What School subject is needed for nursing? you may ask. Well as a student whose ambition is to study nursing, the first step for you to take is applying to do a nursing degree.
You need to show that you have the right personal qualities as well as the necessary grades that are needed. In this article, we will outline these subjects which you need to have during high school as well as the grades that will be considered before you are accepted into any nursing school.
Let’s talk about nursing degrees and what they can do for you.
Nursing degrees equip you with the right skills, ethics, and scientific knowledge that are required to care for vulnerable people. This professional degree is much more placement-focused than many other degrees, and because of this, there is a need for a positive and practical attitude, as well as a compassionate bedside manner.
so what school subjects are needed for Nursing? We’d find out below.
Table of Contents
What School Subjects are Needed for Nursing
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Applied science
- Health and social care
- Psychology
- Sociology or physical education, plus any other two subjects.
However, some universities may only require biology or chemistry.
Grades needed in the School Subjects
- A-level grades are needed in your high school Subjects. The grade ranges are from B,B,C to A,B,B.
- Students in Scotland, your typical Advanced Higher offers should range from B,B,C to A,B,B, and Higher offers ranging from B,B,C,C,C to A,A,B,B,B are also accepted. You should keep in mind that some nursing schools only consider students with Advanced Highers or equivalent qualifications.
- The student is also likely to need five GCSEs at grade C or above, or any equivalent, including English language, maths, and science.
- The nursing aspirant can also get into a nursing degree program by completing the Access to Higher Education Diploma in nursing. Generally, most universities either ask for 45 credits from level three and 15 credits from level two or 60 credits from level three. If the student is already at level three, at least 30 credits are usually needed to be passed at distinction grade, and the remaining credits should be passed at merit grade. However, the exact requirements may vary from university to university.
Types of Nursing Degrees
All the types of nursing degrees have to follow a similar syllabus, as given and controlled by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).
However, the focus of the syllabus or curriculum will vary according to the type of nursing degree that the nursing aspirant chooses. The four types are:
- Adult nursing
- Children’s nursing
- Mental health nursing
- Learning disability nursing.
The duration of the above types of nursing degrees is all three years. Some universities and nursing schools offer dual-field degrees (for example, adult nursing with mental health nursing), which in this case takes up to four years to complete.
List of Nursing School Subjects
1. Nursing Fundamentals
This is one of the first classes the student should expect to take in a nursing program, and it is often required during the first semester.
This course gives you an overview of the meaning of nursing, how healthcare works, and potential careers and roles for professional nurses. The focus of this course is on the basics of patient care and fundamental nursing skills.
This nursing fundamentals course also prepares the student for more advanced topics in particular areas. This course may be called different names at different schools, such as “Nursing 101” or “Introduction to Nursing,” but be sure that it will cover the same topics.
This is one of the most important nursing courses because it lays the foundation for every other nursing school class and clinical.
It also provides the nursing student with a clearer understanding of nursing and different nursing roles, thus helping you confirm if this career is right for you.
2. Physiology
Physiology has defined the study of the human body and how it functions. In nursing school, the student will be able to learn about the names and functions of different parts of the body and how they all function together, both in a healthy person and throughout different types of illnesses and injuries.
This is usually one of the earlier required classes that are taught because many subsequent courses rely on your understanding of how the body works.
Physiology also includes topics that are important for the student’s own health and safety, for instance, how to safely lift and move patients.
Physiology also ensures that you as a nurse and other healthcare professionals are using the same terminology to describe the body and how it functions. So getting to learn and mastering this helps ensure effective communication and medical notes. This makes it a very important part of patient safety and positive health outcomes.
3. Introduction to Psychology
Introductory psychology is typically a prerequisite course needed to enter nursing programs as stated above. It covers the principles and practices of psychology and helps the nurses understand both psychologies as a medical discipline, and how to use applied psychology as a nurse and a communicator.
The topics in this course include cognition (how people think and make decisions), personality and behavior, organizational psychology, and the psychology of illness.
Studying psychology can help you as a nurse communicate better, give you an understanding of your own personality and those of others, and make better decisions individually and as a member of a group.
4. Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, any organism that is too small to see without a microscope, including viruses, bacteria, and some types of fungi.
This is also a prerequisite course that is often taken before entering nursing school because understanding the role that these microorganisms play in human health is really necessary for the understanding of many other aspects of healthcare.
The topics include microorganisms that cause and help prevent disease, including the emerging field of the human biome and the microorganisms that are part of the human body. This course in general includes laboratory work as well as classroom work.
This is one of the most crucial nursing prerequisite classes because of how important microorganisms are to human health. It lays out the foundation for infection control, population health, clinical theory, and nursing practices.
5. Gerontology
Gerontology is another course that is studied in nursing schools and it is the studying of aging. The classes in gerontology include topics such as the conditions associated with aging, the psychology of aging, how to effectively communicate with aging adults, and end-of-life concerns for nursing. Now you may ask why is it included in the classes.
Well, Gerontology is included in nursing major classes because of the important role nurses play in providing care to aging patients. Because it is a specialized class, most nursing students take it during or after their second year.
This is a foundational course for nurses who plan to go into gerontology fully but also important for all nurses because of the aging US population.
Aside from pediatrics and obstetrics, older adults make up a large and growing proportion of general and specialty care patients, so the ability to understand their needs and provide effective nursing care is crucial.
6. Psychology and Mental Health
While the introductory classes on psychology cover all aspects of psychology, including organizational psychology, Nursing classes on psychology and mental health focus on providing mental healthcare. Because the understanding of the psychological aspects of health is so important to many other nursing school classes, this course is usually included and studied in the first or second year. These courses mostly cover mental health conditions and their treatment, as well as the special legal and ethical considerations associated with caring for people with mental health conditions.
Physical and mental health are closely related, and so this course and other nursing courses on mental health are vital to understanding patient well-being. Because nurses provide so much hands-on care to patients and are a vital communication link for patients, their ability to understand mental health directly affects the quality of their profession.
7. Pharmacology
Pharmacology is another course and this is the study of medications.
Nursing courses in pharmacology focus on the safe administration of these medications, including opioids and other substances with the potential abuse by the patient; the different methods for administering them; how to watch for medication errors; and the potential drug interactions.
In addition to learning about medications and how they work, the nursing student will learn about the major pharmacology reference sources, including databases and texts.
While nurses (except advanced practice nurses) do not prescribe drugs, they must understand the fundamentals of pharmacology in order to ensure patient safety and answer patients’ questions
8. Women and Infant Health
Women and infant health is another course and it covers women’s health, reproductive health, pregnancy, delivery, and infant development.
The classes in this subject emphasize the nurse’s role in patient education and communication, and also the role of nurses in providing direct nursing care.
Generally, this is a foundational course that students take earlier in their school curriculum. Some nursing schools offer this topic in 2 courses, one in reproductive health and the other in infant health.
This foundational course covers general nursing concepts and also prepares the nurses who specialize in women and infant health for advanced courses which they will study in the nearest future. These advanced courses can include pediatrics, gynecology, or obstetric nursing.
9. Leadership Management
Leadership management is typically offered later in the nursing curriculum since it requires a broader knowledge of the scope of nursing.
These classes include the following topics; management and administration, staff leadership and motivation, legal and ethical aspects of leadership, nursing strategic planning, and healthcare administration. The curriculum merges the management theory and case studies of how that theory applies to real-life nursing scenarios.
In addition to preparing nurses for leadership roles, these classes prepare students of nursing to understand nursing leadership functions so that they can understand their own role in any organization they find themselves.
10. Ethics in Nursing
Ethics in nursing is a core class course because of the many difficult ethical situations that nurses face, no matter where they practice.
These classes in ethics cover topics such as professional conduct, conflicts of interest, health equity, diversity and inclusion, and appropriate responses to unethical behavior. Like leadership classes, ethics classes combine theory, so the student will have to be prepared to critically analyze ethical issues