Teaching organic and biological chemistry to nursing students

Abstract

In troduction Although Biochemical Education has included over 10 articles on the problems of teaching biochemistry to medical students, including a summary of the 1974 Nuffield Foundation discussions t, only one paper has dealt with a different group of health-science students: a course for dental students has been described 2. Yet there are many of us who must teach organic and biological biological chemistry to university students in other health-oriented programs, such as nursing, medical technology, dental hygiene, and pharmacy. These and other programs require a course in bio- organic chemistry, which is often seen by the students as a difficult and professionally-irrelevant hurdle in their attaining the bachelor's degree. Too often such courses have been unpleasant for both the students and the teacher. This paper describes a new course designed for 250 second-year nursing students at the University of Michigan. The course was accepted by the students as both enjoyable and relevant to their career goals. Content and Philosophy of the Course Table I outlines the topics for lectures (3 days per week for 1 hour) which covered the basic principles of organic and biological chemistry. The students had taken one term of college inorganic chemistry as a prerequisite, and this was to he their last chemistry course. Thus the primary concern was to impart to these students the knowledge that life in general and medicine in particular is based on biochemistry. Nurses do not need to be experts in bio-organic chemistry. They were not asked to memorize structures or pathways, but rather to understand names and processes important to medicine. They did not do kinetic nor thermodynamic calculations nor did they have a laboratory in biochemistry; their experience from inorganic chemistry and microbiology laboratories was considered sufficient. What nurses should know are the general principles of biochemical structure and function. They were asked to recognize and name organic functional groups in biological molecules, including drugs and vitamins. The students were taught the composition of carbo- hydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids; the pathways by which these compounds are digested and used for body growth; and the products which are excreted. The course covered most areas of traditional biochemistry in a superficial but modern way, stressing our knowledge about selected genetic diseases (see Table I). Format of the Course Detailed outlines were distributed at the beginning of each lecture, which made note-taking and even attendance unnecessary. However, almost all students did attend and added notes to the outlines. The lectures proceeded leisurely, allowing frequent pauses to answer any questions or to solicit student comments. Occasional movies and frequent examinations based on the lecture outlines (see Table II) helped to provide variety and reinforcement of ideas. Grading was on a fixed scale, thus eliminating the arguments with the teacher and the competition between students which occur during use of a curved scale. In addition, sections of 35 to 40 students met once a week with graduate teaching assistants, who answered questions, reviewed lectures, administered quizzes, and provided individual tutoring when needed. One session was spent doing clinical dipstick tests, followed by a tour of the clinical laboratory. A further incentive to learn more biochemistry was allowing the students to raise their quiz grades by submitting reports on biochemical topics of their own choosing (see Table II) Response of the Students Beyond the aspects of organizing a well-structured bio-organic course relevant to nursing, most important to the success of the