Any student nurses find biology hard?

DKEA · Mar 27, 2009

Everyone is different. I find lots of students in my nursing classes love the biology related stuff and hate the psychosocial aspect of nursing. I on the other hand despise learing the specific breakdown of heart function, alkalosis/acidosis, etc. etc. but I love the psychological portions of classes. I understand why both are needed but naturally some students are going to struggle in some areas and thrive in others. Just keep perservering through the stuff you struggle with. Everyone has their weaknesses but they can always be overcome with hard work and studying.

Sarah13 · Mar 27, 2009

It is alot to get your head round, again, just break it down in small chunks and go over and over it. Anatomy and Physiology for Dummies has helped me alot!!

MammaNurse2Be · Mar 28, 2009

All of these sciences build upon one another and the same concepts come up in each class. For example in Bio 10 (intro bio) you learn Glycolysis, Kreb cycle, ETC. This can be really difficult but knowing that it will come up in every single class you have to take from Nutrition, A&P, and Micro, it makes sense to spend the time to really learn it the first go around. It's funny, we just did cell metabolism last night and this is my last class of the pre-reqs. I could answer all the questions and i always go back to the basic knowlege i learned in that intro bio class. i keep all my notes, organized and bound in binders so I can quickly reference those old notes. Some teachers are better at teaching a concept than others so it is nice to go over the basics before adding onto harder concepts.

As far as how hard it is, i think that the intro class might have been the hardest bc you are learning to study science which is not about memorization which i know you said. Active learning is studying a concept from all angles. I can remember learning glycolysis and using the internet to complement my teacher notes, recordings, drawings etc. You have to hit it at all angles so bc teachers don't ask those easy questions, they tweak the concept and expect you to know how to answer.

I record my lectures and listen to them all the time, in the car, while cooking, doing laundry, walking. I rewrite my notes, I make up hard test questions (essay) and write them out long hand, I look things up on the internet, I review old class notes, and I draw diagrams. I do all this in 15 minute chunks. If you focus on a small topic for a short amount of time, you can sometimes tackle that hard subject a little at a time. I am constantly also giving tidbits of information to my kids (did you know....) They have no clue what I am talking about but telling them about the electron transport chain is just another way of me studying.

I think one final thing that all my teachers have told me is to not just memorize!

Best of luck! You can do it!!

raquelphiladelphia, NP · May 17, 2009

Thank you for your positive attitude! I am struggling in BIOLOGY but maybe because I am carrying a full load, three kids, and full time job. BIOLOGY is probably better for me taking it alone for one semester. Besides, I don't want to mess up my GPA:)

i have 4 kids, full time job and business and just completed bio 110, micro and nutrition with b's. If I can do it, you can!

chicago878 · May 17, 2009

I think one final thing that all my teachers have told me is to not just memorize!

This is good advice. Yes, regardless studying is work and time consuming for most. I am very suspect and critical of the "flash card chix" who take every little concept and idea from a lecture or chapter and jot it down on an index card to "study" - not only are they probably wasting a TON of time making the cards in the first place but they are also not asking themselves if they completely UNDERSTAND the material. The key is to find limited productive chunks of time and LEARN the concepts (not memorize).

People have different habits but I have been surprised by how many of my classmates just work off of lecture notes and slides and don't actually take the time to read the textbooks. Twenty minutes spent critically reading a chapter on an organ system is much more valuable than 20 minutes quizzing yourself on index card concepts.

Also, my experience has found everyone has their strengths and weaknesses - some people excel in pharm while others prefer the more nebulous med surg concepts. Trust me, it is better to figure this out early on in your nursing school career before you get to the really challenging material later. This way you know you will need more time mastering a certain concept before you get too stressed or fall behind...

Hang in there.

liteskin_qtee · May 17, 2009

I am a "flash card chic" and it is extremely helpful...for me, its more about the writing than the "flashing"...by writing out the important parts I am commiting them to memory and rereading anything that I didn't fully understand. If I am making a flash card but I dont fully understand the concept I either reread my notes or the textbook...so dont think that flash card are all about memorization...besides everyone learns differently. Now although flash cards are helpful in my biology classes "intro and A & P" but wasn't helpful at all in chemistry. For me chemistry was an either I know it or not class. I needed to understand the concepts and be able to perform the calculations...Biology is more about memorizing the concepts and understanding the functions...they are 2 different animals so to speak...BTW I had A's in biology classes and a B in chemistry go figure

swirlything · May 22, 2009

I found my biology class to be very difficult. I studied a lot. Read the textbook to try to understand the concept. If I didn't understand the first time, I'd read it again until I did. I got through the class, but 75% of the class failed out. I'm told this intructor was particularly difficult.

Anyway, that was a few years ago now. I'm graduating from my ADN program next month with a 4.0. So struggling through biology doesn't mean you cannot do well in nursing school.