I'm a senior in high school and I was recently accepted to Nursing at Simmons College in Boston. I've wanted to be in the medical field for as long as I can remember, but that dream was pretty much crushed when I took General Chemistry last year. I got a D- for the year, by far my worst grade on my transcript. My Bio, math, and A&P grades are all in the B range. My friends and even my guidance counselor are all pretty much telling me to stay away from nursing. I feel like I've worked so hard in math to get my freshman year C- up to my current B in Pre-calc. I feel like I'd be a great nurse because I'm a very sensitive person.. people's words get to me easily so, I'm really careful about what I say to others. I am also fascinated with the human body. I really loved my Biology and A&P classes.
My question is, is chemistry really THAT big of a part of nursing. I'm willing to work hard, harder than I've ever worked in my life. I really want to be a nurse. Should I listen to my guidance counselor and friends or should I go for it. Overall I'm just really afraid I'll flunk out.
Wow. Well if you want a positive support system. this is the place to be. Everyone is very encouraging around these parts.
I say keep trying. It was just the first time. Find yourself a tutor, study hard, apply yourself, pray, take a deep breath from time to time and you will do fine!
As you can tell from these posts, there are a lot of bad chemistry (anatomy, math, etc.) teachers out there. Many good chemists (mathematicians, artists, etc.) stink at teaching. Teaching is not only knowing your subject, it's also about being able to explain your subject in terms that your students can understand. Sometimes that involves analogies, sometimes it involves hands-on demos - a good teacher should be able to see what techniques are working and which ones need to be modified.
I have spent the past year as a peer tutor at my local college. I tutor fellow students in anatomy and physiology, chemistry and microbiology. I find myself undoing a lot of damage that our poor chemistry teaching staff has done. Chemistry is relevant to so many things - cooking, global warming and yes, nursing - but our staff has the ability to make it both confusing and boring at the same time. So, I see lots of smart and motivated students (mostly pre-nursing) really struggling in chemistry.
So don't be discouraged. Yes, you need to know chemistry to be a good nurse, but there are many good ways to learn it. The web is full of great information and there are even virtual chem labs that you can play around with on your computer (and blow up the entire lab- what fun!) You are very young (hey, I could be your grandma) so don't allow either your chemistry teacher or school counselor to tell you to throw in the towel at this early stage of the game. I know it's trite to say it, but "hang in there". You're in charge of your future, just consider this a test of your determination.
afineparadigm
42 Posts
Wow. Well if you want a positive support system. this is the place to be. Everyone is very encouraging around these parts.
I say keep trying. It was just the first time. Find yourself a tutor, study hard, apply yourself, pray, take a deep breath from time to time and you will do fine!
Good luck!