Stressed pre-nursing undergrad

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

PLEASE HELP! I am currently a sophomore in college. Currently I am taking the courses Intro to Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (finished the first portion, which was general chemistry), along with the lab, Statistics, political science, and sociology. I am terrified for the organic and biochemistry class because even though I have started the class, the material just seems difficult. I cry EVERY SINGLE DAY and even sometimes when I am driving. I was registered for anatomy/physiology 1 and lab, but decided to drop it because the final for the class was in the same day as my Statistics final and I didn't want to drop statistics because the teacher average grade is an A, so I had thought this would be unmanageable with trying to study for both classes but I feel so regretful! Any suggestions for learning Organic chem/biochem? I feel like I can't concentrate because I am filled with so much anxiety (I am not even exaggerating: I CRY EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!!). We are learning nomenclature (naming) and I am panicking because I am not getting it so far!!!! I don't know that I will have to withdraw from this class and the lab later on in the semester. I am trying to get into the direct BSN program in this school. PLEASE HELP ME!!!! How did someone study for this class, especially for the organic portion of the class? Suggestions?

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Im in the same situation but microbiology. i want to be a nurse but this subject is so hard for that i feel like crying. i even asked my teacher for help and he says go the book but the book was not even a requirement. i left feeling really bad but i decided im not going to give up. I was wondering if there were any study guide or websites i could go to and study. also if anyone has any information on how to study and what i can do to better in the class. at least to sum up what microbiology is about to start. please help me!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ED, Medicine, Case Management.

Find a good tutor through your college and take the material one day at a time. Good luck to you.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in None yet..

Well, I loved organic and biochemistry so maybe I'm not your best source for advice on the subject. However, I was anxious about the tests (which were difficult for everyone) and I did need to spend significant amounts of time on a regular schedule to keep up with the materials. I'm a plodder, not a gifted student. Here's my prescription for success anyway...

There's just no way around the fact that o-chem will take a healthy chunk of your time. You made a wise decision not to attempt micro in the same quarter, I think. Spend the time you will need to thoroughly learn each section as it comes up. Each section of o-chem builds on the previous one and ou will get lost and will never be able to recover if you slack off. You must memorize the names and naming systems of the functional groups. (You'll also need to memorize some additional common names, like acetic acid.)

Engaging the spatial parts of your brain was also critical to success. You must spend a lot of time drawing isomers and naming them until you are comfortable doing them; you won't have time to plod on the exams. I bought two copies of the Prentice Hall Molecular Model Set for Organic Chemistry and built as many models as I could. I also made a flow chart for the reactions. It showed all the interconnected reaction paths that each category of compound could take. Visual learning. I also made flash cards, carried them around and used them during all those times I was stuck in lines or otherwise had a few spare moments.

Use the internet. Great resources! YouTube. Any visual, online resource - there are many. Find a series on o-chem you like and then use it.

Get into a small study or review group. I was in a group that met only to review before the exams. (It was a night class and we all worked and/or had families so we were tight on time.) Each person can take responsibility for a section and then tutor the others; in return, s/he gets equally good summaries and learning tips from the rest of the group. If you can explain something to another person, you know you've got it.

Practice, practice, practice. I did every problem in the book. O-chem problems every evening. Usually I was able to read ahead and to do the problems a day or two before the class where the instructor lectured about them. The lectures were then easier, just reviews and filling in gaps in my knowledge. My instructor had the answer key on reserve at the library so we could check our work. If your instructor doesn't do this, find a key and use it to check your work only after you have tried your very hardest to solve the problems.

After completing the class, I did some additional study since my course was the "light" version intended for students in the allied health fields (as opposed to majors.) I thought the "For Dummies" book and workbook were fun and useful.

And that's my last tip. Don't be afraid of o-chem. Make it as fun as possible. (Yes, it can be fun.) Think of it as a Sudoko or a crossword puzzle or building models.

You can do it!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Flashcards. Peer tutors. Find a classmate who gets it and become their study buddy. Record yourself saying the material and listen to the recordings while driving, walking, sleeping, exercising, etc. Buy a dry erase board and pretend like you're teaching your own class. Being able to teach the subject to someone else reinforces the lesson in your head, and also makes you understand and memorize it so much better. Nothing is too extreme when it comes to learning chemistry and biology. Khan Academy is also a great internet source for learning chemistry.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in None yet..
Flashcards. Peer tutors. Find a classmate who gets it and become their study buddy. Record yourself saying the material and listen to the recordings while driving, walking, sleeping, exercising, etc. Buy a dry erase board and pretend like you're teaching your own class. Being able to teach the subject to someone else reinforces the lesson in your head, and also makes you understand and memorize it so much better. Nothing is too extreme when it comes to learning chemistry and biology. Khan Academy is also a great internet source for learning chemistry.

Excellent! I love the idea of recording myself explaining the material and listening while driving and exercising. This will make my several hours of weekday commuting to nursing school an asset instead of a liability. Thank you, kcsunshine!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Excellent! I love the idea of recording myself explaining the material and listening while driving and exercising. This will make my several hours of weekday commuting to nursing school an asset instead of a liability. Thank you, kcsunshine!

No problem. :) Listen ESPECIALLY when you're exercising or walking. Your brain retains information easier when your body is in motion.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Sorry you are going through so much anxiety. I have my fair share of stress and anxiety when I have to learn something new. You have to accept that there will be times where you feel like you don't have it in you to grasp a new concept and the mountain may seem too tall. First off, it is okay to not grasp something right away, that is normal. We are programmed to believe that we must pick up a new concept or lesson immediately, and that simply is not true. Our brains are meant to struggle a bit as it works learn learning something new. Can you imagine how boring life would be if you knew how to do everything with ease? We'd never experience the amazing feeling one gets after they have pushed through learning and then eventually grasping, or even mastering something they never thought was humanly possible.

You have to work like you've never worked before and study like you've never studied before. This path is not easy and I respect that! Go to youtube and search You Can Learn Anything, by Khan Academy. The video is so heartwarming AND uplifting and explains it all.

Good luck! YOU CAN DO IT!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Ok, first things first, CALM DOWN! We've all had those freak out classes. No worries. Find out what works best for you. I personally do best when I scramble all that I can down on in lecture and listen. I make sure to even write the little side comments I say to myself that help me better understand the material, but otherwise wouldn't make sense to anyone else. Then I go home and rewrite everything much neater in separate notebook (side notes included). I call that my "let me see" notebook, for when people ask to see your notes that's the one that you show them. I also took that one to school on test days to review before exams. Also draw draw DRAW! I became the next Di Vinci drawing diagrams. And a last tid-bit... ok this might seem... weird, but it worked. I would sing my notes. Like I would make up a song covering important points to the tune of songs I already loved. Then during the test I would hum the song and it would all come back to me. And if it was a really large point or something that required a direction of flow or something... I would make up a little dance.:roflmao: Anything I could do while sitting down, mainly hand gestures, to go with the song. Don't judge me! It worked for me! I say all this to say don't freak out, just find out what works for you. Try looking back at classes you did really well on and see what you did in those. And if that still doesn't work... and 5!...6!...7!...8...

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment