chemistry or not

Well, for my program it's req'd to have it in high school or elementary college chemistry in order to take Organic/Life sciences chemistry. Life Sciences chemistry is a requirement for the ADN program at UT.

My suggestion to you is that if you don't have to have any chemistry, DO NOT take it! I've never been so darn lost in a class EVER!

Chemistry comes into play in that your entire body is one big chemical reactor. Acid base balance, fluids, electrolytes etc.

If your program doesn't require it, why are you worrying? They will most likely be teaching you all about it when you get into your core nursing classes.

I would definitely suggest taking it. Everything that occurs in the body is a result of a chemical reaction of one form or the other. Having at least a rudimentary grasp of this will lay the foundation for other classes like pharmacology where drug interactions will be studied in depth. I know that this is not the trend, but sometimes it makes sense to do more than the minimum requirements. When you are a nurse you want to know more that just how to do something but also why. Anyone can memorize how to do this or that, but I feel nurses (at those that a university trained) should at least have an understanding of why certain procedures are called for. Having an understanding of why will help in situations where you have to apply critical reasoning skills. Just my 2 cents

I am taking Gen Chem this spring. Is it hard? I got an A in College Algebra so now I am thinking Gen Chem could not be that hard. What do you guys think?

BTW -- my school did require it and so I did take it. Now that I am in the RN program, they assume I have this knowledge base so then instruct us knowing we have that behind us. Your program will not assume the knowledge and will most likely incorporate that into your nursing core classes, along with your pharm classes.

Like Hobbes said though, it really is a part of nursing to have a grasp of chemistry.

shelby,

The underlying cause of difficulty and failure by most students taking General Chemistry is that they register for the course and have no background in this science. Without having taken an introductory class the material quickly becomes overwhelming and frustrating.

You might consider an alternate strategy where you complete an introductory course now and become familiar with some essential concepts and calculations involving unit conversion factors. The latter can be quite helpful, even if your degree program does not require a Chemistry class. Then, if you decide to pursue a BSN at some later time, you could complete a standard General Chemistry course and not have such a difficult time as many students.

I wouldn't take it if I didn't have to. It was required for my program, but it isn't required for all schools. That is probably why you see so many people taking it because it is required. Just as medical terminology is not required for a lot of nursing programs but is for others. Now that class I would recommend taking even if it isn't required. It would help you a lot more than chemistry.

Teresa

I'm taking Chemistry next semester because my school requires it. If I didn't have to, I probably wouldn't; I'm scared to death. But like the others said, the Human Body and pharmacology are based on chemical reactions. The more we know, the better nurses we'll be. I just keep remembering something else I read here; we don't have to get A's in everything...only pass. That takes some pressure off. Who knows, maybe I'll surprise myself.

My adn program doensnt offer chemistry also????????? I guess we lucked out