Nutrition and pathophysiology missing in curriculum

Nurses General Nursing

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hi guys. i have a question for you nurses who didn't have pathophysiology or nutrition in your curriculum(ns or pre-req). how do you feel this has affected your job as a nurse? do you feel like these lasses might've helped you now that you are an rn? do you feel a step behind at all?

the reason i'm asking is because i am starting ns in the fall and only need two more classes to take. i can take a nutrition class although its not a pre-req. i wanted to take it because my friends who are going to bsn programs are taking it so i figured it would be important although i am going to an asn program.

also, my school doesn't offer pathophysiology for nursing pre-req, only pa. i thought this was weird and kind of thought it was unfair because i thought nursing students should take this class too. i kind of wanted to see if i could maybe talk to someone in the school to find out more about why this is, and if they plan to add this course in the future. i feel that maybe the new grads from my school would be more prepared for the n-clex or even clinicals if they had taken these two classes previously. but i really am not sure if it makes a big difference at all.

i really just don't want to take this nutrition class unless it will make nursing school easier for me . i just don't understand why all the bsn programs in my area ask for it, and the asns in my area don't. i've heard people say rns don't need that stuff because dietitians will take care of it. so i am a bit confused here. anyone want to clear it up?:confused:

Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
That's what I had in mind... I think I am def. going to take it. Thanks for your post. I really do wish they offered patho though. :/

So you can't even opt to take it even though it's not required? Hopefully it is incorporated into your program then. It can be very useful. You can even get a good patho book and teach yourself. It won't hurt you at all. But good idea on getting the nutrition out of the way, if you ever do plan on getting a higher degree it will be one less class you have to take since you said it's required for your BSN.

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Specializes in SDU, Tele.
So you can't even opt to take it even though it's not required? Hopefully it is incorporated into your program then. It can be very useful. You can even get a good patho book and teach yourself. It won't hurt you at all. But good idea on getting the nutrition out of the way, if you ever do plan on getting a higher degree it will be one less class you have to take since you said it's required for your BSN.

See the thing is the patho class is only offered in the PA program. No patho for anyone else. Its kind of unfair that they get it and no one else. Not even for pre-med:eek:. you would have to go to another college or uni to get this class. Yet they have a ton of biochem, organic chem, physics, and other health courses for AA but no patho open for anyone else. :| You'd think it would be a pre-req. I would understand if there were co-reqs involved for this class but its totally closed off to everyone unless you're in the PA program. :down:

But thanks a bunch. I am def. going to take the nutrition class. :yeah:

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We have to do Nutrition at my community college. There are two different types of Nutrition courses, a one credit class, and a 3 credit class. I chose the 3 credit class as it counts towards a BSN. We do not need to do Patho, but we have to do it if we decide to transfer to our local university to get our BSN. Anyway, I feel that I have learned a lot on the human body during my time at NS, and I would get an easy "A" if I do eventually take Patho.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
See the thing is the patho class is only offered in the PA program. No patho for anyone else. Its kind of unfair that they get it and no one else. Not even for pre-med:eek:. you would have to go to another college or uni to get this class. Yet they have a ton of biochem, organic chem, physics, and other health courses for AA but no patho open for anyone else. :| You'd think it would be a pre-req. I would understand if there were co-reqs involved for this class but its totally closed off to everyone unless you're in the PA program. :down:

But thanks a bunch. I am def. going to take the nutrition class. :yeah:

I am sure the patho that you need is part of the actual nursing classes. I can see the benefit of having it offered as a separate class and a pre-req, but you're still going to be getting it along the way. Same with premed, I am sure they get all the pathophys they can handle as they move through their program, integrated in to their other classes. Maybe the courses specific to PA don't have as much (or any?) patho in their core classes, so they need to take it separately. I woudln't assume too much, without being able to see syllabuses (hm, what IS the plural of syllabus? Syllabuses? Syllabi? :idea:) from each and every course in each program.

I think the nutrition class is a good choice for an "extra." It'll be useful as you go through the rest of your program, and in your career.

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See the thing is the patho class is only offered in the PA program. No patho for anyone else. Its kind of unfair that they get it and no one else. Not even for pre-med:eek:. you would have to go to another college or uni to get this class. Yet they have a ton of biochem, organic chem, physics, and other health courses for AA but no patho open for anyone else. :| You'd think it would be a pre-req. I would understand if there were co-reqs involved for this class but its totally closed off to everyone unless you're in the PA program. :down:

But thanks a bunch. I am def. going to take the nutrition class. :yeah:

Maybe their patho class is specifically created for their program.

