Science courses for Nursing

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Hi all,

I am pursuing a career change and thought Nursing was the career for me. (I already have a bachelor's degree however have no previous science courses besides nutrition) I had planned on starting Anatomy and Physiology I this summer at a community college, however there was a change in plans. I went to my first class yesterday and had no idea (not even a clue) what the instructor was talking about. He said we were expected to know certain things already( about cells etc...), and it was very discouraging. I ended up dropping the class to see if there was another science course I could take to help prepare me for this class.

Is there anyone out there who has made a career change and went back for nursing without a strong science background? Any advice would be very helpful and appreciated. I had my heart set on nursing, but now hesitating because of my lack of science courses.

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Generally Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) need a prereq of general chemistry. Some even need intro to biology as a prereq as well. I high suggest taking one of these two classes which may be in the 100 level. If your heart is set on nursing, nothing should stop you from following your dream. If science is not for you then I would probably look into another career (not trying to sound negative :p). Everything you will learn in A&P will correlate directly to future nursing courses and your nursing practice. Good luck!

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thank you!

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When I started doing nursing prerequisites like anatomy and physiology, I didn't have much science under my belt. I had taken some chemistry and animal science classes about 5 years ago but that was it. I started in summer of 2010.

My anatomy and physiology class at my university required no prerequisites and one of our first units was a summary of each part of the cell. That being said, I know in some schools they expect you to come into a&p already knowing basic cell biology. I would recommend taking a biology 101 class if you're overwhelmed by the teacher talking about parts of cells. But don't give up! Its totally doable. Or do some self study on parts of cells or sometimes there are pre a&p classes you can find.

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thank you!

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For all the college A&P classes I've seen in my area, they generally require at least general biology (preferably human biology) some also require general chemistry.

The general biology really does help grasp concepts in A&P.

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You definitely should take Intro to Biology first (preferrably one for Allied Health). I'm surprised this wasn't a prereq. You will have a hard time understanding a lot of the content if you don't understand the basic cell structure and function first. I don't think you need to take Chemistry first, but it wouldn't hurt. I took Chemistry along with A&P I in the same semester, and that was fine.

Good luck!

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thanks everyone! That was what was so frustrating is that intro to bio was not a pre-req and the advisor didn't even recommend it.

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My AP class didn't require chemistry but it did require Biology. Since you have no science, I'd recommend taking both starting with Biology.

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I had a classmate (who eventually became an exceptional study partner) who was an English major with no biology background. The first week or two were harder for her because she needed some remedial tutoring for the basic biology part, whereas for me, they were review. She had to work extra hard that first couple of weeks but finished anatomy with a 4.0 and physiology with a 3.9 or 4.0 (can't remember which right now). She was super whipsmart so with a little extra effort those first couple weeks of each class (our A&P was separated into anatomy and physio), she was able to stay in the class. Intro biology would be an excellent pre-req, but you also have the option of finding a biology tutor for the first couple weeks of class. One route is longer and the other is probably harder. Only you can decide which would be better for you.

On a related note, without a strong science background, I would not recommend trying to do A&P at the faster pace that most school's summer terms dictate. It's quite possible that if you spend the summer going over those first few "intro bio" chapters from your A&P book that you'd do fine in a normal paced fall or winter A&P course. But again, it depends on your particular situation.

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Sciences courses required for nursing: General Chem, Anatomy & Physiology I & II, General Microbiology (all of these classes with lab)

Some schools also require: Organic Chem, Nutrition, Intro to Bio

Before taking A&P it is recommended to take gen chem beforehand. At my schools, gen chem was a pre-req for A&P. At other schools, you will need gen chem & intro to bio before taking A&P.

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Specializes in School Nursing.

You do NOT need Chemistry to take A&P (unless your school requires it for some reason)- Chem was the last class I took and to be honest, other than getting really, really proficient at dimensional analysis (which is helpful for med calculations) I really don't think Chem was a necessary class at all so far. General Bio (or even an intro class) is VERY helpful to prepare for A&P. There were people in my class that hadn't taken a bio class in their lives that came out okay- but having taken general bio I and II made A&P so much easier for me.

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