Pathophysiology

I remember taking A&P and wondering how I was going to use ALL that I learned; same with patho. But....I'm glad I had a whole year of patho. I keep my book handy still and have been out of school a long time.

I'm a BSN student taking pathophysiology. My question is , how will pathophysiology help me in the near future? Sorry if the question sounds stupid.

More info, please! Where in your course of study are you? Is your pathophys course a stand-alone course or is it integrated with nursing content? What do you mean by "help you in the near future"? (eg on writing a care plan? as a student nurse on the floor? on the NCLEX? as a new grad nurse?).

I'm kinda curious how pathophys would NOT be helpful to a nursing student and future nurse.

you have to be familiar with patho for the nclex exam.

I'm signed up to take Pathophysiology this fall at Baptist. Since I won't begin clinicals unitl SP '10, should I wait and take "Patho" later? Or should I get all of my sciences out the way, as suggested by my advisor? "Patho" is my last science course that I have to take. All suggestions, comments are welcomed. Thanks in advance!

Ehh...I'm not impressed with it's content.

It was not required for my ADN program. I'm taking it now for my ADN-BSN and find myself bored with it. It covers all the diseases and all, but honestly, knowing which Philadelphia gene causes what disease, or what tumor necrosis factor has to do with each disease impacts my nursing life in no way, shape, or form.

And that's the difference between A/P and patho. I found A/P very interesting, but with patho it seems rehashed. (maybe because so much of it was covered in my basic nursing classes?)

I'm getting a very easy A with very little studying. I'd say my nursing knowledge helped my patho more than my patho helped my nursing.

And I'm not taking it through a on-line degree mill either. I'm taking it through a very respected university.

You should also consider yourself lucky that your BSN program offers it.

Ours does not

Best,

Diane

Interesting. One says it's the whole basis of Nursing, yet another says her school doesn't even offer, let alone require, it. So it's not such a bad question after all, nor should the OP feel stupid for asking it or be told she should be able to answer it herself. Since professors can't even agree on its vital or non-vital nature, that is.

For OP: anatomy is how we're built, physiology is how we function, pathophys tells how the body's functioning goes awry. Understanding the effects of disease on various organs and functions will make you a professional nurse. That is, you will know the reason for jaundice, swelling, pain, manifestations of allergic reaction, inflammation, and many other bodily actions and reactions. The aide, the lay person, the practical nurse - these do not have the in-depth understanding that you will have. You will know why we elevate for swelling, why we treat a given condition a certain way, how labs help us, why the surgeon does certain procedures. And you will apply this knowledge in your nursing care and teach others how to deal with various problems, based on your knowledge of what has gone wrong in a given illness/injury.

Keep asking questions. Not everyone will tell you you should be able to answer them yourself or give you a vague, castigating response.

Sorry if I seem sharp - I just don't like it when people respond with superiority and never really do answer the question and try to put down the one asking.

We didn't have to take a specific pathophys class but we needed to write out the pathophys for all of our patients with our care plans. You have to understand how the disease relate to the patient to effectively care for them.

i took patho in my BSN program and i found it extremely helpful. it explains more in depth than regular A&P classes and even to this day i feel like i know my disease processes pretty well. it makes you more confident in your knowldege and when you tie it in with pharmacology, it all just makes sense.