Nursing programs that don't require Chemistry?!

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I'm applying to 2 programs next year, neither of which require Chemistry! Anyone experienced this? Believe me though, I'm not complaining...I hated Chem in high school and probably still would...lol

Let me know when you get to cellular respiration and the sodium-potassium pump =P

lol yes that is what we're learning right now...and trust me, it hasn't been a cake-walk. I've been studying more than I ever have in my life. I can see why having Chem would've helped.

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Specializes in ICU.
lol yes that is what we're learning right now...and trust me, it hasn't been a cake-walk. I've been studying more than I ever have in my life. I can see why having Chem would've helped.

Indeed :) Good for you for staying focused though and making the best out of a less than ideal situation. You may still want to take some chem - if not for your own knowledge, at least for some of the reasons others have suggested here - like if you plan to move on to a BSN. Ultimately, it is your decision though, of course.

Good Luck in your studies!

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Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

Interesting, what school did you apply to?... however, some schools take in consideration your high school grades, but most do require the Chem. Oh well consider yourself lucky, although, if in the future you're pursuing a BSN or MSN you'll need Chem. & much more. Good luck to you!!!:cool:

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Specializes in ER.
I'm applying to 2 programs next year, neither of which require Chemistry! Anyone experienced this? Believe me though, I'm not complaining...I hated Chem in high school and probably still would...lol

I'd be afraid of a program that didn't require Chemistry... and I'd be very afraid of those nurses that came out of that program....

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oh you are sooo lucky you don't have to take chemistry! I dropped the class in High school and took biology 2 instead; I was a senior and Chemistry was super hard and I was falling behind so I needed to drop. Even though my aunt is a chem professor at university; she helped me a lot on the weekends but after her, it just left my brain. :(

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My school does not require chemistry (ADN program). Just A & P 1 & 2, and Microbiology. I am in Biology right now (prereq for the others) and we are learning cellular respiration. Our class is specifically geared for students heading to the medical field.

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Specializes in Trauma, ER, ICU, CCU, PACU, GI, Cardiology, OR.

Mama2fiveboys, if you don't mind what school of nursing did you applied to? just wonder so that I can tell others that this is true.:cool:

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Specializes in ICU.
My school does not require chemistry (ADN program). Just A & P 1 & 2, and Microbiology. I am in Biology right now (prereq for the others) and we are learning cellular respiration. Our class is specifically geared for students heading to the medical field.

I hope you are also learning materials transport systems (diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion, and active transport). If you ever need to know how hemodialysis works, you'll need to know what can and can't get through a semi-permeable membrane and why.

An in depth analysis of chemistry is probably not necessary for most of what you'll need to do as a practicing nurse (don't know this for sure, it's only a guess), but I would wager that the reason it is required for a BSN is that there may be times when having that knowledge would come in quite handy.

Believe it or not, chemistry is not required for my ADN program either, but I took a year of it with my first degree, along with a year of general biology, physics, and college level calculus (16 credits total for calculus and physics - the rest of the year was college algebra, but I'm pretty sure most ADN programs require that). From someone who knows what details nursing students who don't take chemistry might be missing, it really surprises me that it isn't a requirement.

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Funny story: during my prerequisites, I also had to take chemistry- very basic chemistry. Like "this is nitrogen, this is oxgen, here is the periodic table, ho-hum" kind of chemistry. What happened was that I was accidentally loaded into a quantum chemistry class and nobody caught it, because some kind of computer goof cross-matched the "Chemistry 101" class code with the "Chemistry over 9000" or whatever it was in the database. Long story short, I show up for the first day of class, and the prof hands out the syllabus and starts writing alien symbols on the board.

Didn't take long to figure out what had happened, but I was scared for a few seconds. I was really thinking that nurses had to know that sort of stuff.

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Our school requires organic and bio chem. I did take an intro to chem course because it had been 20 years since I had taken chemistry. Even if your school doesn't require chem, I think it's a good investment in knowledge and understanding. IMO anything that helps your understand and ultimately serve the patients and their families better is worthwhile.

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Mama2fiveboys, if you don't mind what school of nursing did you applied to? just wonder so that I can tell others that this is true.:cool:

Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland. Their website is http://www.frederick.edu, and by doing a search on "nursing" you can get the link for the admission requirements.

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I hope you are also learning materials transport systems (diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion, and active transport). If you ever need to know how hemodialysis works, you'll need to know what can and can't get through a semi-permeable membrane and why.

Yes, we have covered that in the Biology class I am in right now.

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