I am in the process of taking the prerequisites for an Accelerated BSN program. I have done very well (4.0) in A&P, Micro, Psych and all the other miscellaneous prerequisites, but now I am taking general Chemistry, and it is killing me. I understand the lectures and even find them very interesting. The theories all make sense to me, and the application of their basic formulas is simple. The problem is, our exams are 100% calculations-based. I am not talking simple calculations, but the kind that take up a few 8 1/2 x 11 sheets to complete. This is an 8-week, 5-credit course and I have taken three of the four exams. Up until this last one I have had a B, but I failed the last exam so miserably that I am now getting a C. Now, the best I can hope for is to make it through this class with a C. If I bomb the final like I bombed this last exam, a "C" would be a gift. This is the only time in my life that I would be happy to get a "C" in a class.
I will admit that A "C" hurts my ego more than it does my GPA, especially considering the amount of time I have spent trying to master the material. Each day's homework takes at least two hours to complete, plus pre- and post-lab calculations, and general studying along with that. (It doesn't just take ME this long to do the homework, etc - most of the students spend several hours a day doing the work for this class.) I do know how to study. I know how to work all the formulas and do the conversions on an indivudual basis, and even the stoichiometry is not a problem. But I bombed the last exam because I could not figure out how to apply four or five formulas in the correct order to come up with the right answers. I have gone to tutors and done my best, but I am finding this part of the class impossible.
I know that, in the grand scheme of things, my grade in one class is not going to matter. What I'm more concerned with is whether or not my lack of understanding of how to apply chemical formulas is going to impact my future as a nurse. Just to be clear, I do not have a problem with math. It's just the application of multiple formulas that is giving me such grief!!!!
I cannot spend any more time studying, or less time doing homework, or less time sleeping. Even working with a tutor isn't helping because it all makes perfect sense when someone explains it. I feel like a failure and I am even more upset because I have never worked so hard and not seen the results.
More than anything I guess I just needed to vent, but I would appreciate it if the nurses out there could give me some insight as to how my problems in chemistry might (or might not) impair my ability to do my job as a nurse, or to get accepted for higher-level study (advanced practice or MSN). Please help!!!!
I really didn't see the connection between chemistry and nursing. The professor was willing to work with the students that did poorly by giving take home assignments, but I didn't see the reason to waste time busting brain cells for something that wouldn't matter to my daily practice. I asked most of the nurses (RNs)I know and they all told me that chemistry never applied to their jobs, or their nursing programs. And, there are other programs that didn't require chemistry (mostly associate degree programs). It never showed up on NCLEX, or daily practice.
My goodness, I disagree with this. Chemistry does apply to our daily practice.
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 worked very hard for my ADN... and I took general chemistry and biochemistry, as well as microbiology. It was required coursework... and it helped me very much when I entered the nursing program.
i really didn't see the connection between chemistry and nursing. the professor was willing to work with the students that did poorly by giving take home assignments, but i didn't see the reason to waste time busting brain cells for something that wouldn't matter to my daily practice. i asked most of the nurses (rns)i know and they all told me that chemistry never applied to their jobs, or their nursing programs. and, there are other programs that didn't require chemistry (mostly associate degree programs). it never showed up on nclex, or daily practice. i don't plan to become an rn, so, it really didn't matter to me.
i am not downtalking chemistry for those that really gained much from it, or maybe it bridged some understanding to things for them, but, if i had a motion for those that are aiming to be rns, i say to rid them of the headache.
i totally disagree with this! when you get down to the how and why of just about everything our bodies do, the answer is chemistry. an example...co2 and h+ receptors regulate our breathing... i guess i'm just lost on how chemistry could not be important to nursing?? i'm starting my bsn program this fall so i guess i could be wrong but i hope not!! the chemistry of our bodies is absolutely fascinating to me.
like others have said, it seems like general chem is less practical than bio chem (just thinking about metabolism makes me smile). ok i'm a science nerd!
I agree biochem and organic chem are important. On a positive note for you, I as well as several others that I know who have MS and PhD's in physiology and other related fields struggled with Gen Chem 1 and 2. I really enjoyed and did well in organic and biochem, so just because you struggle with gen chem doesnt mean all is lost, it really does get easier.
Best Wishes to you on your final! I have an AAS in Chemical Technology and have found the concepts extremely useful in nursing, especially in cardiology; ie sodium-potassium pump, conductivity, e-lyte imbalances, etc. That being said, I have yet to use those pages of formulas you and I know so well in 7 years of nursing. The concepts are what is important and it sounds like you have a good handle on them. It just stinks that you're GPA will drop a touch. Good luck!
I found that chemistry helped me with understanding some basic concepts about electrolytes and chemical reactions inside the body, other than that I really don't use it at all, I can't even remember most of it and I got an A, (don't know how) hang in there and practice those formulas
I worked very hard for my ADN... and I took general chemistry and biochemistry, as well as microbiology. It was required coursework... and it helped me very much when I entered the nursing program.
