Question for nurses or nursing majors?

Question

I am an undergraduate[freshman] and am a pre-nursing major. I was looking over the course that I have to take and there is A LOT of biology, chemistry, and 1 or 2 statistics classes. My question is how hard is this major? To me, these classes seem very challenging. (I am REALLY bad at Math)..I'm worried about how challenging this will be.
Also....my goal is to become a CNM..certified nurse-midwife. Once I make it into then nursing program, when will I start to learn about becoming the type of nurse I want to me..instead of learning the general stuff?

Answer 1

Classes are challenging, but not in terms of being terribly difficult in content, there is just a lot of information to manage. It's very time consuming. You have to be willing to put in the time to repetatively study these more demanding subjects like science and math.

I barely passed my math assessment to get into my Intro Chem course (a pre-req to apply to the RN program). But I was pleasantly surprised to find my professors diligently explaining everything we needed to know, provided us with helpful notes and powerpoint presentations, etc. I took the intro college statistics course even though I was one college-level algebra short of being qualified to take the class - somehow they didn't check and let me register. I suck at math. I was terrified. I studied by butt off and passed with a B (I had a perfect 4.0 GPA until that point, *sigh*). The key to stats is knowing how to use your scientific calculator, and keeping good notes on what different formulas are for what use. It sounds way worse than it is.

The instructor's job is to teach you what you need to know. If you don't understand something, it is your job to ask for help, to ask for an explanation in a different way to help you to understand. The rest is all about studying.

I also went into nursing school wanting to be a CNM. Positively. I hated all my other clinical rotations other than maternal-newborn. When I graduated, I couldn't get a job in OB and did the recommended 6 months (a year would have been better) in a med/surg (cardiac) unit and then went to OB. I do love my job as a labor nurse, but after seeing the CNMs in action and knowing their responsibility both legally and otherwise, I think I am cured, for the time being, of my desire to be one. I've been taking classes here and there in prep for grad school, and now my focus has shifted so that now I am leaning towards a masters in Nursing Education. But I still haven't ruled out Neonatal Nurse Practitioner. LOL

That's the great thing about nursing, even when you are SO sure you know what you want, if, later on, your mind changes, the opportunities for change are endless.

Answer 2

Hi Jenn,
I am a RN (17 years). I will be honest...you have picked a challenging major. I read an article written by a nurse that later went to law school and she said her nursing major was more difficult than her law school! There is quite a bit of science and math involved in the prereqs and the nursing classes are also pretty stressful. You have to study because you have to know what you are doing when you start your clinical rotations. There is no way to fake it. During clinical rotations you will have classroom time and hospital days, not to mention before your clinical you have to head over to the hospital and based on the patients you are assigned to, you have to prepare. This involves knowing their diagnosis, history, all medications and special procedures. You will be expected to be able to discuss this information with your clinical instructor as well as demonstrate procedures and giving medications.
During your nursing school you will be getting the basics of all types of nursing, med-surg, peds, psych, ob-gyn, etc. Your education for CNM will be after you graduate from nursing school and are a licensed RN. Midwifery is a specialty that you train for in a master's program.
I hope I haven't scared you off. I am just trying to give you a real picture. If you stick with it, it is worth it. Nursing is a fabulous career with so many options. I wish you all the best.

Answer 3

You have selected a very challenging field of study. The prerequisites provide the base knowledge you will need to understand the concepts and issues which you will study during the nursing core curriculum.

As an example. When I went to my undergratuate program, they required a 3.2 average for acceptance to the nursing core corses of the BSN program. Of the 225 students that started the 300 level classes, only 106 graduated. Similarly, my wife's program also had approximately a 50% attrition rate following a very selective admission process.

In both cases, of those who graduated, not all passed the boards.

Following completion of the boards, most Midwifery programs like the candidates to have worked at least one year in a labor and delivery area. They must have acceptable scores also on the GRE or MAT (dependent on the school).

You learn some of the midewife skills working as a labor and delivery nurse. This is the reason they want the applicants to have some experience in the area. Once in the masters program, there are additional courses in anatomy and physiology, conception and development, as well as the delivery process and complications. You will also have additional courses in statistics, nursing and other theory and research, as well as in most cases have to produce a thesis.

You have about 7-8 years ahead of you before you reach your goal. The coursework is for many quite difficult, and in most cases the stress of keeping up with all the work is harder than the coursework. However, in the long run, it is a worthwhile goal, and you will be happy you had the education to back you up when you are in the clinical environment.

Good Luck, try not to stress, but go study!

Answer 4

Ther is not a lot of math in most of the nursing classes. You do have to learn how to calculate dosages. Anyone with an average IQ can pass all of the courses the most important thing is perseverance if you fail a course take it over. You can find out what you have to do to become a nurse midwife prior to going to nursing school. This major is as hard as any other major as long as you study and concentrate hard on all assignments you can pass the courses. An RN