Question

What concept from chemistry is the most challenging and why? What can you do to learn more about this concept as you progress through your degree program and career? (nursing)

Please just choose anything from the subject of chemistry that is challenging and how it will help me get through nursing.

Answer 1

Nursing programs require students to take general chemistry to develop their understanding of the elements that make up our world and prepare them for upper-level nursing courses.

Most introductory chemistry courses cover topics such as the periodic table of elements, states of matter, thermochemistry, bonds and chemical equations.

Organic Chemistry

Nursing students are typically required to take one or two semesters organic chemistry with a laboratory section. General chemistry is a prerequisite because organic chemistry focuses on a specific type of matter that contains carbon atoms.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes that take place within the living body and focuses on topics such as proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids and metabolism. Biochemistry comes with a laboratory section that gives nursing students additional experience in performing chemical research.

Pharmacology

Pharmacology is an advanced upper-level course that focuses on drugs and drug interactions. This course is particularly important for nursing students because their work requires them to dispense medication to patients. In pharmacology, students learn the effects of both synthetic and natural drugs on the body and how drugs alter the disease process.

All medical schools require students to take a year of general and organic chemistry with laboratories. General chemistry introduces students to the periodic table of elements, atoms, liquids, solids, gases and balancing chemical reactions. Organic chemistry is the study of compounds with carbon atoms, a particular kind of compound, which are essential to life on this planet. Occasionally, medical schools also require students to take a course in biochemistry. This is an advanced chemistry course that students take if they choose not to take a course in microbiology. Prospective medical students typically take organic chemistry in their second year of college and biochemistry or microbiology in their third year.

Physics and Calculus

All potential emergency-room doctors specializing in children have to take a year of general physics and a semester of calculus. Physics is a mathematically rigorous field of science that require students to solve equations in mechanics and electromagnetism and comes with a laboratory section. Calculus is the study of rates of change of functions and covers topics such as differentiation and integration. Both physics and calculus are essential courses for all prospective medical school applicants.

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References

• Cornell University: Medical School Entrance Requirements
• University of Georgia: Premedical Studies Program
• Harvard Medical School: Requirements for Admission

About the Author

Kate Prudchenko has been a writer and editor for five years, publishing peer-reviewed articles, essays, and book chapters in a variety of publications including Immersive Environments: Future Trends in Education and Contemporary Literary Review India. She has a BA and MS in Mathematics, MA in English/Writing, and is completing a PhD in Education.

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Undergraduate Nursing General Education Requirements

Kate Prudchenko - Updated September 26, 2017

Nursing is a field that requires students to think critically and analytically and develop clinical expertise in dealing with patients. Students who are interested in pursuing nursing in college have a variety of degree options. Requirements vary greatly across programs and universities, but most require students to take a number of general education courses. The courses fulfill approximately 30 to 40 out of 120 to 140 total credits required for a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Purpose of General Education Requirements

A degree in nursing aims to give students a thorough foundation in both the theory and practice of nursing and prepares students for a variety of careers in a number of organizations including hospitals, long-term care units, health insurance companies and clinics. Students are able to pursue these careers because the nursing degree’s general education requirements develop their skills in writing, critical thinking and reasoning. Different degrees have different requirements, and many require students to take some liberal arts credits and fulfill a number of nursing prerequisites including biology, chemistry and mathematics.

Liberal Arts

Requirements vary across programs, but many require students to take courses in liberal arts. These courses make up approximately half of all general education requirements in nursing and expose students to a variety of ideas and cultures. Depending on the program, students might take courses such as composition, Chicano history and culture studies, discovering Romans, world literature from antiquity to the middle ages, great world literature, Japanese civilization, gender studies and blues in American music.

Biology Prerequisites

Almost all nursing degrees require students to complete a number of biology prerequisites as part of their general education requirements. These courses introduce students to biology, anatomy and laboratory work and serve as prerequisites for a number of upper-division nursing courses. Typical biology prerequisites are human anatomy, human physiology and microbiology. All of these courses consist of a lecture and a laboratory, meaning that students both attend lecture courses and get introductory experience in doing research by performing experiments in the laboratory component.

In addition to the biology prerequisites, students in nursing programs also have to complete chemistry and mathematics prerequisites to fulfill their general education requirements. Requirements vary greatly, the most programs require students to take at least one general chemistry course with a laboratory component and at least one course in introduction to statistics or introduction to probability. Programs with stricter requirements often require students to take additional courses in chemistry, such as organic chemistry and biochemistry.