Please don't think I was trying to say that the ADN is easy!!!! It just would have been easier for me, personally, to not have 2 semesters as gen chem as a requirement! (and the cc where I am taking my prerequisites does NOT require any chemsitry for their ADN program!)
I know, I know, many AND programs DO have this requirement... I did not, in any way, mean to offend the ADNs!!!!!
I spent a three years tutoring students in the BSN chemistry classes at the university I was attending as chemistry major.
What specifically are you finding so difficult? Having gone through the bachelor's program in chemistry, I can't really think of any subject that should require multiple pages of calculations and (given your educational history) none that you should be finding so difficult as you are.
I'm wondering about your tutor. I've seen many tutors who weren't very good at it. They could do it themselves but they weren't very good at helping others. You might try a different tutor.
Again, what (specifically) are you having so much difficulty with?
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
i totally disagree with this! when you get down to the how and why of just about everything our bodies do, the answer is chemistry. an example...co2 and h+ receptors regulate our breathing... i guess i'm just lost on how chemistry could not be important to nursing?? i'm starting my bsn program this fall so i guess i could be wrong but i hope not!! the chemistry of our bodies is absolutely fascinating to me.
like others have said, it seems like general chem is less practical than bio chem (just thinking about metabolism makes me smile). ok i'm a science nerd!
i am not challenging your love for chemistry and as i said before, if it can create the bridge needed for you to further understand how the body works, that is great. however, i do not see it as necessary to perform the daily tasks of nursing. i have seen nurses that did not have chemistry as part of their cirriculum function quite well without it. most patients really don't care, they just want to get well. when i did sit in that chemistry class for the brief time i did, i posed the question to the professor several times (and, it was bio-chem), he told me this was not a nursng class, this is chemistry. i have yet to see where it has been applied, even in the nursing courses for the associate degree students. anatomy will mention some of the same things you just spoke of, without the rest of chemistry.
i do plan to take a basic chemistry course, not for the grade, but simply to comprehend. maybe then, i will feel as you do. but, thus far, particularly as an lpn, it has not applied to daily practice. and from what i witnessed, for most rns i know, it hasn't, either.
there is nothing wrong with learning. if a subject is fascinating to you, by all means, take it. i just hate to see people taking it stress themselves when they can, in fact, be just as effective of an rn as those that have not. i have seen too many students being barred from the nursing program for this course, and it isn't really fair to them.
Chemistry is the foundational science behind physiology and pharmacology. Understanding it (& physics, for that matter) provides the "why" to the "what" in physiology.
I doubt that most nurses use much if any chemistry directly in their daily work. However, I am certain that my knowledge of chemistry provided me a much better understanding of physiology than most of my classmates attained last semester. I think that the foundational knowledge is one reason that I found the class pretty easy and was, by far, the best student.
I believe that a strong foundational base will make one a better nurse because it makes it easier to understand the "whys" of therapeutic regimens. The foundational knowledge also facilitates a deeper understanding of the applied disciplines such as pharmacology. I also suspect that nurses with strong knowledge of foundations will tend to earn more respect from some physicians and therefore promote better interactions.
Can one be a good nurse without a strong grasp of the foundational science? I'm quite sure that they can. Does that deep understanding make a good nurse better? I believe that it does.
I don't think anyone, myself included, is denying the need to understand biochemistry (which we are taught in biology)!!!! I was actually the one who explained the gas exchange process, over and over again, to the other students at my lab table in A&P!
The stuff I'm having trouble with is thermodynamics, quantum theory, and memorizing and appling multiple formulae that have nothing to do with human physiology!!!!! I just don't get it!
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
Chemistry is the foundational science behind physiology and pharmacology. Understanding it (& physics, for that matter) provides the "why" to the "what" in physiology.
I doubt that most nurses use much if any chemistry directly in their daily work. However, I am certain that my knowledge of chemistry provided me a much better understanding of physiology than most of my classmates attained last semester. I think that the foundational knowledge is one reason that I found the class pretty easy and was, by far, the best student.
I believe that a strong foundational base will make one a better nurse because it makes it easier to understand the "whys" of therapeutic regimens. The foundational knowledge also facilitates a deeper understanding of the applied disciplines such as pharmacology. I also suspect that nurses with strong knowledge of foundations will tend to earn more respect from some physicians and therefore promote better interactions.
Can one be a good nurse without a strong grasp of the foundational science? I'm quite sure that they can. Does that deep understanding make a good nurse better? I believe that it does.
Now, the way you worded this would make me curious about chemistry as it relates to nursing...not to take the class, but, if it were presented as such, then, I can make the correlation because there would be an interest there. It is true, we practice better with rationale; but should it be too much out of the person's reach where they are lost? This is what I think the OP is saying. I too, saw things in there that really didn't seem to have much to do with human physiology, making it hard to make a connection enough to become or remain interested. Please know, I am not challenging or arguing against chemistry or any class if it helps; but the need for nurses to know chemistry is not consistent. Some programs require it, others don't and if you see that both have the same level of responsibility, same title; RN, then, it does make me wonder how necessary is it, really? I really like how you presented your stance on it...
EmmaG, RN
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