How important is Chemistry, really?

The formulae are not going to matter. Understanding the underlying concepts is vital.

Hang in there.

:)

i understand your pain. i too am terrible at chemistry. i think it totally depends on the teacher you get. i ended up taking chem 1, 3 times. and it didn't make a bit of difference. i have yet to be denied my first choice job based on my chemistry grade. and the only thing chemistry has been good for, for me personally is just knowing what KCL and NaCL stand for so i get the correct IV fluids! chemistry doesn't even teach you the norm K and Na levels as it pertains to humans. it may be important if you maybe get a job in oncology or dialysis, but even then i think you would be hard pressed to find a unit that would not teach you what you need to know to be successful in their unit.

It is so funny... from what I understand, the only chemistry I am going to need to concern myself with once I'm a nurse is the stuff I've already learned in A&P and Micro. I guess Chemistry is just something I'm going to have to struggle through. I just can't believe it though when I hear about Chemistry classes that are so easy because they require very little application of formulas/calculations. One guy in my Micro class said his general Chemistry classes were so easy like that, and they didn't even cover thermodynamics or Lewis structures. And he is pre-med!!!!! Maybe I should transfer to his college?????????

Hey,

Good luck on your exams. I am an RN and am 4 classes from completing RN-BSN. I am also 8 courses away from biochem degree. The chemistry courses I have taken made a world of difference in understanding concepts in nursing school. I grasped ideas easier than my co students who had not taken chemistry.

When you learn about different disease processes and medications and their effects, you have a better comprehension of what is happening because of your chemistry.

Electrolytes, acid/base balances, chelating agents, O2 vs CO2 binding with Hgb, and so much more will be clearer for you with a chemistry background.

Good luck

If nothing else I hope you remember that we are all a big bag of chemicals. Chemicals have the potential to do several things, good and bad. So when someone says "take it, it won't hurt you" be aware that it might.

I have to agree with some of the other posters. Chemistry is vital to nursing. sure formulas and calculations, may not seem important now, but the theories are important -- acid/base balance, electrolytes, and not to mention pharmacology.

Keep up the good work, and try the best you can (thats all anyone can ask of you). Good luck :wink2:

Thanks so much to everyone for your replies and support. I am glad that you've basically confirmed what I had hoped was true - that the stuff I'm actually going to use on the job is the type of chemistry that's reiterated in the bio classes. So much of what we're covering in my chemistry class does not pertain to human physiology, and the inorganic stuff is what I'm having trouble with. I STILL wish I didn't have to suffer through two semesters of this, especially since the stuff I am actually going to use I've already learned several times, in pretty significant detail, as part of the micro and A&P curriculum!!!!

But, I guess if everything was easy, everyone around here would just get their BSN instead of waiting several years to get into an ADN program!!! Believe me, I would have LOVED to avoid taking these chemistry classes. I can't help but think that if they were vital knowledge, they would also be required coursework for the ADN, since we'll all be doing the same work when we graduate!!!!!

Anyway, again, thanks to all. I will let you know how things turn out... just 2 weeks left of this misery, then 3 weeks off til fall semester and Chem 1600. Maybe the second half will be better!!!!!

Good luck to you. I struggled with Chemistry. Just continue to do the best you can.

A&P is the backbone of nursing in my opinion.

But, I guess if everything was easy, everyone around here would just get their BSN instead of waiting several years to get into an ADN program!!! Believe me, I would have LOVED to avoid taking these chemistry classes. I can't help but think that if they were vital knowledge, they would also be required coursework for the ADN, since we'll all be doing the same work when we graduate!!!!!

I have an Associates' and I was required to take chemistry classes.

Chemistry bites! I loathed it myself. I stink at math for one thing, so that didn't help. I had a D minus at midterm and would have rather crawled in a hole and died. But, I buckled down, went in talked to the professor (who I would have rather kicked his butt than spoke to him because he was a jerk). I went to the tutors, I went online and looked up everything I could just to even understand on the simplest terms what some stuff meant. I even bought chemistry books on E-bay, cheap. I left the class with an A minus, but sacrificed my anatomy grade for it, got a B there.

As far as whether or not chemistry comes up in the future, I would have to say yes. I found it was helpful to have especially for pharmacology and pathophysiology.

Hang in there.

Uh. Excuse me. I have an Associates' and I most certainly was required to take chemistry classes.

Sincere apology!!!!! It's not required at for the CC program where I'm doing these prereqs.