predict lots and lots of flashcards. On a more positive note: the subject matter is very interesting and fascinating to me and he's a good lecturer--not boring or too scattered. I'm just a little freaked out right now about the sheer amount of completely unfamiliar information and diseases to be learned. This is not simple memorization (which is easy for me)...this is something else entirely. I'll be fine once I get the hang of it, I'm sure...I hope....

Microbiology:
Well, my teacher is very enthusiastic and seems pretty hardcore. We did 2 labs in that class today. On Monday she lectured nonstop and showed pictures of bacteria for 2 1/2 hours straight. Lots of drawing in this class....which sucks for me cause I really can't draw.

Human Growth and Development:
Lots of work. Lots and lots of work. 15 hours of observation, 6 interviews, 1 in-depth observation and report, lots of homework assignments. Take-home exams and final. Basically, the material is pretty easy and I'm already pretty familiar with a lot of it, but it's just going to be lots of time-consuming work. Add to that the fact that by the time I get to that 4 hour class on Monday nights, I have already sat through 6 hours of class earlier in the day. I think I'll need coffee.

I think the class I'm most freaked out about is anatomy. Hopefully after the first test (2 weeks from today) I'll have a better idea of what and how much detail I need to know. I'm guessing a lot. I also think that Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays are going to be mental breakdown-inducing, but the rest of the week and weekend will be easier and less filled with frantic studying. They will still be filled with studying, just not the frantic type of studying that comes from fearing a pop quiz on the second day of class. I think that on the weekends I am going to try to get ahead on the next week's studying so I won't be so stressed out and overwhelmed.

I still don't have my microbiology book. Supposedly they tried to deliver it on the morning of the 18th and left a slip. I was home then and the doorbell never rang and I never got a missed delivery slip. Supposedly it's at the post office, but I went today and it wasn't there. So....who knows what's up with that.

I'm still trying to figure out if I can get some more work hours with another family. 15 hours just isn't cutting it, especially with all of my unexpected recent dental costs. And another big cost coming up in 3 months when it's time for the crown. Hopefully some more hours will come through as hoped. Although I'm not even sure how much extra time I'll have to work extra hours once I get into a study schedule and all. I can surely make time.