what units of chemistry needed in nursing?

[poodloo28]

hello, i am taking chemistry in high school and was wondering what things in chemistry will be useful in in nursing. I have heard that ph, and acid/base are needed but was wondering if anything with the elements or complicated formulas or dipole/bonds stuff would be needed in nursing?

Thank you.

[nurseygurlie]

I think there is a lot of chemistry in nursing. All of the electrolytes are chemicals, it's good to be familiar with how they interact with each other. It's helpful to understand dissociation, osmosis, diffusion, etc. It's also important to understand the radiation spectrum and how it affects living tissue. A lot of the basis of nutrition is chemical. My whole way through nursing school, while writing my care plans I focused on what was going on at the patient's cellular level. So much of that had a basis in chemistry!

[hiddencatRN, BSN, RN]

Not all programs require chemistry, but I took chemistry before taking A & P and found that background extremely helpful and it's knowledge I still draw on. My A & P class zoomed through concepts like atoms and elements and ions and bonds so having chemistry made action potentials and the sodium/potassium pump etc easier to understand.

But I agree with MN-Nurse- even the units that aren't immediately applicable will exercise those brain cells and get you used to learning complex ideas.

[checker1981]

As a former high school chemistry teacher I am hoping that your curriculum will help you in nursing school. Although I went into nursing school with a chemistry background many of the concepts I taught to high school students would be useful. In my study group, people found the explanations of why things happen useful. In nursing school you will be learning about blood gases, metabolic versus respiratory acidosis/alkalosis, buffer systems (henderson-hasselback equation).

Some of the concepts in chemistry are going to help you tremendously. When you are giving IV fluids to a patient you want to understand osmolarity, make sure you understand molarity/molality, hypertonic, isotonic, hypotonic solutions. If you have a patient in renal failure it would be important to understand the inverse relationship of electrolytes, i.e. phosphates and calciums, you will be giving drugs like Kayexelate and that is one big chemistry experiment of swapping one ion with another ion in the intestines. A patient on high flow oxygen can actually go into atelectasis, understanding electronegativity would be usefull for that concept. Retinopathy for pre-mature infants can be caused by too much oxygen, understanding what kind of molecule oxygen is will help you a lot. Understanding fluid and electrolytes will be very helpful in nursing school. You will learn about ion gaps in nursing, chemistry will help you a lot. Metric conversions are covered in high school chemistry. If you decide to become a dialysis nurse, understanding osmosis is helpful. Radioactivity could be useful if you become an oncology nurse. Sugars, proteins, and fats are important parts of nursing and understanding nutrition. Some patient's get a mixture of helium/oxygen, understanding the concepts of the noble gases is useful. Gas laws are useful, if you are working with ventilators or other settings. I use my chemistry background every time I go to pass medication to a patient, I am changing the metabolic pathways in their body and it is my responsibility to understand what I am doing and why I am doing it. Plus it all depends on what kind of nursing you decide to go into. If you are a med surg nurse chances are you will not need as much knowledge in somethings as an ICU nurse or an oncology nurse. Good luck.

[MaleBSNRN]

what would a bsn require?

Each nursing program can be different. I have looked at various nursing programs and they vary. Some can be as basic as taking "Intro to Organic Chemistry" and "Intro to General Chemistry" which are one semester each so that would be one year of chemistry. Some can be as challenging as taking two semesters of General Chemistry and two semesters of Organic Chemistry which equals two years of chemistry.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

As a former high school chemistry teacher I am hoping that your curriculum will help you in nursing school. Although I went into nursing school with a chemistry background many of the concepts I taught to high school students would be useful. In my study group, people found the explanations of why things happen useful. In nursing school you will be learning about blood gases, metabolic versus respiratory acidosis/alkalosis, buffer systems (henderson-hasselback equation).

Some of the concepts in chemistry are going to help you tremendously. When you are giving IV fluids to a patient you want to understand osmolarity, make sure you understand molarity/molality, hypertonic, isotonic, hypotonic solutions. If you have a patient in renal failure it would be important to understand the inverse relationship of electrolytes, i.e. phosphates and calciums, you will be giving drugs like Kayexelate and that is one big chemistry experiment of swapping one ion with another ion in the intestines. A patient on high flow oxygen can actually go into atelectasis, understanding electronegativity would be usefull for that concept. Retinopathy for pre-mature infants can be caused by too much oxygen, understanding what kind of molecule oxygen is will help you a lot.

Understanding fluid and electrolytes will be very helpful in nursing school. You will learn about ion gaps in nursing, chemistry will help you a lot. Metric conversions are covered in high school chemistry. If you decide to become a dialysis nurse, understanding osmosis is helpful. Radioactivity could be useful if you become an oncology nurse. Sugars, proteins, and fats are important parts of nursing and understanding nutrition. Some patient's get a mixture of helium/oxygen, understanding the concepts of the noble gases is useful. Gas laws are useful, if you are working with ventilators or other settings.

I use my chemistry background every time I go to pass medication to a patient, I am changing the metabolic pathways in their body and it is my responsibility to understand what I am doing and why I am doing it. Plus it all depends on what kind of nursing you decide to go into. If you are a med surg nurse chances are you will not need as much knowledge in somethings as an ICU nurse or an oncology nurse. Good luck.

Bold highlighting added for emphasis!!!!!!!!!:yeah::yeah:

Thank goodness someone replied with the right answer.....I was begining to despair!! Chemistry is important to uinderstanding the funsiton of the human bosy in all aspects. Will you be writing balanced equations at the bedside? The answer is no.....but do you need to know why? The answer is yes....and for the exact reasons posted above.....good luck!

As far as what is required? This will depend on your school.....google them.

[Natasha A., CNA, LVN]

I can not agree more that basic chemistry is important in nursing principles, body diseases, and nursing procedures. It's like the big picture to help make understanding pathophysiology easier.