The Four Nursing Classes that Everyone Dreads Everybody knows that the path to getting your nursing degree is no walk in the park. People who choose to undertake the task of graduating with a nursing degree must put in hard work and be ready to face a difficult road. Some courses you take will be easier than others. The really difficult classes are often referred to as “weed-out” classes because they filter out those students who may not have what it takes to become nurses. A knowledge of which courses these can be will help you better prepare to face their challenging coursework.
Any Chemistry Course For many people, chemistry just doesn’t come naturally. It is an abstract subject that can be quite difficult to grasp. The best way to excel in a chemistry course is to practice the reactions and equations over and over again. Since the subject is not second nature to most people, you have to practice a lot in order to get a feel for how the reactions run. While the math aspect of most chemistry courses is not insanely difficult, it will still require lots of repetition to master. Be sure to visit the teacher’s assistants during their lab hours. They can explain difficult concepts one on one in a way that may be more comprehensible than your professor.
Microbiology Microbiology can be one of the most useful classes you take on your way to becoming a nurse. The purpose of a general microbiology course is to understand the workings of cellular mechanisms and how microorganisms can impact normal cellular life. Because the workings of cells can be so complex, you will have to learn the mechanisms that make the cells function. The best way to do well in this class is to take great notes and keep up on the reading assignments. The textbook usually does a good job explaining everything, so don’t get behind.
Pharmacology For pharmacology, you will have to learn how a whole bunch of prescription drugs work. This is one of those classes that will be heavily based on memorization. It is difficult because the names of drugs you will be memorizing are typically scientific names that are not easily recalled. Flash cards are a great way to get the names of drugs imprinted into your brain.
Anatomy Anatomy is probably the course that trips up the most would-be nurses during school. Like pharmacology, it is highly based on memorization, yet there is a twist to the memorization: you have to be able to recognize the organ, muscle or bone structure by sight and name. The usual
memorization techniques are not very effective in this class due to its identification component. To succeed in this arduous course you have to spend as much time as possible in the lab studying on the cadavers. After enough exposure to the different muscles, bones or organs, your mind will develop the link between sight and name. So, now that you know which nursing classes are the most feared, take the steps necessary to get straight A’s in them!