Bio (Anatomy) and Chem Together

Published

I posted this question several weeks ago, and thought I'd try again. At my school, we take anatomy and physiology separately. I am headed towards my spring semester on Monday and I'm slated to take both chem and anatomy. Both courses have lab and lecture. Along with those 2 classes, I am taking sign language, and I don't expect sign to be too tough.

I am a full-time student, married, with 2 kiddies in middle school. I am very dedicated, and have a great deal of support from my husband and extended family. I am truly a tad stressed about what to do here, and fear I may be too overwhelmed.

My plan is to attend both classes next week in order to feel things out. If I drop a course, it would be chem. Separating these courses out will slow my plan by a semester, which means I will not finish this fall.

I am receiving mixed messages outside of allnurses. I know the words *hard* or *doable* are subjective in nature, but thought I'd throw them out there anyway.

If you've take the two courses above, I'd like to hear from you.

Thank you!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think you'll be fine. I have those two course plus three more, which is my typical load, plus my 3 toddlers. It's just about time management and having the power to not sleep much! Lol

Up Vote Up Vote ×

You can definitely do it. Find you spar time skim through the first chapter s of each xv lass to see how much info you need to cover and divide you days up to dedicate enough time to each class by priority according to your syllabi. You can definitely do it. I took my science s apart. But I wasn't comfortable doing more than one since I was going into unfamiliar territory. You can do it. Smart to "try" your first week. I did that in the past.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think that is very doable. Just know that you're working towards a "hard" (time-consuming, lots of effort involved) degree and in most schools you won't be able to split up nursing classes. Focus on developing great study habits now, and getting use to a heavy work load, so you are preparing yourself for the main challenge.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU.

If you are getting financial aid I would think twice before just dropping a class. You don't want to get to your last semester of nursing school and not be eligible for any more because you dropped classes. I have a friend who is going throught this now. I think you can definitely do it. I took 5 classes last semester and I am a single mom. Two of those classes were A&P II and micro. I also had english comp, math, and a college success class. I got over 100% in the last 3 classes.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Goodness-flows.

Ask yourself.

Are you pursuing an associates degree or a BSN?

Do you need Sign language other than to bring up a GPA- If not do not take.

How well did you do in physiology, you need them both so complete them both while in the mind frame.

Is Chemistry required in your program or the program you are pursuing. If so take it separately if possible. It is difficult for some (science and math combined with a lab)

You may delay your progression , however if you make high grades you should progress. When being considered for admission, instructors look at math and science grades.

That extra time will not make any difference in a few years when you are a Nurse.

If you write down the date you were born and a dash representing your hopefully long life, the small dot representing the years preparing for nursing school and being in nursing school will be a very small dot compared to the rest of your life.

KPutman

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Are you a science minded person? I took both A&P 1 and Chem II last semester along with English and a humanities elective and I did just fine. IMO, anatomy is easier than physiology because it's mostly memorization. And as far as chemistry goes, if you do all the practice problems in the book, you should be fine. The math is relatively easy, its just recognizing how to set up the problem and what exactly it is asking you to find. Chemistry was like learning a whole new language. Once you memorize the terms and the rules, it isn't bad. It might seem overwhelming at first but you'll settle into a routine and it will get easier. I'm a mother of three young children and my husband is currently stationed in Korea so I'm juggling everything by myself. It wasn't too bad.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

As others have said, Anatomy and Chemistry are both time consuming. But since you don't work and are only taking 4 classes, you should be fine.

The best thing I did for Chemistry is borrow "Chemistry for Dummies" from the public library and read it before class began. It helped me get a head start.

For Anatomy I bought the flashcards from the bookstore and kept them in my purse so that anytime I had a few minutes free, during my lunch break at work, waiting to pick my son up from school, etc. then I could review. The repetition helped me get an A.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll do great this semester.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello! Thank you all for the feedback. As far as chem goes, I am on a *waitlist* for the class, due to a pre-req requirement mix-up during registration. The instructor will more than likely add me, since I've been in contact with him multiple times. At my cc, chem is a requirement for micro, so I have to take chem. My goal is to get into my cc nursing program, however if I want to cast my net wide and include state colleges as well, I have to meet the humanities requirement, which is why I have to take a second language.

I took anatomy/physiology (non-required nursing pre-req) over summer and received an A. That class is the class just before the required anatomy course. Since I took the warm-up class, I have much of the systems of the body stored in my long term memory. This means it will not be the first time I am introduced to anatomy. That being said, I'm leaning towards separating my chem and anatomy out, and plugging a different course in for chem. I want to stay as competitive as possible, and keep my A's. We will see...

I am going to email my counselor and see where we can possibly plug in the chem course. Thank you guys so much for all of your feedback! Hoping to make the right decision... :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

If you take Chemistry later, you could do it as a summer class. I did it as an online summer course. I spent about 30 hours a week on it since it was only an 8 week class, was online and the workload is heavy.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hello CDEWannaBe, That is exactly what I am looking into now. I took Anatomy and Speech over last summer and it was tough, but I studied my butt off and received 2 A's. There is something about torturing myself for 6 to 8 weeks that seems doable. :) I also sent my counselor an email. I think part of why I am on the fence is because within the past couple of days, my husband, a business owner, has all of a sudden gotten SUPER busy. I feel like I may not have as much support as I've had in the past. I am a praying girl, and I'm waiting for an answer from upstairs as well. :) It has been a struggle trying to get into chem in the first place. I took the pre-req, which was algebra, and have even finished stats. My algebra class code was different than what the system recognized as qualifying for the pre-req. As I struggled to get the problem solved, the last remaining spots for chem were taken. The teacher has really been so kind, and said he may be able to add me, but didn't make any promises. I am beginning to wonder if there is a reason this class is so tough to get into at this point in time.

Thanks for the advice!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC.

I took Chem and Anatomy together. I did fine. I took OChem and Physiology together, I also did fine. I am 34, two kids (toddler and a teen) and do not work. Both of those semesters I took 18 units.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion