Nurses/PTs?Parents: HS Anatomy or Physics

[castleview]

Hi,

I was talking with a friend today. Her daughter is in High school and wants to go into nursing or physical therapy. She wanted to know if she should take Anatomy and Physiology or Physics next year. I would assume both, but her guidance counselor says she only needs one to fulfill her requirement and should lean toward anatomy. My DH says both...or physics if she's only taking one. DH teaches physics, though, so they assume he's biased. Any input from anyone would be welcome.

 

[bananiem]

Can she take one as an elective?

 

[WDWAurora]

Anatomy and Physiology is a must-it will make college MUCH easier. More than likely she will not be required to take physics in college. She will probably have the option, but she can avoid it altogether if she wants.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Big difference between nursing and physical therapy.

I recommend she look at the colleges she wants to go to and see what her requirements are for admission to their program.

I would not rely on a High School advisor. This is where you need to do YOUR homework. Here is one site that is pretty good with listing colleges. There are many more but ultimately she should be finding out the requirements via the college office.

http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/servlet/advsearchservlet?buttonPressed=next&navigateTo=1

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I know my son is now in an ap physics class. Its really hard, I would say its more science and math related versus the anatomy class he could have taken too. He is not interested in either subject, its just that he goes to a private academic college prep school and they shove these courses down the kids throats. But his friend who wants to be a nurse is in the physics class with him. I know she does not enjoy this class either. Can your dd get a copy of the book that will be used to teach the class and give it a little preview to see what she thinks etc? Good luck in her decision.

 

[castleview]

Can she take one as an elective?

She definitely can, but the guidance counselor (in her words) almost seems to be discouraging her from taking both. What she's worried about if she decides on nursing is that some colleges prefer (but I'm not sure if they require) they have physics in HS. Not sure why.

 

[weare6travelers]

My daughter is a junior this year and taking A&P. It is very tough class but a must if she is thinking about going into any medical field. My daughter likes the class so much that she is rethinking her plans for college. She was thinking about going into dental hygeine, but know is thinking about becoming a Physical Therapist or Physician's Assistant. In May she takes the AP exam for A&P and if she scores high she gets college credit for the class.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am an RN with a BSN. I don't know anything about Physical Therapy education, but as a nurse I would recommend taking A&P if there is a choice. Physics would be "helpful" to her, but not necessary (sorry DH). OTOH, A&P is very necessary, and IMO she would have a jump on the college A&P classes she'll be required to take.

In addition to basic college level courses, for nursing I was was required to take:
Anatomy and Physiology l and ll with lab
Biology with lab
Organic Chemistry l and ll with lab
Pathophysiology
Medical Microbiology with lab
Pharmacology l and ll
Nutrition
Nursing l-lV
Leadership
Ethics
LOL, that's all I can remember at the moment, hopefully it's helpful. Feel free to PM me anytime if I can be of help to your friend's DD. I would encourage her to go into nursing if she enjoys helping people, it's a great career with many opportunities.

 

[castleview]

I would encourage her to go into nursing if she enjoys helping people, it's a great career with many opportunities.

With lots of options too, I must say! My neighbor works one 24 hour shift a week and gets paid full time. ZOWWIE!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, currently I work two 12 hour shifts a week which is nice because my children are still young. I did "pay my dues", however, and worked FT for many years before I got this "nice" schedule that I have and my postion can be very stressful (supervise a large cardiac unit in a teaching hospital) so two days a week is just about right for my life right now.

 

[Rozzie]

another RN chiming in. I would absolutely recommened A&P in high school. It was a weed out course in my college, and to be one up on it would be a great benefit!

I also work two 12 hour shifts a week. Had a bunch of crap going on, and had to go pt. I'll be going back to FT soon, especially with all those bills. Nursing is a job where there are so many options....

 

[golfgal]

While physics will be helpful, both nursing and PT would be better served with the Anatomy course. Physics isn't a required course for either subject in college as far as I know but A/P is.

Physical Therapy school is extremely difficult to get into. If she doesn't have a 4.0 in college her chances are slim. It is just too popular. If she want PT, her best bet is to go to an undergrad school that has at PT masters course. Often they have a 5 or 6 year combined program where you get your BS and your masters along with all your certification hours.

She should consider Athletic Training if she is interested in PT. It is easier to get accepted into the programs usually and the job market is more varied. The best route is to get a combined PT/AT degree/certification. The coursework is pretty much the same but she would have to take 2 certification tests.

 

[catherine]

I do nursing in the UK and my sister is a physical therpaist, also in the UK. We both had to do A&P as a foundation for every other thing that we learned. I'm sure that it's pretty much the same in the US. So I would say stick with the A&P!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Wow! Sounds like you got your answer, A&P!!!

 

[castleview]

Wow! Sounds like you got your answer, A&P!!!

Indeed! DH will be devastated Still, I do find it strange that the counselor is discouraging her from taking both courses when she is a great student and is willing to do the work.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Indeed! DH will be devastated Still, I do find it strange that the counselor is discouraging her from taking both courses when she is a great student and is willing to do the work.

I would still check up on the requirements!

 

[bekkiz]

I may be totally wrong on this one, but in my expeiance (BA and MA) unless it's an advanced placement course, it actually doesn't help you to take major requirements in High School, because you'll have to take them again in college. I guess if she wants some extra background info, it would be good to take it now, but my guess is any college will require a college leve A/P class anyway.

 

[sharbear]

I guess that I'm the lone dissenter. My DS has taken both Physics and Anatomy. I really think that it depends on a lot of things but I would encourage someone to take both. I have no idea why the GC would only reccomend taking one.

Anatomy and Physics employ completely different skills both of which are very beneficial to success in college. Anatomy is A LOT of memorization. It's great to know and would help to have a basic knowledge in college. Physics help you understand how things work and at our school AP Physics is very math based. Physics will help you learn skills of logic, it could help place out of certain classes and personally because it is so math intensive it would help in Chemistry classes at the college level.

It also matters where the girl want to apply and how competitive the school she applys to is. AP Physics will always be considered taking the most challenging course work in HS. For my DS Anatomy was not as hard by far than Physics is.

I would really have her consider hard taking both. If she a smart girl and works hard, it will be managable. My DS has doubled up on subjects (i..e taking more than one math class) and the work load was not bad at all. It will look better for college admissions to challenge herself.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

First off: Tell her to tell the guidance counselor to kiss her b***. If she does good in classes and is up for the challenge she should do whatever she wants.

Second off: I am on the total opposite end of the scale, engineering. I have taken many physics courses and don't see how it will be related to nursing in any way. I will warn her about the AP physics course, it is difficult. (But not as hard as the college courses I took. ) If she feels she should only choose one, A&P sounds like the better choice. It will give her a foot in the door for what she will really need in college.

I didn't see it mentioned here so I will say it. If she has colleges in mind, make sure she finds out what grades they require on the AP exams. Some colleges will only accept grades of 4-5. I am all about taking challenging courses, but if she feels she won't do so well on the physics exam it might be a almost a waste. Just tell her to watch out for senioritis, it really puts a hinderance on your study skills.

 

[Jen_in_NH]

Here's my two cents:

1. She should be able to take both, unless there's a scheduling conflict.

2. Depending where she goes to college, she will need to take A&P again. There's a huge difference between high school A&P and college level A&P. Where physics may not be a requirement for either program, if she's interested, take it now.

I was planning on med school when I was in high school, so I made sure to take anatomy. I've had to take it again in college, since they didn't recognize the high school class. When I started my master's as a PA, I had to take anatomy again, as they didn't recognize any undergrad classes.

Check with whatever programs your daughter is interested in - they will have the final answer.

Jen