Biology and Microbiology

[goodygumdrops]

I need to take Microbiology. I haven't taken a biology course in years....and I am wondering if I will struggle in Micro without some previous experience.

Anyone want to let me know what I should do with this? I'm sure I can talk to an adviser but I just thought I'd ask and see what was generally recommended.


Thanks

[kriket]

I was a micro major in college before switching to culinary arts. (hehe, I know, how related right?)

Micro was intense for me. Especially the chemistry courses, especially inorganic.
IMO if you just need the one course, are studious and have access to a good toutor you should be ok. You can always drop if you are feeling you are in over your head. Or even audit the course first if you have that option!

[THANKFULFORFIVE]

While my 4 older kiddos were still very young, I was trying to get some classes out of the way at a community college. When I began the Microbiology class, I felt completely lost. Hadn't had biology since high school. I ended up dropping it after the second week of classes.

[Carita]

sign up for tutoring ASAP. My campus offers free tutoring for 100 & 200 level classes. No help centers, but peer tutoring groups. If there is something like that available for you, that is the way to go. They will help you memorize all the stuff and fill in the missing gaps. I would also avoid taking any other super stressful classes at the same time. It won't be hideous, but there will be a lot of memorization involved.

[goodygumdrops]

Ok. Well, I am thinking about taking it this summer. I am also enrolled in a masters program and I will likely be interning and working a masters thesis at the same time. I am trying to get my prereqs out of the way for nursing school which I plan to start as soon as I finish my masters. I need to take chem, a&p 1&2 and I was thinking about doing micro because it would make it easier for me once I finish. Now, I'm wondering if that's too much.

[pinksprklybarefoot]

These are not the answers I wanted to hear when I opened this thread! My schedule next semester is Microbio, A & P 1, Calc 1, and Chemistry, Society, and the Environment. I took General Bio ten years ago. I do have a gen bio textbook, though, and I am reviewing it. On one hand, I hope I'm not in over my head. But OTOH, I am trying to get into pharmacy school, and the load in pharm school will be at least that bad.

OP, have you taken a lab science over the summer before? I had a somewhat bad experience taking O Chem over the summer early in my undergrad career (10 years ago). It is a lot in a short period of time. As an adult, I might do better. But family distractions can hurt. Only you know the time and resources you have available.

[ck29_2000]

Originally Posted by goodygumdrops

Ok. Well, I am thinking about taking it this summer. I am also enrolled in a masters program and I will likely be interning and working a masters thesis at the same time. I am trying to get my prereqs out of the way for nursing school which I plan to start as soon as I finish my masters. I need to take chem, a&p 1&2 and I was thinking about doing micro because it would make it easier for me once I finish. Now, I'm wondering if that's too much.

In the sequencing here (in NE) they recommend chem before micro, and micro before A&P 2. Maybe dip your feet in with chem?

[jeminijad]

I've taken all the nursing prereqs.

Micro is not difficult, not in the least, if you have retained even a small amount of your high school bio, or if science is in any way an interest. If you hated science in high school, if you have not taken a college course in decades, or if you have poor reading comprehension, things will be tougher. I took it stacked with A&P2 while working full time, and got As in both classes.

Chemistry was easily twice as difficult for me as any of the BIOs (micro, A&P, etc.) Working with equations is as much math as it is science. It was my only B of 30+ credits of nursing prerequisite courses.

[Rosehip]

Nursing micro should not be a problem if you are a diligent student - do the reading, go to class, you'll be fine.

PinkSparkly - don't psych yourself out. I took A&P 1, Organic, and Physics, all with lab, last fall, while going through divorce negotiations and some other stressful stuff and did well. I worked hard, yes, but it was do-able.

If you stay on top of the work, and embrace it as something to really master & understand, it's fun. If you approach it as something to simply grind through by memorization, it can be brutal. At least that's the pattern I saw/see with my classmates. I always think of it as something that will ultimately allow me to better care for my patients, and I feel it's my responsibility to really master it. understanding it will make your life infinitely easier down the

[goodygumdrops]

Awesome. Thanks for the recommendations.

[buckeye_bebe]

And post away if you need help! Or PM.

[pinksprklybarefoot]

Thanks for the encouragement, rosehip!

This thread has been helpful! It is nice to hear from others taking a lot of the hard sciences - sometimes the courses can psych you out before you even start!

[Sandstress]

I recommend "microbiology made ridiculously simple" Very easy to read, silly, but helps with basic concepts.

[Eaglevoice]

Originally Posted by pinksprklybarefoot

These are not the answers I wanted to hear when I opened this thread! My schedule next semester is Microbio, A & P 1, Calc 1, and Chemistry, Society, and the Environment. .

OMG!!! Are you seriously taking all these classes the same semester?!?!?!
I'm talking Micro and Anatomy and I'm losing my mind, and those are the only 2 classes I'm taking this semester! I was talking Sociology, but I dropped it because there aren't enough minutes in the day for me to read all they required for Soc on top of my non-stop studying for Anatomy and Microbiology. Wow, my hat is off to you!

[Eaglevoice]

As far as not having had biology in a long time, micro shouldn't be all that hard. It's all pretty straight forward with out a lot of assuming that you remember all your bio. It sort of teaches you all you need to know as you go along, you don't really need a deep bio base before beginning the class.

[AndrewsMother]

Don't stress yourself too much. I will not take my first General Biology class until January, and Microbiology was the easiest science class that I have taken to date. A&P I & II were easy, but Micro was simple compared to the two. I actually assisted with lecturing the class on two chapters for extra credit. I took Micro with Chem I and I think that I took 16, maybe 18 hours that semester.

[marilynmama]

It depends on the type of Micro class you will be taking.

For my BSN program we had to take all the same science classes as the chem, pre-med, pre-pharm, engineering, etc majors.....some programs (especially CC RN programs) wont require that type of micro. Every place is different in what they require/offer. Both options are good options.

The best thing to do is talk to people at your school about the class and the various teachers, etc.

I was able to go back to college for the first time and take Micro, Anatomy with lab, and 2 other classes and made all A's because I *wanted* to and was ready for it (even had a nursing 6 month old at home and a 2 year old). Everyone thought I was crazy but I KNEW that I could do it and I enjoyed my college career very much!

Good luck!

[marziechar]

Micro was a really great course. I was a biochem major, so it was quite easy, but I think you should do fine. The instructor will likely follow the text closely. Also, mine had quite a bit of history and memorizable facts--as opposed to open-ended concepts.