What was the single most helpful course that you took for a career in nursing?

I found pharmacology extremely helpful. Understanding what medications you are administering to patients is vital, and learning about mediations in depth before you enter the clinical area was very helpful in my nursing career.

Hi MaryKate:

I have advised many nurses and other individuals who have gone on to successful carers in the health care field, and they have all agreed that there are several courses which were important. The most important they felt was Anatomy and Physiology. At the college where I was an advisor we actually divided the class up into two sections (Anatomy and Physiology I and Anatomy and Physiology II). The reason for this is because the faculty felt that its importance to the students was so great that it was best to cover all the materials in two semesters.

Anatomy and Physiology is also required for a large variety of majors and occupations in the medical field, including Pre-Med, Respiratory Therapy, Radiology, and even occupations related to Physical Education majors, like Athletic training. In regards to nursing, the RN and the LPN requirements needed the Anatomy and Physiology sequence. There are most likely going to be prerequisites for you to qualify for the Anatomy and Physiology class, and there could be some mandatory grade requirements needed for you to enter. The successful Anatomy and Physiology students at my college were the ones who achieved the required grades in Chemistry, Biology and Math (Statistics). So you will also need to focus on successfully completing these courses in order to eventually enroll in Anatomy and Physiology. Anatomy and Physiology will eventually allow you to successfully complete some of the higher level classes, like Microbiology. But when I was researching your question, all my students agreed, that it was the Anatomy and Physiology class that was the single most important.