The Importance of Chemistry in Nursing

The Importance of Chemistry in Nursing

Chemistry is the science that focuses on the composition and properties of various compounds or substances, including different forms of matter and how they interact with each other. Nursing and chemistry are inseparable as chemistry complements the nursing profession (Baum & Hill, 1978). Chemistry is important in nursing, for it helps nurses to understand the composition of the compounds, their functions, and the side effects of each medication. Chemistry also helps the nurses to administer medication to patients and respond to any effects of the medications appropriately.

Understanding the composition of the medicines and their effects on the patients is a piece of critical knowledge in nursing. Nurses work closely with physicians to care for the sick in the hospital, administering drugs, and ensuring that patients take them as per the prescriptions. On the same note, nurses have to understand the health implications of the medications on the patients before they can be administered (Baum & Hill, 1978). Chemistry provides the nurses with an objective analysis of the reasons physicians prescribe certain drugs to patients according to the signs and symptoms exhibited by the patients.

The knowledge of the compositions of the compounds used in the manufacture of the drugs, as well as their reactions with the body, plays a critical role in informing the decisions of physicians. In this regard, the nurse must also understand the compounds used in manufacturing the drugs and how the compound will react with the body to regain the health of the patient. For example, Cephalosporin is an antibiotic that fights and treats specific bacteria in the body (Friedel & Treagust, 2005). In this case, it would be important for the nurse to understand the specific bacteria that the drug targets in the body.

The nursing course is designed to help the nurses to understand various concepts of chemistry. The concepts include pharmacology, biochemistry, general level chemistry, and organic chemistry. All these concepts are important in nursing as they provide the nurses with the knowledge of the compounds and their reactive nature in the body. Medicines often react differently to different patients. With the knowledge of the chemical composition of the drugs, nurses can take the necessary action to replace or add another medicine to help the patient to relieve pains and discomfort. Understanding these important concepts help a nurse to comprehend the effects of the medicines when used alone or in a combination, which leads to positive patient outcomes.

Physicians prescribe drugs with hopes that nurses will understand their meaning and use when they administer them to patients. Studying chemistry enables nurses to be familiar with the common terminologies that are related to medicines so that they can properly administer drugs. Moreover, nurses and doctors complement one another in the work of drug prescription, patient examination, and report writing. Often, nurses are required to make solutions for medicines in the right quantities to give patients. The knowledge of chemistry helps the nurses to apply the right ration for mixing drugs before giving the patients. For instance, if the medicines are to be mixed in the ration of 2:1, the nurses will understand the actual meaning of this ration based on their knowledge in the chemical composition of the medicines.

The nursing profession has been expanding and including various health practices that were initially left for professional medics. According to Friedel and Treagust (2005), nurses conduct research studies on various health issues that affect patients with a view to finding solutions to the problems. As such, they must be exposed to all the technicalities and the best practices that can increase patient safety and quality of health outcomes. As such, the knowledge about chemistry will be instrumental in studying safety precautions, handling of drugs, and prevention of hospital-acquired infections.

Biochemistry, which is one of the major concepts in chemistry that nurses must learn the methodology and interpretation of chemical tests to support diagnosis and treatment. Patients present various symptoms, which requires deeper medical analysis and prompt action to help the patient (Friedel & Treagust, 2005). With closer cooperation with the clinical officers, nurses can properly interpret the diagnostic results and make an informed decision about the condition of the patient, which can lead to better health outcomes in the hospital. Interpretation of the diagnostic results can also help the nurse to explain to the caregivers the actual health problem of the patient in the simplest possible terms.

Nurses’ primary role is to care for the sick, administer drugs, and provide emotional support to patients and their caregivers. Most importantly, the nurses help the patients to take medications as per the doctor’s prescriptions to avoid overdose or under-dose. The nurses ought to have the knowledge of the required dosage for every illness to help the patients to take the right dosage. Most importantly, a hospital setting may experience unfortunate events such as food. With the background knowledge about chemical compositions, a nurse can effectively neutralize the poison to save lives. At times it does not require the intervention of the doctor, but the knowledge of the nurse to provide solutions to the problem.

References

Baum, S. J., & Hill, J. W. (1978). Introduction to organic and biological chemistry. Macmillan.

Friedel, J. M., & Treagust, D. F. (2005). Learning bioscience in nursing education: perceptions of the intended and the prescribed curriculum. Learning in Health and Social Care, 4(4), 203-216.