MochiMadness

OP, this advice is from someone who dropped Chemistry THREE TIMES in her long healthcare career. I didn't fail, I simply became too afraid of the word problems and RAN. I altered my career course from RN to Radiology as a result of that fear. If I thought it was going to be easier, I was dead wrong. Radiation Physics. Try it sometime. Anyway, the thing that some seem to misunderstand here is the reason certain subjects are required. The way that you must train yourself to think for Chemistry is very similar to the way that you must think as a Nurse. This goes for some of the other "nonsense" courses that pre-nursing students complain bitterly about taking. It's an indication of your thinking and problem solving process. Tutors can help just so much. If you have difficulty with moles and conversions---I've got news for you---from Day 1 in Nursing, you have calculations. If you can't do them now, how do you expect to do them in the program? I did find one tutor who showed me something that clicked with me--it took her 5 minutes to teach me, and I've never gotten a problem wrong in the time I've used her method. But. It was something that worked for me. I disagree with the poster who said that taking Chemistry during the summer is not a good idea. I would absolutely do it in the summer. Shorter term, no nonsense, cut down to the nib as to what you absolutely must know to pass. An Anesthesiologist at my hospital told me pretty much that same thing---she passed O-Chem and BioChem only by taking those classes during the summer. It's a grind for 16 weeks!! Take it in 8 and be done! As for failing 3 times. I'll try to say this as kindly as I can--if a subject that closely parallels the thought processes of Nursing, such as Chemstry--has been presented to you for what amounts to an entire year's worth of instruction--and you still have not grasped the concepts---I am not sure that Nursing is for you. This doesn't mean you are not an intelligent, kind, compassionate and worthy person. The math and abstract thinking is something that you will absolutely NEVER get away from in healthcare, whether it's Radiology or Nursing. These things may simply not be your forte

Good luck to you all that were accepted into DTCC's Fall 2015 ADN program!! There are a few things that I wish someone had said to me before beginning, and I will say them to you-- ** It doesn't matter which school you get into. Nursing questions are unlike anything you've ever seen. ** Get into study groups EARLY ** Be kind to your classmates, you never know when you will be the one who needs help--and you never know when one will end up being your boss someday ** Complaining about the instructors will get you NOWHERE. This is the same boat that everyone in Nursing school is in. If you think it's better elsewhere, you're wrong. ** Do your best. If you have trouble, ASK FOR HELP AS SOON AS YOU START STRUGGLING. Giving attitude to the instructors isn't going to get you the points, it'll get you on a short list of students who won't get a good recommendation Now for the DTCC specific stuff: ** My class accepted 64. By the end of Fundamentals, we lost 6. By the end of Med-Surg I, we lost 11. I think you get the gyst. This isn't indicative of lousy instruction or lousy students. It's indicative of the rigorous program and amount of information. ** This isn't memorization. You won't make it if you try that tactic. Some things you will have to memorize, but most of it is APPLICATION. If you don't understand what this means (not trying to be snarky), you need to get a firm grasp on it before you begin Fundamentals. The instructors will listen to a well thought out argument on a question...but do NOT expect questions to be thrown out because you didn't like it. If you argue, have the book in hand to back you up. ** The exams are difficult. The amount of info is massive. Your experience as a Surg Tech, EMT, CNA--isn't going to help. In fact, it might just hinder your ability to understand what the questions are asking you to do. Forget what you THINK you know. ** LISTEN to what the instructors are saying to you. Record the lectures and LISTEN to them. They are telling you what you need to know in order to pass exams successfully. Not coming to class is a BAD IDEA. ** Shooting for the "minimum needed to pass" is also a bad strategy. TRY YOUR HARDEST with all exams. The minute you say "All I need is a 78 on the final to pass this class"---you will get burned. Study for all of the exams as if you are studying for the final. They are all comprehensive, BTW---so no more of that "last chapters only" on the finals. ** COMMUNICATE with your classmates and the instructors. They can help you. Most of the classmates of mine who did that, aren't going to graduate with us. ** If you fail Fundamentals at DTCC, you get kicked back to the following fall. Once. You don't get more chances to pass it. Study as if your whole career depends on it, because it just might. ** The program will seem chaotic to you. It's no different anywhere else. This wasn't different in all of the classes before mine and it won't be any difference past mine. It will seem at times that the instructors "want" you to fail. They don't. When I finally accepted this, it was because I thought of Nursing School just like military boot camp. They are pulling all of the things that you "think" you know about medicine and patient care out of you and putting in what will make you a good Nurse. It's almost like "break you down in order to build you up into something new". Accept that the instructors collectively have forgotten more than you or I will know by the end of the ADN program. One last thing. Gossip and hateful talk--getting others into trouble because you are jealous or just don't like someone---is going to get you nowhere. If you are a busybody or a hypercompetitive person, you will probably not do well under DTCC's instructors. They DO NOT put up with that rubbish. EVER. Mind your business, do your work, study hard--and you will get through this program without a problem. GOOD LUCK!!!