HELP. I plan to major in Nursing but one problem: I don't like science.

bsartor · Aug 30, 2014

#1. Yes nursing involves a lot of science. It is the foundation to everything nurses do.

#2. In order to think like a medical professional, you always go back to fundamental sciences to understand the disease processes (i.e. chemistry, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, biology...they all come into play)

#3.You can't really get those courses out of the way because they always come back up, one way or another.

#4. For the body to function properly it depends on all they sciences (microbes for healthy gut, physics and chemistry because water flows via osmosis and salt and potassium are gate keepers to the cells, anatomy and physiology to know where and how organs function, its all important.

Many of my friends, including me, became nurses because they LOVE science. We also want to do good and help people.

Good luck :)

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Aug 30, 2014

Nursing IS science.

itsmejuli · Aug 30, 2014

If you don't like science you won't like nursing

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2014

Nursing IS science.

Yup. BSN = Bachelor's of SCIENCE in Nursing.

thinwildmercury · Aug 30, 2014

I didn't like science much, but got into nursing because I liked everything else about it. My prerequisite classes actually really made me love science! I think you, like me, may have had some boring high school science course. Microbiology, o chem, anatomy and physiology are all so much more interesting because you can actually relate what you're learning to nursing! It is up to you. If you truly hate science that much, it may not be for you, but personally, I was able to enjoy my science courses and learning about the human body and disease processes.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2014

Do I just get the science courses over with and just look forward to the hands-on experience?

My response is going to go against the grain of the other replies, but you always have the option of becoming a task-oriented nurse who focuses on completing routine tasks (assessments, medication administration, charting, etc) without looking at the big scientific picture.

I work with several task-oriented nurses. They complete their tasks without much analysis. They get out on time. Patients generally like them. While they'll never work up to their full intellectual potentials, the task-oriented nurse is the one who maintains long term employment at healthcare facilities because management loves the fact that they clock out on time.

Medication administration involves pharmacological knowledge. Assessments involve physiological knowledge. Nurses also need some biochemical knowledge to comprehend the processes of nutrition, digestion, and so forth. We also need microbiological and epidemiological knowledge for infection control and preventive purposes.

However, there are many nurses who have long forgotten the science. In the real world of nursing they do just fine, although their coworkers are often left picking up the slack.

goddess9 · Aug 30, 2014

I thought I would hate the sciences, but give it a chance if you really want this. Nursing is very heavy on the sciences.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2014

I thought I would hate the sciences, but give it a chance if you really want this. Nursing is very heavy on the sciences.

Nursing is not that heavy on the sciences compared to other healthcare majors. For instance, occupational therapy majors need to have completed biology, zoology, neuroscience, physics and other empirical science majors in addition to anatomy & physiology. On the other hand, many nursing majors simply take A&P and microbiology. Some take chemistry, and some do not.

wooh, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2014

I work with several task-oriented nurses. They complete their tasks without much analysis.

Because just following orders leads to GREAT patient outcomes. (To be clear, that was sarcasm.)

If you don't like science, why do you want to be a nurse?

You want to make someone better, you need to understand how to do it. And that's 100% science.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2014

Because just following orders leads to GREAT patient outcomes. (To be clear, that was sarcasm.)

LOL! One of my coworkers telephoned an attending physician to report a patient's chest pain. One of the new orders received was a stat EKG. She dutifully obtained the EKG and flagged the printout result so the doc could follow up in the morning during rounds (we had paper charts a few years ago).

The EKG was obtained at 10:00pm. The doctor rounded at 9:00am the next morning and went ballistic after seeing a classic ST elevation on the EKG that wasn't there at the time the patient had gotten admitted. Yes, the patient had an MI. Yes, the task-oriented nurse was more focused on completing the task at hand (read: the EKG) than bothering to clinically visualize the big picture.

Yes, the very same task-oriented nurse is still working at the very same hospital, and to this day, she cannot mentally assemble the discrete parts of the whole to come up with the big picture. Management promptly swept the occurrence under the rug because this nurse is "so pleasant," "excels at time management" and "always gets out on time."

Karou · Aug 30, 2014

So does nursing involve a lot of science?
In the everyday job, where are some times that you're going to have to involve science in your work?
Do I just get the science courses over with and just look forward to the hands-on experience?

What should I be aware of?

Just my thoughts...

I don't think you have to like science to be a good nurse.

I don't really like microbiology or chemistry as general classes. I took them because they were required and I did well in them, but I did not enjoy them by any means. I struggled to stay awake and had to force myself to read my textbooks.

Nursing school was different. I hated "general" microbiology but as applied to nursing I found it interesting and actually wanted to learn about it. Suddenly chemistry had a point now that I could visualize and apply it. Covering the sciences in nursing school was very different for me than any previous science classes that I had taken. I enjoyed learning it and was actually motivated.

You may not like science now, you might not like it on nursing school. Or you could. I don't think "not liking science" has to be a deal breaker.

I wish I had the time and motivation to go back and retake science classes now that I realize their importance. I wish I had been as interested then as I am now. Oh well... Maybe one day!