help- How to become an RN- no science courses

[Janelle Marcotte]

Hi!

So i just finished my first year at laurier university for a bachelor in psychology.

But im considering changing what i want to do and would like to know how i could become an RN. My problem is that i did not take biology and chemistry in high school.

So the last science class was general grade 10 science. Also math the highest math course i took was grade 11 c/u.

I dont know where to go from here because alot of places only consider you a "mature" student if you havent been invovled in a university program which I am but i havent taken any science or math or any health classes. I know i could do a pre health program for a year and then apply for a BSN but that could be 5 years and im wondering if there would be any other ways. I hope im making myself clear enough!

Thank you to anyone who could help!!

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

So, if you think you REALLY want to be a nurse, you will have to suck it up and take the science requirements. In the scheme of your life, one more year won't make a difference and you'd only have to go part-time. You can still take bio and chem requirements without any previous high school courses. HOWEVER, if I were not science-inclined, I would take a year to take them without any other courses, because they require a lot of time with labs. I don't know the caliber of science courses in your curriculum. If it's bio 101 and chem101,

leave yourself plenty of time to study. If it's some course adapted for nursing, that's another story- these are generally easy to accommodate the science-impaired.

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

If you went to Laurier in Canada, I am surprised you didn't have to take any math classes for your psychology degree. Since requirements at each nursing school are different, you really need to contact the school you plan to attend and go from there. That school will then tell you what classes you will need to take, and if you are eligible for an accelerated program, since you will already have that psychology degree.

[TiffyRN, BSN, PhD]

You've only been through one year of college! Browse around here and see how many people come here for their 2nd or third degrees! Some of your psych classes will count, chalk the rest up to courses that hopefully helped you learn how to study.

But you will need to catch up with the science courses. You are not going to complete all your college in 4 years. But doing nursing without sciences is like trying to do psych without Freud, Skinner, Maslow & Rogers.

[DoGoodThenGo]

Can't be done I'm afraid. There isn't a nursing program on this earth that does not have some sort of science component. Either you have taken the classes beforehand and can seek a wavier, or you must take the required classes. That is all there is to the matter.

Science classes for nurses range from "chemistry for weenies" to full frontal classes taught at or near pre-med level

If you are seriously worried about your ability to tackle heavy science classes for programs that offer "fundamentals" and or "principals" of say general and or organic chemistry. These usually are geared for nursing students and teach/cover what is deemed necessary for a professional nurse to know.

[CardiacKittyRN]

Science classes provide the basic foundation on which almost all further nursing knowledge is built. You can't be a nurse without learning anatomy, patho, some chemistry, and microbiology... These are like the core of every RN program.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

No matter how you slice it, you haven't got the pre-requisite science coursework necessary for a BSN (or ADN) program. You will need to meet with a school advisor to find out the correct path for you at this point, but one thing is crystal clear: you will need significant "catch up" sciences to be ready for nursing school.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Since the OP is located in Canada, we have moved this discussion to the Nursing in Canada forum with the hope that our members north of the US border can provide advice.

[Fiona59]

Nope. You have to do the sciences (and for some uni's a math class).

Look into your local public school boards, they often have accelerated science classes for people who managed to graduate without any.

But you do need to figure out which school you will be applying to and what their requirements are. There are many differences in the core requirements between provinces and within them. I remember one uni in BC that wanted no math but extremely high marks in both Chemistry and Biology. Here in AB, Math 30 is a requirement as well as at least 2 sciences at the 30 (grade 12 level).

Being a mature student does nothing to help avoid this.

[openyourmind]

Oh unrealistic dreams... I am going to cross the sea, without a boat and paddle.

[sam89]

Sorry, you have to do the required prerequisite science courses 12 U Chemistry and 12 U Biology, there is no avoiding this. The majority of universities or collaborative college/universities programs require a 12 U math, however there are a couple (University of Ottawa, St Lawrence/Laurention, etc) that will accept 11 M level math (Ontario) instead of 12 U math.

So, you either have to do the prerequisite courses through independent learning center (that's what I have been doing), adult learning school, or take the pre-health science program at a college.

Good luck.

[xokw, BSN, RN]

I avoided going back and taking the science classes I didn't take in highschool by taking a prehealth program.

I was accepted to both an RPN and BScN program with prehealth as my prerequisite.

This is quite common.

Unfortunately, however, some colleges will not allow you to use prehealth to gain acceptance to a BScN program IF you have ever attended university in the past. I know this was the case at my school (Conestoga. Those who previously attended uni could not use prehealth to get into the McMaster BScN program and had to take the traditional route of going back and upgrading or RPN-BScN)