How Important Is O-Chem When Applying & In School?

[pWalsh0214]

My question is as the title states: Despite prerequisites how important is having organic chemistry when applying to schools who don't require it and how important is it once you are in school?

I would like to apply for CRNA school this next cycle but don't want to waste all this time, money and energy to be overlooked by everyone with more of a chemistry background. All I took was the one term of general chemistry to get into nursing school.

• So, from your experiences how much would you say schools favor these applicants?
  
• AND despite the acceptance factor, how much does taking these chemistry courses help you as a SRNA? Would applying without these classes put you behind the curve and you'll have to work twice as hard to understand the material or does it just take generalized concepts from these courses that could easily be self-taught?
  

I am 26 y/o male who has been a nurse 1.5 years all in the ICU at a large level one trauma teaching hospital in Phoenix, AZ. One year was spent floating to the various ICUs as a new-grad (cardiac, neuro, trauma, med/surg). The remainder has been spent as core staff on the MSICU. I graduated with a BSN finishing with a 3.85 GPA and by the end of the year I plan on having my TNCC and CCRN on top of all the required training BLS, ACLS, PALS, ect. I don't know if all that makes me a strong candidate or not, but I also don't want to waste time and money taking these courses and miss a cycle if I don't need to. Any input would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[saveitICU, CRNA]

Hi pWalsh,

First off your stats are more than adequate and will make you a strong candidate for gaining an interview. Speaking to your main question, I'm currently taking the chemistry course in our program and I'm not going to lie, it's really tough. The concepts are foreign to most of us and it's probably the class that I have devoted the most time to this semester. Lots of youtube, Khan academy, and tutoring. With that being said, I know there can be wide variability with the difficulty of the chem courses within each anesthesia program so it just depends on the program. As far as how much it will help in gaining acceptance, I would say not very much. The main determinants (speaking from personal experience, variability between programs with this also) of getting accepted are your stats, experience, and how well you perform in your interview. Having a strong background in chemistry would definitely be beneficial as far as the course work, but I don't think it would have that much effect on your admission chances. Hope this helps!