What Chem courses did you have prior to acceptance?

Nursing Students SRNA

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CRNA schools highly recommend a chemistry course(s) prior to entering their programs. However, these schools never seem to specify a preference(s).

Some recommend Organic Chem, others BioChem. That would infer at least two full chem courses, since you cannot take the two aforementioned w/o a year 1 intro chem course. This is frustrating. I would hate to handicap myself if 6 credit hours of 1st year University chem is insufficient. Then again, no one CRNA school has stated specifically that you need Chemistry, only that it is highly recommended.

What gives here? Is Intro enough or do I also need to tack on Organic and Biochem? How complex is the chemistry in CRNA programs? BioChem isn't even a required course for Medical School, they teach it to you once you are accepted. How is it for CRNA students?

Those of you in school or graduates, did you find that Organic and Biochem were necessary to succeed in your courses? Was Intro chem and physics enough, or not?

I would hate to come in unprepared. I was reading U Miami's webpage (nursing) and they will kick you out of the CRNA program if you get less than a B-. That got the gears rolling to make sure I cover all the pre reqs if I want to apply.

Question: how does a B- translate on a 4.0 GPA scale?

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So, um, I am guessing by the non response that the Chem requirements aren't all that important then? High school will suffice?

Where's a Biff Tannen emoticon when you need one???

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

Your lack of answers probably comes from the holidays. I had an undergrad level chemistry course that was geared toward health care professions as part of my ADN. It consisted of Inorganic, Organic, and Biochemistry. During my interview they were most interested in the Organic part of the course so I would take some Organic and Bio chem courses.

I don't start for another 6 days, but this type of question has been posted before. A mixture of answers were given. Most say a general background will suffice and the CRNA program will teach you the specifics of what you need for anesthesia. A current student in my program told me that some who didn't have a recent chemistry course struggled a bit more but was still doable.

Hope some of this helps.

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You will find widely varied answers to this question. I had a previous degree in chemical engineering, so I had many credit hours of chemistry for chem majors. For my BSN, I had to re-take chemistry, so I took 8 credits of freshman chem (basic inorganic) for chem majors,, and 4 credits of combined biochem and organic. Because the biochem/organic class was way too little depth for me and I wanted something tough on my transcript when I applied to CRNA programs, I took 4 credits of organic for chem majors. It may not have been necessary, but I have only 2 years nursing experience and wanted to maximize my chances of acceptance. Plus the biochem class left me wanting more.

If you have a year of inorganic and a semester of biochem or organic, you should meet the requirements, but you need to check with each program for their specifics to make sure.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Emergency.

I received info from the CRNA program that I will matriculate into in June. They recommend, General, Organic, and Biochemistry by Denniston, Caret, and Topping. 5th edition This particular text is intended for basic review only.

I minored in chemistry when I earned my first degree. My background includes Intro Chem I and II, Organic Chem I and II, Biochem I and II, Quantative analysis, etc. My BSN program made me retake Biochem as it was taught by professors from the school of medicine. From what I understand, you will need a sound grasp of Organic chemistry prior to matriculation. Check with the programs that you are interested in before you risk taking any classes that might torpedo your GPA. Good luck...

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Specializes in SRNA class of 2010.

I had a bachelors degree in chemistry prior to getting into nursing. So, I have even taken advanced organic chemistry. Don't miss it! ;)

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Specializes in SRNA class of 2010.

I had a bachelors degree in chemistry prior to getting into nursing. So, I have even taken advanced organic chemistry. Don't miss it! ;)

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