Bio/Chem degree vs nursing degree

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Which degree do you believe is more difficult. I know difficulty is based on the person. So I'm asking which is more difficult to you upper lvl hard science classes or upper lv nursing classes including clinicals?

People that have been through both are more than welcomed to comment. This is based on opinion which one do you think you'd have a tougher time in? I know nursing has a cut off at C+, but the hard science degree is meant for Med school so you shouldn't have anything lower than a B. If you get Cs and Ds you can still get your degree but you won't get into med school so the same amount of academic pressure holds for the both majors.

Specializes in Neuroscience.

Content wise, bio/chem.

I said in another thread: Nursing classes by themselves are not hard. The content is not rocket science. It's the everything else that nursing school piles on you in a short time span that makes it hard. Chemistry classes, imo, are much harder and far more abstract than anything I've encountered content wise in nursing school so far.

Sometimes I wish I would have just chosen a degree in biology though. I'm finding more and more that I am truly interested in the sciences just for themselves than trying to be a care bear. Ah well.

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What is added on that makes it so much harder

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Specializes in Neuroscience.

Add ons: Care plans that can take several days to complete. I like to space my work out, but several classmates like to do these things in one go and they have said a good 12 hrs is the norm. On ONE assignment. Then there's clinical two days a week, 8hrs per day. Lab that is not worth many points or credits, but feels like the work of 2 classes in one. Required simulation labs for med-surg and OB, ACE passport modules that can take bit of time to complete, computer modules to complete before being allowed on your clinical site in order to gain computer access, papers, stress inducing, make you wanna commit suicide group projects....it just goes on, and it's really freaking annoying.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

What makes nursing harder is the fact that if you screw up - someone could die. You ALWAYS have that hanging over your head.

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Very true but only include things on an academic stand point. You won't have peoples lives in your hand as a student and if you do your teacher better be right beside you. Because you shouldnt authorized to be decising any life threating decisions as a student

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The RN is responsible for the actions of their nursing students while in clinicals but there have been times where a nursing student has killed a patient do to a med error that could have been avoided if the student followed protocol. In a way the patient's lives are in our hands as students because the patient is relying on us to follow protocol to keep them safe.

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Wow did she get arrested I don't think I could live with myself if I caused thar

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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

I think it's really an apples and oranges discussion you've got going. I have a bachelor's and a master's degree in molecular and cell biology and I've been working in research for 12+ years now. For me, the content of my science education was more challenging to understand. Topics like enzyme kinetics and other biochemistry principles took a lot of studying for me to grasp and understand. But I loved it so it didn't seem hard. I completed my ADN this spring and I didn't find the content difficult to understand in the same way as my science classes. But, I couldn't stand the touch-feely portion of fundamentals and OB/med-surg, so those areas were difficult for me to study because they didn't interest me. I thoroughly enjoyed the clinical portion, where I could look up all the lab values, test results, etc. and put together a nice pathophys picture of my patients. (But then I'd have to go and interact with the patient, which was way out of my comfort zone) I don't think of nursing school as hard, but it took time management, and I did have difficulty with the NCLEX style questions. I don't agree that all college science courses were regurgitation only. Sure some of them were, but I had many essays and papers in which to prove I could take my science knowledge and apply it (or fall on my face trying). Nursing doesn't really have the market cornered on critical thinking as some people seem to assert. Again, part of what makes things hard or easy is your interest level so that's going to be different for everyone.

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What do you guys say

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I was a Biochem major in my undergrad degree and then went into a direct-entry program to get my BSN/MSN and I just finished with that. I think they are different kinds of "hard". I found the content and concepts in biochem more challenging to learn, but I found the RN/NP courses harder in terms of workload, time commitments, and as someone else mentioned the fact that you're actually dealing with people's lives--lots of pressure in RN/NP for sure!

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Specializes in Aspiring for a CCRN.

My $0.02:

Content in biochem/upper division chem (including physical chem, which is nuclear chem) is much, much, much harder than nursing. Pre-med, pre-pharm, and any nonsocial sciences (i.e., pure sciences) tackle complicated concepts to grasp, hence, the demand for their knowledge is much higher, be it in medicine or in research.

The workload, dealing with the personalities, and other human factors, not content, are what make nursing a pain in my rear end. I've seen pretty much anyone who possess basic academic aptitude being able to plough through nursing programs of various kinds, and, of course, remain successful in what they do.

I still keep in touch with my science friends with whom I have tremendous camaraderie, and that's how I keep my sanity and my mind sharp, so to speak. I have a couple of close classmates in nursing, and I maintain my circle deliberately small in it for many personal reasons. For one thing, with a hard science background of two years+, you are able to explain the real "why's" of any bodily phenomenon when your nursing instructor may not be able to explain. Keep your textbooks. Knowing the biochemistry/mechanisms really does help in all molecular interactions.

'Nuff said from me.

Shaas

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This is great information thanks everyone much appreciated.

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