What pre-requisites are most difficult ?

JillR · Jun 6, 2000

Good Luck going back to school. I am going to be completly honest with you. The math and sciences were hard, I'm not going to say ther were not. But in my experience the core nursing classes were by far the hardest. The grading was tougher than the pre requisites and the general ed classes. 80% was a C and you couldnt get anything lower to pass. Myabe I considered them the hardest because I thought they were the most important. I worked harder at my nursing classes than any others, because I knew that they were important. I worked the hardest in my clinincals because I figured I would get more out of them if I did and I thought they gave me the most opportunity to learn.The nursing insrtuctors expect alot more from you than the other instructors do, and they should. Then you get to write all the care plans, research papers, ect....it is alot of work. We had case studies due, papers, care plans, med cards ect every week. It alot of work but it teaches you how to work hard, and you certainly need to know how to do that if you go into nursing. It kind of hardens you too, I'm not nearly as sensitive as a was before i started nursing school. Good luck.

debcote · Sep 9, 2000

Nursing school was particularly difficult for me. I have a mental disability, Bipolar Disorder. Due to my changing medications, and post traumatic stress dissorder from an assault, it took me 6 years to complete my Bachelor's degree. Nursing school was the hardest thin I've ever done, but it was the most rewarding. I did eventually make it, even with the cards stacked against me. The most important thing to remember is that you will only fail if you stop trying.

As for subjects to brush up on, I would really focus on Algebra, Anatomy and Physiology is also very important. If you are applying to a general community college in order to take nursing classes, then I would also review some grammar.

DON'T WORRY! You'll do fine!

Billy007 · Sep 9, 2000

I would recommend to you to brush up on your Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology. All of these are very important in you understanding the basic ideas of Nursing. I have learned so much in Nursing school already and I have only been here since July of 2000. Honestly, the hardest part to take and understand are these three.

ArleneD · Oct 13, 2000

Hi gang,

I don't want to change the topic and forget kharris' question, but just go a little deeper into the subject. I've heard that these 3 courses are the hardest, but I've never taken chemistry, did poorly in high school biology, and anatomy and physiology? - yikes! I've taken a few college courses over the last 25 years and have to meet continuing education requirements in my current career, so studying is not a problem for me. The real question is "Do we pre-nursing students need to rethink our new careers if these 3 courses are Greek to us?" Do all of you process science information easily?

pickledpepperRN · Oct 13, 2000

I went back to school after years as an LVN.Chemistry was impossible for me because I had forgotten algebra in the 24 year interval since taking it at age 13. I went to a student tutor and the teachers office hour and ended up with an A.

Hard work and some help make a big difference.

PS my son was taking algebra at that time too. He liked my difficulties with quadratic equations. Now it is no problem to titrate a medication Q 5 minutes mcg/Kg/minute taking only a few seconds for the calculations while teaching and doing oral care. Experience only comes with time so don't give up.

hollykate · Oct 13, 2000

Hi there,

this message is primarily for Arlene. I too had some troubles in Chemistry and Math, but got B's in those areas. I find I don't use too much chem or even very much calculus like math these days (just plug everything into the magic number formulas...)

I do feel however, that physiology is one of the cornerstone courses for nursing. How can you understand a pt with renal disorders if you do not understand how a normal kidney is supposed to function? I am not saying that it should be "easy" for anyone, but I do feel like it is very very important to gain a good understanding of how the normal body functions, before you look at disease. SO, I guess what I am saying in a hugely long way, is - get through the chem and math, but really try and learn the physiology- Having it as a good background will make a lot of the nursing classess on patho a lot easier and more useful to you in the future.