Am I dumb or what?

I turned to Nursing after deciding 4 yrs of Accounting wasn't for me despite the good money. I love the personable nature of doing your best to help an ailing person recover and that at the end of the day you actually do something noble regardless of the "bad" days rather than shuffling money around a spreadsheet. Volunteering at hospitals also helped in my decision.

Problem? I feel like I'm really dumb! I'm taking A&P 1 & 2. I love the classes which does a great job of piquing my interest about the human body but when it gets to exams I FREEZE! My professor doesn't understand as I seem to be the one volunteering most of the right answers in lectures and lab and explaining concepts to my study mates.
Right now I'm on pace to getting 'C's which is not going to cut it in applying to Nursing school so I'm repeating them again next semester, it will affect my chances but I really, really do not want to continue in Accounting. I have an exam today and I'm already miserable. I know it's not the same but I sort of breezed through Accounting and never had this kind of problem.

Have any of you experience this kind of problem and how did you deal with it? Thank you in advance for your advice and God bless you!
You are NOT dumb! I think you might be having a bit of test anxiety. You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to do well and your anxiety might be getting in the way of your success in exams. It could also be that the test questions are poorly written and confusing. There's an art to writing test questions and many otherwise excellent educators have difficulty writing coherent test questions. I'm glad you have talked to your instructor about this. If your school has a learning center or a counseling center, I urge you to speak with someone about handling the test anxiety. And please, stop the negative self-talk. Just because you're having difficulty with exams in one subject does not mean that you can't become a nurse. You have defined a problem that you need to solve and I have every confidence in you that you will succeed. But you can't succeed if you put yourself down. I wish you the best. Please feel free to PM me if you need a shoulder.

Quote from MoogieYou are NOT dumb! I think you might be having a bit of test anxiety. You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself to do well and your anxiety might be getting in the way of your success in exams. It could also be that the test questions are poorly written and confusing. There's an art to writing test questions and many otherwise excellent educators have difficulty writing coherent test questions. I'm glad you have talked to your instructor about this. If your school has a learning center or a counseling center, I urge you to speak with someone about handling the test anxiety. And please, stop the negative self-talk. Just because you're having difficulty with exams in one subject does not mean that you can't become a nurse. You have defined a problem that you need to solve and I have every confidence in you that you will succeed. But you can't succeed if you put yourself down. I wish you the best. Please feel free to PM me if you need a shoulder.

Test anxiety can be a killer. There might be some sort of assessment center at the college where you can perhaps take some tests to look for a hidden learning disorder.Also, there is definitely a learning skills center that can help you study, and prepare for the tests.Also, from my own experience: get a good nights sleep before the test. Stop studying an hour before, and spend it relaxing- thinking about anything except the test. Listen to some music, take a walk, read something non school related.Some people claim study groups help (I haven't found that, but you might). At the very least, getting together and asking each other questions may help you work on bringing the answers to your head. Be careful with study groups, though- they can easily turn to a gab session, which equals waste of time.Do your instructors give a list of objectives? Use them to phrase your questions.Oh, yeah- the best and quickest way to fail is to make yourself believe that the reason is you- being dumb, or stupid, or really not cut out for it. Stop it. The only difference between people who succeed and people who don't is not talent, but raw perserverence.

Quote from SamAcctI turned to Nursing after deciding 4 yrs of Accounting wasn't for me despite the good money. I love the personable nature of doing your best to help an ailing person recover and that at the end of the day you actually do something noble regardless of the "bad" days rather than shuffling money around a spreadsheet. Volunteering at hospitals also helped in my decision.Problem? I feel like I'm really dumb! I'm taking A&P 1 & 2. I love the classes which does a great job of piquing my interest about the human body but when it gets to exams I FREEZE! My professor doesn't understand as I seem to be the one volunteering most of the right answers in lectures and lab and explaining concepts to my study mates. Right now I'm on pace to getting 'C's which is not going to cut it in applying to Nursing school so I'm repeating them again next semester, it will affect my chances but I really, really do not want to continue in Accounting. I have an exam today and I'm already miserable. I know it's not the same but I sort of breezed through Accounting and never had this kind of problem.Have any of you experience this kind of problem and how did you deal with it? Thank you in advance for your advice and God bless you!

The CDs or DVDs are a GREAT idea! Many students find them more user-friendly than lectures.

Try studying the concepts from other books. Watch YouTube videos lol. Try to research the topics online to get the 'gist' of things BUT return to your books to get more in depth. Anyway, find what works for you. Different people learn in different ways. What worked for me was taking good notes in lecture, reading a simplified version of the topic, then going back to the book and highlighting, making study cards (sometimes!), memorizing, and cramming til the last minute. I wish you the best. You need to do your best in all the pre-reqs because nursing school is very competitive.

Make sure you try a different professor next time as well. If its not too late, drop the class before you end up with the C...will a higher grade replace this one? I think it will still affect your GPA even if they take the higher grade.. May need to try a different school. My daughter is trying to get scheduled to take A&P at one school and can"t get in as classes fill so quickly...some people have told her to try the next over com college and to take online as the instructor there uses all Power point and covers everything on the exam via power point...btw...I made a C in my first A&P but B's in the second one and in all my nursing classes made an A or B...so don't decide that nursing is all how ya do in A&P...keep trying...you only live once!

Quote from JoblessNewGradRNTry studying the concepts from other books. Watch YouTube videos lol. Try to research the topics online to get the 'gist' of things BUT return to your books to get more in depth. Anyway, find what works for you. Different people learn in different ways. What worked for me was taking good notes in lecture, reading a simplified version of the topic, then going back to the book and highlighting, making study cards (sometimes!), memorizing, and cramming til the last minute. I wish you the best. You need to do your best in all the pre-reqs because nursing school is very competitive.

I took my A&P instructors advice on test taking and used it all throughout school and did very well. He told us to NOT study the day before the test and go out and have fun. It worked for me. I would also try not to look at my notes the day of testing as well because it just caused anxiety. However, I studied many hours a day, I didn't have to work so that helped. I had a teacher that once said to study in 30 minute intervals then take a short break then continue to study.Good luck.

Quote from MOMACOCOMake sure you try a different professor next time as well. If its not too late, drop the class before you end up with the C...will a higher grade replace this one? I think it will still affect your GPA even if they take the higher grade.. May need to try a different school. My daughter is trying to get scheduled to take A&P at one school and can"t get in as classes fill so quickly...some people have told her to try the next over com college and to take online as the instructor there uses all Power point and covers everything on the exam via power point...btw...I made a C in my first A&P but B's in the second one and in all my nursing classes made an A or B...so don't decide that nursing is all how ya do in A&P...keep trying...you only live once!

Thank you all for your advice, I'll surely take it to heart and pray that I do better using the various techniques you guys have recommended. It's not that I don't understand the materials. I do, put in a lot of hours studying and learn by making it practical, it's the anxiety that is tripping me up. I'll try the relaxing before exam route.You guys ROCK! Thank you all!

Ever watch "The Office"? Dwight does some karate moves with rock music. You should try that too!