What did you learn in Micro?

[rileowski]

Microbiology is only one of two prereqs I have left to take next semester. I get the idea of the course "the study of small life" but out of all the material you go over, how much of it was clinically relevant? How much of it, do you think, will help you (or has helped you) in nursing school? Just curious -- thanks!

[ItsThatJenGirl, CNA]

I LOVED Micro! We studied microbes, their vectors, their disease process, antibiotics, the history of microbiology, etc in class.

In lab we grew different bacteria in different environments, learned how to do smear plates and streak plates. We made agar and we were given two different "mystery" unknowns and we used the skills we learned in class to identify them.

I know there are more things we did, but I've got a cold and my brain is fuzzy. It was such a fun, interesting class.

[caliotter3]

Probably learned one of the most useful facts in nursing, the importance of hand washing, when we did the universal experiment involving growing what can be found on our hands.

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

I'm not a nurse but I apply things I learned in micro to what I'm learning in nursing school. The chains of infection, different types of bacteria, viruses and protozoa are all clinically pertinent to various medications such as antibacterials, antivirals and antifungals. Learning about bacteria was probably the most important thing I learned in micro.

[Orion81RN]

Infection process. WBC function, inflammatory process...very helpful. More in depth than in A&P

[Ohm108, MSN, NP, CNM]

To add to what other people have said on this thread. I loved Micro. You will also learn about the different types of staining and the difference between Gram + and Gram - and how that affects the types of antibiotics that can be used etc. Staining also allows you to view and identify different types of bacteria in addition to what the other individuals have said above. In the real world you won't have to do this yourself but think about it this way. This is essentially what the lab techs do when you send a culture or a patient sample out for testing for various things. It helps to understand Micro when the results come back and you have a Gram + bacteria and trying to decide what type of antibiotic you want to give to your patient.

[wannabeny]

Micro was AMAZING. I enjoyed every class and lab. You'll learn about different types of microbes, vectors, how the difference in cell walls allow us to develop medications and cleaning products against them, etc.

In lab, you'll learn to identify microbes based on what they grow best in. Gram stains, an "unknown" where you use a series of tests to identify what your microbe is.

All of it was clinically relevant or else it wouldnt be a prerequiste for nursing school 😉

[Shawn91111]

Along with others, I actually enjoyed Micro more than A&P. Has it helped this semester? Maybe a little bit, but the instructors have mentioned it will help a lot more next semester.