Most Challenging Prereq?

Students Pre-Nursing

Published

You are reading page 3 of Most Challenging Prereq?

guerrerop22

9 Posts

It was Inorganic Chem for me....it wasn't hard, but the professor was CRAZYYYY and it was also my first college science class so that added to the pressure of it. So much stress and so much studying!

My advice is to take everything with a grain of salt. Just because someone says a certain class is hard does not mean it will be hard for you. Everyone has different things going on in their lives, and different strengths and weaknesses, as well as different levels of determination!

Just make sure you have lots of determination and you will do GREAT! :)

Vincent_

45 Posts

Mm, I'll be really honest. The nursing pre-reqs were not difficult for me but I would have to say the one I had to really invest time in to do well was probably Anatomy. I went to a college in which two semesters of anatomy were condensed in one semester. Human Physiology was also condensed to a semester only, and the lab portion I had to take during a 4 week winter intercession. I'd have to say that time management is key and good study habits are key. I know this sounds overly simplified and regurgitated but trust me it helps to be proactive. I have a friend who works as a PA now and I borrowed his Anatomy bone and muscle charts. I had friends in other schools taking anatomy classes as well & friends in my college who had a different professor and we often study together near test time to help grind things in. We were also a little selfish too in the school library..hogging a lot of the anatomy bone/muscle kits haha.

Of course there are other factors for all of us, like how forgiving or unforgiving a given professor may be with exams, teaching style, our own study habits. If anything there's always a method to the madness in the pre-reqs. So don't give up! If you can't grasp a concept quite quickly then don't hesitate to ask questions in class or to even google it. I had a friend who would go to the peer tutoring center just to get help with his microbio class and he ended up with a solid A- at the end of the term despite doing average on his first midterm. There's definitely hope if you put the work in and have the right resources

Usually the classes most related to the nursing-field are the ones we are most interested in doing well in and studying. I saw some of the comments above such as philosophy and man i have to say that's quite a dry class! Logic questions and circular thinking themes for essay questions are definitely not my thing haha but we gotta find ways to do well.

When I think about it now..I was excited to study A&P lol.

I had no idea that some schools required Philosophy as a Pre-req! Interesting. (I graduate with my BSN in May 2014, so it's been a while since I did my Pre-reqs). I wouldn't have been thrilled to have taken any more Pre-reqs than I already had to, but talk about being well-rounded!

Specializes in ICU.

Fundamentals was mine. I'd never seen NCLEX style questions before and neither had my classmates - fundamentals was the pre-req that knocked the most people out of the running for nursing school. Had one person in the cohort who'd worked as a CNA for years and had a 3.90 GPA and had aced her other pre-reqs, but she thought like a CNA on those questions and not like a nurse and got a C+ in the class when the cutoff for passing was a B-. It was rough.

ambitiousBSN

460 Posts

Specializes in Operating Room.

Mine was definitely A&P II! I'm not sure if it was the fact I had an adjunct professor, or what, but it came more difficult than others.

priorities2

246 Posts

I found micro fairly easy compared to anat and phsl, bio and chem totally doable. Physiology was hard, but for me, Anatomy was the hardest. It was just so much memorizing - it was hard for me to adjust to. I also took physiology, microbiology, and anatomy all at the same time. It was wild but i got through it and start nursing school in september!

My hardest prerequisite course was physiology, which I took at a CC. I was in a class with a tough instructor (I sought her out on purpose because I'd had her the prior semester for nutrition and she was incredible), but she was very thorough, very knowledgeable, and she made sure you knew your stuff. My tests were structured a lot like nursing school tests (concepts/interpretation) and the tests contained several essay segments that were graded with a fine-toothed comb. In a class of 30, only 10 of us were left standing at the end.

Really, that class was one of the best things that could have happened to me. When pathophysiology rolled around in NS, I was already rock-solid from the get-go and I could focus my studies on connecting the concepts instead of trying to relearn the basics. It gave me breathing room and kept me ahead of the game.

I guess the moral of the story is to take your prereqs seriously-- don't toss out everything after the class is over, because it may very well come in handy some day. Find an instructor that will challenge you; you learn more that way.

mjo07

170 Posts

Inorganic Chem during a 6-week summer course. Surprisingly though, Organic Chem (which I'm taking now) is going much better :) After listening to multiple students talk about how much harder organic chem is compared to inorganic chem, I was scared! But definitely go into any class with a positive attitude because you never know.

Mandy0728

578 Posts

You had to take Philosophy as a Pre-req for nursing school?

Some BSN programs require arts & humanities courses. Mine does as well but I didn't choose philosophy because I heard it was hard! Lol

cmariehill

12 Posts

Anatomy and Physiology 1 & 2 were the hardest for me. If science, functions of the human body, and understanding EVERY aspect of EVERY process that happens in the body doesn't come natural, you will have to work for your grade. NO teacher will be easy, and an A will not come without studying, hard work, and more studying. Micro wasn't nearly as hard for me, but I think there tend to be much better teachers for Micro than A&P. It all honestly depends on what kind of subjects you're naturally good with. Either way, good luck and ALWAYS study!

ehlehnah

90 Posts

Anatomy definitely. I was just a freshman (second semester) when I took the course. Most of the people in my class were sophomores and juniors so they were definitely more aware of the expectations than I was. I never had really good science teachers except for Physics and Chemistry in high school so this was a definite struggle for me. I think I cried a couple of times in the beginning of the course because everyone around me knew how to study but somehow for me, memorizing a ton of information was just not my thing. I pulled a B but that was a lot of hard work and locking myself in the library for hours to study with other people. However, it has stuck with me for the last 5 years and it has made my job as a medical assistant much easier. It'll stay with me as I further on my education as a nursing student as well.

StayHumble11

200 Posts

Gen chem 1 and 2 were the hardest for me to grasp

+ Add a Comment