Should I give up on going to nursing school...

AliNajaCat · Jun 17, 2016

I am taking a pre requisite for my chemistry pre requisites for nursing class. The last 3 quizzes hace been 31, 58, and 28. I can do algebra, but when it comes to Pre Calc or Stats no matter how hard I study or tutoring I can't pass. With Intermediate Algebra received a 4.0 and Contemporary Math received a 3.0.
Any advice feeling a bit discouraged. Thinking I might drop out of the class.

I think you know the answer, don't you?

windsurfer8, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2016

If no matter how hard you study you still fail then yes you will not be a nurse. They don't lower the standards just "because".

Me personally I would study 24/7 if I had to if I wanted to be a nurse. It wasn't easy for any of us, but we made it. You want the big time you have to earn it. Good luck.

sammiesmom · Jun 24, 2016

Chemistry is normally a weeding out course. General Chemistry is the basic chemistry. A lot of pre-med changes degrees after Organic Chemistry. It is not easy. You have to understand the concept so you can do the problem. You can retake the class. Nothing wrong with that and see if a nursing school will accept you with a repeat class. After chemistry, you should not see anything remotely to this language unless you will take gen chem 2. You should at least try. If you really want it, you go for it.

oldsockventriloquist · Jun 24, 2016

Most of the answers on here have not been particularly helpful. You first talk about how you are struggling with chemistry and list three low grades throughout the semester/quarter. My initial response is to ask, what have have done to better understand the material? Have you tried using online videos or reading the textbook and doing more practice problems? Have you gone to office hours, or at least contacted your professor to go over your quiz and work on the material? If your university has a study center, have you asked the tutors there for help? What did you do when you first received that first quiz grade? If the answer is nothing, then this will be the place to start.

You need to identify what you are doing wrong. The problem is almost everything in chemistry is built on previous lessons. For example, if you are having difficulty with stoichiometry, then you might have a problem with gases, reactions, rate laws... The first thing I would do is go through your lectures and textbook, use outside lectures (you can probably find documents from other universities), and maybe online videos to add to that reading, to figure out what are the basic rules for each topic. For example, if you are going over stoichiometry, you need to figure out the differences between the coefficients and the subscripts. Then, I would go in your book and ask your professor for extra practice problems (sometimes students can be given this through their online homework). With those practice problems, I'd work on applying those rules to each problem. For example, using product and reactant ratios from the coefficients to determine how much product you will be given from the reactants. Once you have mastered this, try a few exams from other universities from general chemistry or organic (depending on what chemistry you are in) and see if you are getting how to work through each problem. If you need help, please ask your professor, graduate students, tutors, or someone else who knows the subject well. If you go to an accredited university, in a physical location (no online universities), you should have access to those resources. Go over with those people how to do the problems to maybe get an idea of where you went wrong. The time you spend with those people might be better used if you have reviewed the quizzes yourself and read through the rules from the notes and textbook that you need to understand for each chapter. I don't think it's a math issue, considering pre-nursing students usually only take non-calculus organic and general chemistry. Meaning, you should really only need algebra to solve each problem. But, it could be if you are struggling with certain algebraic problems and arithmetic. Once, you've identified what you did wrong, you should practice and do the homework, which should prepare you for the quizzes. It could also be issues, like test anxiety, not related to the material. However, I would encourage you to investigate whether you understand the material, before exploring other possibilities.

So, should you drop the class? Well, that kind of depends on how those quizzes are weighted relative to your grade. If you do well on everything else, but can only get a B-, I might consider dropping, especially if you are thinking of applying to programs that require a high GPA and do not accept retakes. However, I would make sure that a withdraw does not count as a retake by calling up local programs around you. But, while you are calculating how well you COULD do in the class, make sure you look at what you did wrong, so you don't repeat those mistakes. I would also give the same advice with math, where you are working with someone and practicing problems so you understand how to apply the information.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Jun 24, 2016

Are you taking Algebra or Chemistry? I'm sorry, your post confused me a bit.

Have you talked to your teacher yet?

OrganizedChaos, LVN · Jun 25, 2016

If after tutoring & remediation you still cannot improve your grades in Chemistry I would reconsider nursing as your profession.