We have two patho classes (3 credit classes cleverly named pathophysiology I and pathophysiology II) that are part of our nursing program.....they're closed to everyone except the sophomore nursing students.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
See the thing is the patho class is only offered in the PA program. No patho for anyone else. Its kind of unfair that they get it and no one else. Not even for pre-med:eek:. you would have to go to another college or uni to get this class. Yet they have a ton of biochem, organic chem, physics, and other health courses for AA but no patho open for anyone else. :| You'd think it would be a pre-req. I would understand if there were co-reqs involved for this class but its totally closed off to everyone unless you're in the PA program. :down:

But thanks a bunch. I am def. going to take the nutrition class. :yeah:

It sounds like you are on the right track! Ours was open to everyone and was a Co Req with the option to do early. But their were non nursing students in my class, only a few. I would guess if they don't offer it seperately, as others have said, it's probably incorporated somehow. My first Med/Surge class (we have 3 throughout our program) seemed to be a just more involved PathoPhys class but with the testing being the NCLEX style testing, but a lot of the stuff we covered in it, we covered in less detail in Patho,

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Specializes in SDU, Tele.
It sounds like you are on the right track! Ours was open to everyone and was a Co Req with the option to do early. But their were non nursing students in my class, only a few. I would guess if they don't offer it seperately, as others have said, it's probably incorporated somehow. My first Med/Surge class (we have 3 throughout our program) seemed to be a just more involved PathoPhys class but with the testing being the NCLEX style testing, but a lot of the stuff we covered in it, we covered in less detail in Patho,

I seee. I took a patho book out from the library for a research project for chem... I think I am going to go on amazon and look for a couple to read on my spare time. Luckily my ap2 lab professor gives us a lot of clinical questions. If it weren't for him I wouldn't know anything at all. So hopefully we'll get deep into in med surg. I am so looking forward to it I can't wait to start. :o)

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I seee. I took a patho book out from the library for a research project for chem... I think I am going to go on amazon and look for a couple to read on my spare time. Luckily my ap2 lab professor gives us a lot of clinical questions. If it weren't for him I wouldn't know anything at all. So hopefully we'll get deep into in med surg. I am so looking forward to it I can't wait to start. :o)

I got a couple good ones, Pathophysiology made incredibly easy and Pathophysiology made incredibly visual

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Specializes in burn ICU, SICU, ER, Trauma Rapid Response.
Nurses do a lot of education, educating on proper eating, foods to avoid foods to eat, we need to know what foods are high in fat, what are high in fiber, what help HDL and lower LDL, foods can impact medications. It's not about deciding what the patient can eat, it's about knowing the effects certain foods have on the body and medications and being able to educate patients on it.

At least that's my opinion on it.

*** Yes you make a good point. I also work in the ER and do a lot of patient teaching. I suppose I have learned over time what to advise. Still a great many nursing programs don't require it and they are turning out good nurses. Nursing programs are already so crowded that at some community colleges it actually takes 3 or 4 years to get an ADN.

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Specializes in SDU, Tele.
I got a couple good ones, Pathophysiology made incredibly easy and Pathophysiology made incredibly visual

Oh! That's the one I am talking about! :D It was so gooood and I loved the Q's in the back. I wanted to get this one too for harder concepts:

http://www.amazon.com/Textbook-Medical-Physiology-Arthur-Guyton/dp/072168677X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269039422&sr=1-4

Ummm I think its August 23 or 25(can't remember). I have to take micro and math in the summer and now Nutrition(yay) so I will have plenty of time to review anatomy and patho.... :heartbeat

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
*** Yes you make a good point. I also work in the ER and do a lot of patient teaching. I suppose I have learned over time what to advise. Still a great many nursing programs don't require it and they are turning out good nurses. Nursing programs are already so crowded that at some community colleges it actually takes 3 or 4 years to get an ADN.

I was on the waitlist for 3.5 years so I understand add to that 1.5 years of classes just to get ON the waitlist it surely has turned into much more then a 2 year degree for me LOL Since I was waiting I got a lot of classes out of the way that I could and all Co Reqs and some requirements for the BSN as well. Both colleges I attended did require the Nutrition though. Anyway, I wasn't trying to imply you can't be a good nurse without it. I got 108% in the 3 credit class because she gave lots of extra credit and a lot of the stuff I already knew from my own research.It was the easiest A I got. So it's not like it's some intense course or anything. I am sure many can function just fine without it :) I just don't think it hurts to have it and don't think it would be a waisted class.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
Oh! That's the one I am talking about! :D It was so gooood and I loved the Q's in the back. I wanted to get this one too for harder concepts:

http://www.amazon.com/Textbook-Medical-Physiology-Arthur-Guyton/dp/072168677X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269039422&sr=1-4

Ummm I think its August 23 or 25(can't remember). I have to take micro and math in the summer and now Nutrition(yay) so I will have plenty of time to review anatomy and patho.... :heartbeat

I haven't seen that one yet so I can't give any feedback on it. I thought I would hate Micro but I enjoyed it. Anyway, congrats, I think I get more excited FOR people that are about to start than them sometimes LOL

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