tips for nursing prereq students?

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:idea:Any suggestions for a moderately-math-challenged nursing prereq student? I am going to be taking chem soon and I'm very nervous about it...

Are there any practice books etc that you have heard of or anything beneficial to someone taking the prereq's I will be (microbiology, psychology, chemistry and A&P) that might give me an edge when classes start?

Thanks!

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Specializes in Cardiac Care.

Before I took Algebra, Chemistry and A&P, I bought the "For Dummies" book related to the subject, and found all of them to be very helpful. I previewed them before classes started, used them during the course (it's like having another voice verify the information), and saved them for after. I can tell you that I thought they were very useful to me.

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I would say explore your tutor options early. Find out if your school has a science or math resource center (or even both :) ).

My other suggestion is to leave yourself a lot of time for homework so that you have time to do it wrong before you get it right.

Peace,

Cathie

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Specializes in Urgent Care, Family Medicine & OB/GYN.

I was the WORST at math, but friends & books helped me out a lot. Give yourself time & be patient! It will all come together. I have also heard that the "For Dummies" books are good. :-) Good luck!

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Hello I think if you brush up on basic Algebra you will be okay for Chemistry. There are some metric conversions, so know the difference between basic metric units and centi, milli, etc. and how to convert between them. I think the biggest help for me was to keep up on the homework. I took Algebra I and Algebra II before I took chemistry, but I had not been in school for 15 years. I got an A in chemistry, but I was very disciplined in keeping up on the homework. One last suggestion is that there was a tutoring lab on my campus. I did not use it for chemistry, but that was only because I did not know about it. I did use it for Organic chemistry and it helped.

Best of luck to you.

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Hmmm... go to http://misterguch.brinkster.net/helpdesk2.html

First, click on Mr. Guch explains and check out Significant Figures and Unit Conversions. Most of the students who had problems early on in our class fell behind trying to master these 2 concepts and they are both used throughout the semester. Also if you click on Practice Worksheets, you'll find worksheets with answers at the bottom which I found quite valuable during my course. I bought Chemistry for Dummies and referred to it throughout the course. Apparently Mr. Guch was the author of the Idiot's Guide to Chemistry. I've never read it, but liked his sense of humor on his website. The Dummies guide was a little dry sometimes, but still helpful. Your teacher may handle significant figures slightly differently, but once you learn the concept, you can adapt to any slight variances in how to notate them. The unit conversion method on the Mr. Guch site is the same as what my teacher used and is VERY handy for the Algebra-phobic.

Another tip: email your teacher now and find out what calculator they recommend and buy it - especially if it's around 15$ or less. Become familiar with it now! The one for our class just came with a business card sized instruction guide that was useless, but since it was the calculator the teacher recommended, I could always ask her how to input something or borrow hers when I forgot mine on a quiz day.

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:idea:Any suggestions for a moderately-math-challenged nursing prereq student? I am going to be taking chem soon and I'm very nervous about it...

Are there any practice books etc that you have heard of or anything beneficial to someone taking the prereq's I will be (microbiology, psychology, chemistry and A&P) that might give me an edge when classes start?

Thanks!

:idea: *** I am starting chem in January but I tell you what has been GREAT help as before hand brushing up and since I hae a Netflix account I don't get movies anymore, I get the chemistry series called "Chemistry - The complete course". They are short 30 minute tutorials of high school chemistry with an instructor that shows you all these little tips and easy ways of doing things and I feel so blessed to have found this. I highly recommend it. I think Blockbuster Online Club has them also. There are like 27 DVD's but they are very short and I can do 3 a day and then practice a little while waiting on the next shipment. *** Give it a try, you'll be impressed with this guy!

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thanks! i'll check those out!!!

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I too am not that good in math, knowing this and knowing that chemistry requires calculations, I immediately went to the tutoring center at my school in the beginning of the semester and found a chemistry tutor that fit my needs. I passed the class with a B, I dedicated the time to do well,practiced the review questions at the end of the chapter, asked questions-show the professor that you want to pass the class, show interest. Good luck!

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:idea:Any suggestions for a moderately-math-challenged nursing prereq student? I am going to be taking chem soon and I'm very nervous about it...

Are there any practice books etc that you have heard of or anything beneficial to someone taking the prereq's I will be (microbiology, psychology, chemistry and A&P) that might give me an edge when classes start?

Thanks!

Yes, I am a pre-nursing student in NYC. I went to barnes and noble prior to starting my chemistry class. I picked up chemistry for idiots and any chemistry workbook I could get my hands on > I had to take organic chem. which was tuff. I had to get a personal tutor, which helped me. i got a B. Just take good notes and make friends in this class..it helps

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