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!!!!
Yeah, our chemistry class had a hodge podge of students, dietary, nursing, vetrinary, chemistry majors and a bunch of others, so, it was not tailor made for nursing students. I would love to see the connection. If you can place your instructor in a box and send her over to some of the schools in New York, she would start a fan base bigger than Michael Jackson in his better days.
I'd love to. She's probably retired now; this was many years ago. Great teacher. I guess that's kinda rare, huh?
Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.
I'd love to. She's probably retired now; this was many years ago. Great teacher. I guess that's kinda rare, huh?
Well, this has certainly peaked my interest to a point; for curiousity sake. If you feel like it or have time, would you share a few examples of how some of chemistry inproved your practice? Maybe this can be enlightening to the OP and others that really do have to toil with this subject. Have a great one and meet you at the shoe store!:trout:
I got an A in my organic, inorganic and bio-chem but only because I have a friend who got accepted to Berkley and basically taught it to me himself. I would go to his house for four hours every Friday. We would go over formulas in the book and then he would even make some up. He was very patient. Finding a tutor could make a difference!!!! I was very fortunate
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
Excellent post.
I am a dialysis nurse. It would be impossible to understand the principals of dialysis without a basic understanding of chemistry.
I didn't like the teaching style of my first chem prof- and I didn't think I would do well in his class. I dropped his class and signed up for a different prof. She was great. I got an A without having to take the final. It was inconvenient to change classes, but worth it to me.
.thumb.gif.5406a59d44f5c666e8ff3ebac639497a.gif){kind=avatar}
EmmaG, RN
2,999 Posts