Hi, I am a freshman in college with an Art History major on a pre-med track. I am currently seriously struggling with Chem1. I have a D in the class and I'm on the verge of dropping the class. I've always really wanted to become a surgeon but, if I'm already struggling with Chem1, how am I going to get through all the other harder Chem classes?... Becoming a doctor is my dream but I'm trying to be realistic and finding other routes that would fulfill my dream of wanting to work in the medical field. I found nursing as another option and I really do like the idea of it. I'd like to go to grad school and become a PA after. But here's the problem. Today, my mom's doctor called me because my mom told her about me changing to nursing. The doctor told me not to switch and that I should continue being on pre-med. She said it does not matter if I get C's and that I should not already be afraid of the path. I agree. However, if I end up dropping my pre-med track, I will have my bad grades in chemistry classes in my record that would hurt my gpa when I try to apply to Nursing school. I don't know what to do and everyday I'm persuading myself that nursing would be a better option for my but I also love the idea of becoming a doctor. Has anyone every had the same trouble? Also, if I want to become a surgical nurse, what would I have to do to become it?
Thank you
I wouldn't let one bad grade discourage you from doing something that you really want to do. You jumped around from nursing to PA to doctor, so I think the real predicament is figuring out what do you really want to do. Just because a nurse isn't a doctor doesn't mean nursing school is easy, and the same for PA school. From what I know they are all notoriously difficult for their own respective reasons. It's all subjective, really. Whatever you're in is going to have difficulty, and it's supposed to... otherwise why are we there? I would suggest looking at how you're approaching the material and if your studying habits need work, or maybe you need a better way to retain the information; it all depends on what is causing you to have a low grade, and only you can figure that out. Be honest with yourself.
Chemistry isn't everyone's favorite subject, and I understand it has its difficulties, but with any class you're going to have to put in time, and lots of it depending on how well you are at picking up the material. Also, do a lot of problems. When you become familiar with the process over and over again it makes it much easier when you're actually having to be tested on it. Sure, studying and doing a bunch of practice problems and reading isn't the funnest thing in the world, but it's the nature of going to school, and it'll only continue, so I would say be honest with yourself and see if you're really putting in the effort, and then you can go from there with study habits, maybe seeking office hours and other resources through your school, but if you're still having problems, all hope is still not lost! You can drop it and take a remedial course to get a foundation to build on. Having a solid foundation to build on these courses is important. I hope this helps. Also, many people actually FAIL multiple classes and get into med school, so don't get down. Just figure out what you're doing wrong and fix it.
Good luck!
