What do I do if I'm struggling in the easy classes?

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Hello everyone,

A little about myself is I'm a full-time employee with a fire department. I actually decided I wanted to leave the fire department to pursue a degree in nursing since I enjoy the medical field and I had a few family members that are nurses. The reason I am posting this is cause I am not sure what to do. I am currently enrolled in the pre req Anatomy and Physiology part 1 for the summer semester. Im not going to lie when I say the the fire chapter was super easy cause it was basically me schooling for becoming an EMT. The first chapter basically was anatomical terms, locations and planes. Now what I am struggling with is chapter two and three which is Chemistry comes alive and Cells: The living tissue. I have a midterm exam coming up on chapter one through three in six days and my issue is I am still stuck on chapter two trying to comprehend the chemistry comes alive and all these amino acids, Proteins, Enzymes, Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, Polysaccharids, Lipids, Carbs and so on. The teacher wants us for one part of the test to draw Dehydration synthesis and Hydrolysis for all of these which I don't even know where to begin. For example I understand that dehydration synthesis is the removal of water to bring two elements together and hydrolysis is the adding of water to break it up. But when you ask me to draw it thats when I get so damn confused and Im feeling so rushed to learn all this stuff. For example my teacher is already moving onto chapter four and I'm still stuck on chapter two. I study almost 12 hours a today not including the time spent in class and I just struggle to comprehend all this information which is leaving me lost, stressed and getting seconds thoughts.

The reason why this is all feeling like its coming down on me is cause from what I have heard this class is supposed to be the hardest of the pre reqs but the easiest compared to nursing school cause i heard nursing school is so much harder and the chemistry involved in it will just get harder. This scares me cause if I can't even comprehend the basics then how the heck am I supposed to move on? I feel so left behind that its hard for me to get back and catch up. Seems like everyone else in the class is getting and understanding this so easily and I'm like dude what the heck are you talking about. I never took biology and chemistry in high school so I don't have anything to fall back on and on top of all this i tried to see if my school has a tutor and my school notified me saying that they have no tutors available for my subjects and are currently looking for some but not sure when that will be. Im already seeing myself failing this test cause I have such little time that I don't know what to do but study but my studying is not good enough.

My dream is to become a nurse practitioner but this is holding me up =(. Im the kind of person where I don't want to just memorize this material but to learn and understand it. I hate getting b's and c's as a grade cause thats not good enough for me and I don't just want to squeeze by in nursing cause I heard if you get below a 75 they kick you out.

Hey Rionoir,

Well from what I am reading in my core class catalog they do not require chemistry and I don't even see a chemistry class to take in the school believe it or not which I find insane. Im not sure if thats cause this is a technical college I am attending but I don't think that should matter. They only require me to take AP 1 and 2 and after completing this classes you move onto microbiology with a lab. Then after those you finish with English 1101, Math 1111 and Psych 1101. Thats literally all the classes they require and after completing all them you need to have a C grade or higher in every one of them along with an overall GPA of 3.00 to get selected into the nursing program. Its crazy to me that those are the classes but there is no basic classes to take to prepare for those. Its like jumping out of an airplane without the parachute. Im not prepared lol but Im trying to not let that be an excuse.

Well the book I am currently using is the Anatomy & Physiology Fifth Edition Published by Elaine N. Marieb and Katja Hoehn. I did go to that website and I want to use it but when I look up my course it does not have my correct teacher and I don't want to buy it cause I might not be learning the right stuff.

You are completely right that I should take certain peoples comments as just a grain of salt like you said cause they are not me. I really appreciate your comment!!! Thank you

A few things.

I would NOT take Microbiology without Chemistry.

Is there a reason you're going to a technical school and not straight for a BSN? If your goal is that of an NP, it makes more sense now to ease back into school with basic courses that you'll need anyway, that will help you get and maintain a good, competitive GPA. You might need a 3.0 for this technical program, but that doesn't mean that will get you into a BSN (or NP) program later.

I agree that A&P with no Chemistry background in a shortened summer course is a really bad idea.

Good luck!

My question for you is what would you recommend me doing then?

My issue is the only school that would accept me is this technical college and when I applied for Gordon State university they did not accept me. I am going straight for a BSN? I am currently enrolled in a technical school but according to my school they explain that these courses we are taking are University level courses. Yes my goal is to become a NP and I understand that I need to take basic courses and I agree with you but the problem is I'm already enrolled into this class and it makes no sense right now withdrawing from it without atlas trying. Depending on how well I am doing will determine my withdraw status but lets say I do end up with a pretty good grade in this class. My plan is to still hold off of Microbiology and go back to take the basic courses. My goal right now is to just get through the AP part one side and then hold up and take those basic classes if its possible.

Yeah I really regret my choice right now but unfortunately I'm an adult and I need to accept my choices and try to make the best of them. I don't think i could live with myself knowing that I withdrew so quickly without atlas trying. I may fail and have to withdraw but at least I can say I tried and now I know what I need to work on so I can do better next go around.

I just wanted to send a little encouragement if I may....

My first science class was General Biology. At my school, it is a pre-req for AP1. This was the hardest class I have ever taken, and it was the chemistry portion that you speak of that nearly did me in. I studied 6-8 hours a day and never felt like I knew enough. I used a lot of Khan Academy and other resources. I worked and worked and worked at it and I ended up with an A in that class. From there, the chemistry portion of that class was repeated again in AP1 and microbiology, and since I had learned it in biology I had a much better grasp on it.

Fast forward a year, and one of the nursing schools I wanted to apply to required chemistry as a pre-req. It didn't have to be General Chemistry, but it had to have a lab. I took what's considered an introductory chemistry class with a lab and let me tell you what...in my opinion, it absolutely should be a pre-req for General Biology! It would have made my life so much easier.

