prospective student

suzy253, RN · Dec 8, 2003

Hello!!! Don't be concerned. I'm a perfect example for you. I'm 51 years old and am a freshman in nursing school. Only had HS chemistry and no prerequisites such as anatomy, psychology but I applied to a wonderful diploma program here and was accepted. I was 50 when I started in August and am now looking forward to 1st semester break! I graduated HS in 1971 so I've been out of school much longer than you and it's working! I have to say that it took me awhile to get into the swing of sitting in classrooms, taking notes, reading, reading, reading, taking exams and practicals. I am carrying an extremely heavy course load including the above two courses plus drug dosage, nutrition, and nursing 100 and one day of clinical a week which started in October. I might not be getting A's in all the subjects but I'm not failing either. Just concentrate and perservere..you can do this. I'm also having a great time, making some wonderful friends and supporters and I have thought of quitting when things seemed way too impossible but I stuck it out and with a lot of encouragement from my SO and fellow students, I'm still here.

So good luck to you....plan your studying like 2 hrs for one subject, so many for another...and stick to it...each and every day. Don't lapse in your reading....don't get behind because it will seem like you'll never get out of it.

Good luck to you. Hope this helps.

LisaRN2B · Dec 8, 2003

I was scared to death of chemistry, too. I have been out of school for over 20 years. I hadn't had a science or math class since high school. Never took chemistry. It turned out to be not as bad as I thought.

I did take an algebra class before I took the chemistry, and that really helped (there are chemical equations to figure out). I got an A in the class and took advantage of any bit of extra credit offered (wasn't much, maybe about 10 points worth).

I also got a *Chemistry For Dummies* book, and that helped, too. I made flash cards of the things I needed to know for each test (we had one test a week).

Chemistry is a must to understand what you will need to learn in an A&P class.

As for English...lots of paper writing. Never had much anxiety about English class, myself.

You can do it! Good luck to you!

wildbleu · Dec 9, 2003

Thanks for the advice i will keep you posted

LydiaGreen · Dec 9, 2003

Wildbleu,

Congrats on your decision and don't worry too much. Chemistry is not the easiest course in the world but it is also not the most difficult. I will be graduating from Northern College in May of 2004 (just one presentation next week and my preceptorship from January - May... woohoo:roll ).

Don't worry about being a "mature" student. I will be 32 when I graduate. I'm in one of the satellite diploma courses through Northern and what we have noticed at all of the sites is that the mature students are still with it. Most of the younger students (at our site), are gone. As a mature student, you are sure that this is what you want and you are more likely to truly apply yourself.

Good luck and enjoy your education.

Yellow Rose RN · Dec 9, 2003

I can say that the main thing that helped me in Chemistry was not falling behind. There was alot of homework and it was time consuming because I had never had a background in Chemistry in HS. But I stayed current on my assignments and that was a godsend, because if you get behind, then you will be lost. Try not to miss any lectures either. Also, if your school offers a free peer tutoring program for Chemistry, take advantage of that for the concepts that you do not seem to have a handle on. I feel that because I had Chemistry (it was not required for my program, but I was taking it for another program at the time), it helped me to understand the med-math much faster and with out any trouble. Some of the students in my nursing class had trouble with the med-math formulas for dosage calculations at first and they really came easily to me because of the Chemistry. Study, Study, Study and do your homework assignments, and you will do fine!!

Good luck

Sha

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Dec 9, 2003

Wild -- You can certainly do this.

Suzy -- You're my hero! What a great model!

LauraLou · Dec 9, 2003

My best suggestion for anyone taking chemistry is to take algebra first. So much of chemistry is math and if you haven't had algebra in a long time, you will struggle.

The first two months of Chem all we did was algebra problems (conversions, density, etc) Having taken algebra the semester before, I did very well, while most of my classmates were having problems. If you don't have time to take algebra, at least get an Algebra for Dummies book and review how to do simple equations.

Good luck!

suzy253, RN · Dec 9, 2003

Thank you Larry. What a nice thing to say! :kiss

LydiaGreen · Dec 10, 2003

Wildbleu...

Tip from one Northern Student to another. Northern College stresses nursing caring theorist Jean Watson. Start with her ten carative factors and go from there. This will give you a head start for September.

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Dec 10, 2003

Wildbleu, my advice to you is don't let what you did (or didn't do) in high school dictate what you do now. That was quite a while ago and probably you didn't have any burning desires for academia. It's amazing what a little motivation will do to get the old brain in gear. And your brain is just about the right age by the way. Most of my class is in their 30's.

When I was in high school, I failed biology. Had to take it twice. I never took chem. My SAT's were in the lower third. I took just enough math to fulfill the requirement. High school for me was 30 years ago this year. Geeze that sounds anchient but I'm a young 49! But the truth is that I just finished my prerequisites, including chem, A&P I and II, and the whole 9 yards with a 3.8 GPA. In January, I begin my first semester of nursing.

Do not be depressed. Just get out there and forget high school. Today is a new day and you now have a mission.

LittleCatB · Dec 11, 2003

Originally posted by RNKittyKat
Wildbleu, my advice to you is don't let what you did (or didn't do) in high school dictate what you do now. That was quite a while ago and probably you didn't have any burning desires for academia. It's amazing what a little motivation will do to get the old brain in gear. And your brain is just about the right age by the way. Most of my class is in their 30's.

Do not be depressed. Just get out there and forget high school. Today is a new day and you now have a mission.

Wow, that's great advice! even though it wasn't for me :) it made me feel better, anyway. I'm going to quit complaining about how bad I am at math when actually I never really tried to be good at it.

thanks RNKittyKat!

Bethany