Courses for a Pre-Nursing Student

[htharpe_24]

I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I am in high school and I am scheduling my courses for next year. I can only take one of the following courses: AP Chemistry or AP Pyschology. Which could would benefit me most in nursing? Thank you!

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Chemistry

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Moved to our Pre-Nursing Student forum.

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/

I was wondering if you could give me some advice. I am in high school and I am scheduling my courses for next year. I can only take one of the following courses: AP Chemistry or AP Pyschology. Which could would benefit me most in nursing? Thank you!

[Simplistic]

I would go with AP psychology. Even though both chemistry and psychology are required prerequisites, I have found chemistry to be a waste of time. In psychology, however, you are going to be learning about things that you will use THROUGHOUT nursing school and that will serve as the basis of your knowledge (maslows hierarchy of needs) for example.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Even though both chemistry and psychology are required prerequisites, I have found chemistry to be a waste of time.

Chemistry and psychology both contain valuable information. Also, chemistry is not a waste. In fact, nursing and biochemistry are interwoven in the following ways:

1. Acid/base balance in the body (many disease processes are characterized by or lead to acidity or alkalinity)

2. Lipids, which are the organic compounds that comprise all body cell membranes

3. The citric acid cycle, utilized by all of us to release stored energy

4. Hemoglobin: heme groups contain iron that bind or release molecular oxygen

5. The physical chemistry of viruses such as HIV, hepatitis, and so forth

These are just a few of the common chemical principles that pertain to nursing. Therefore, chemistry is not a waste of time for nurses to learn.

[BookishBelle]

Either of them would be useful in nursing, and they are both part of my ADN program. Chemistry was a pre requisite and I have to take 2 different psych classes to graduate as well. I would think psych AP would be an easier A, if the rest of your course load is difficult. But if you are more of a science/math person, take the chem! As I said, you need them both. Maybe you can check at a college you are interested in if chem is a prerequisite. I think it is most places.

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

I would take AP chemistry in order to get it out of the way so you don't have to take it in college :)

[htharpe_24]

Thank y'all for the responses.

I would take AP chemistry in order to get it out of the way so you don't have to take it in college :)

I was just thinking about this. I have heard that Pysch was a fun course to take in the nursing prerequisites, whereas Chemistry is much harder.