My advice to you would be to use all the resources you can find to learn the chemistry portion. If you can get that down, the rest of the class should be smoother. (It'll still be a lot of learning, but for me, the rest of AP was what I was looking forward to learning the most!) If you end up dropping the class, perhaps an intro chemistry class would be helpful.

My question for you is what would you recommend me doing then?

My issue is the only school that would accept me is this technical college and when I applied for Gordon State university they did not accept me. I am going straight for a BSN? I am currently enrolled in a technical school but according to my school they explain that these courses we are taking are University level courses. Yes my goal is to become a NP and I understand that I need to take basic courses and I agree with you but the problem is I'm already enrolled into this class and it makes no sense right now withdrawing from it without atlas trying. Depending on how well I am doing will determine my withdraw status but lets say I do end up with a pretty good grade in this class. My plan is to still hold off of Microbiology and go back to take the basic courses. My goal right now is to just get through the AP part one side and then hold up and take those basic classes if its possible.

Yeah I really regret my choice right now but unfortunately I'm an adult and I need to accept my choices and try to make the best of them. I don't think i could live with myself knowing that I withdrew so quickly without atlas trying. I may fail and have to withdraw but at least I can say I tried and now I know what I need to work on so I can do better next go around.

They might be University level courses, but they doesn't mean they transfer to a University later down the line. What if your work your butt off only to have to do it all over again? Is the program accredited? Do you mind sharing the name of it? I don't know a whole lot about technical colleges. I feel like you're in such a pickle right now and my heart goes out to you.

If you drop a course early enough, the W doesn't show up on your transcript. If you drop it later, the W will show up. If you get a bad grade, it's on there forever. I understand wanting to stick it out, I really do - that's my personality, too. But I feel like you made your choice with bad information, and maybe you should cut yourself a little slack.

My recommendation would be to look into the four year programs around you. Make a list of all of their prerequisites. Pick out the most common ones (English, Algebra, History, etc) and take all of those at your local community college. Work your butt off. Apply to the four year programs you've chosen. Kick butt.

If you were going to stop at RN, I'd say just keep doing what you're doing, but with your longer term plans, I think a different approach is going to serve you better down the line.

Hello ItsthatJengirl,

Im not going to lie, you really are scaring me lol cause not only am I struggling in this class but what you are saying is that Im probably wasting my time and thats really scary. Maybe this will help. The college I am attending is called West Georgia Technical College which is a branch off of the University of West Georgia. How would I know if the program is accredited? Maybe the name I provided for you will help answer your questions.

Unfortunately I am not able to just withdraw from the class without receiving a W on my report card. Im already 3 weeks into the course and according to my school I am not aloud to drop the class without receiving that W.

Yes my longer plans are truly to become a Nurse Practitioner and I really hope what I am doing right now is not going to inhibit it.

Hello Shasta13

Honestly I want to first say that your encouragement/post meant so much to me and I can't begin to explain how much I truly am thankful for it.

Thats what worries me cause all my studying that I am doing just does not feel sufficient enough cause I don't feel like I am getting a good enough grasp on it but maybe at the same time I am thinking to highly of myself. I feel like when I read the question on the tests everything will slowly start to click and ill be like "Oh yeah I know that."

I really do appreciate your post and I want to write more about your post but honestly I can't cause its all mainly encouragement and I appreciate it. Again thank you so much for your post!!

Specializes in corrections and LTC.

I struggled when returning to school at age 33. I took some easier classes to get used to studying again and to boost my confidence. Start with a basic Chem class if you need to. Look for a basic anatomy and physiology class online before enrolling for the ones at your school. Search allnurses for study tips from other students. I personally found most nursing classes easier to study for because those classes fascinated me more than the pre-req's. Start slow and work into it, you can do it. You may just need to start with more basic classes, but who cares? Yes, it will take longer, but when you walk across that stage at your pinning ceremony nobody will ever know or even care. Maybe some of the more basic classes you can find online and work at your own pace.

Specializes in Mental Health.

Before you withdraw talk to an advisor. I had a friend fail out of A&P and the advisor told her it looks better to take whatever grade she gets and retake it than to withdraw and retake it. I don't know the reasoning but that came from her advisor.

There are misunderstanding that chemistry, physics and biology courses already have a lot of material to be crammed into the science prerequisites, but if we treat the prerequisites prior to A&P as being the preparation of the fundamentals, I think we will change the perception of science classes. I am speaking this in a general aspect.

OP, knowledge is power. It may not seem like it now but you will be grateful for this experience when you become a well-rounded NP :)

Hang in there!

Specializes in Critical care.

Hi NYCNative21,

You mentioned that you didn't take high school chemistry or biology. These are big advantages for you because these science courses are like building blocks as the basement. If you don't have the basic knowledge of box 1, you have nothing to build on box 2.

My suggestion is to go back to the basic first. Like someone mentioned above, you DO need the knowledge of biology and chemistry in high school in order to succeed at college level. Find a tutor online. It will cost money for sure, but it will help you a lot. Send sometime to master these basic knowledge first. I guarantee you it will be in great help for your current course.

Good luck in your future endeavors.

Joseph, RN

Some of the comments on here are just...smh.

OP - I don't know if you've stated this in your post or not, but what is your current grade for this class? I would recommend you stay in it and see what you make on your mid-term. Just because you don't have a solid foundation in chemistry does not mean you will fail A&P or be a bad nurse for that matter. If you can't draw a molecule, move on and excel at other areas of A&P. Don't let one chapter hold you back of your dream.

I would write more but I gotta go back to work. GL!

Try YouTube, especially Khan Academy!

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