I think there is a relationship between nursing and chemistry because nursing it is said to be a act and the science. And chemistry is science which shows how molecules of stuff interact with each other and the whole body of a person operate in molecular level. Which means us as nurses or as healthcare workers we need chemistry in order to understand what is going on within the body. I know it does not only relies on chemistry only but also on physics and biology.
I am sister Khumalo, I'm working as nurse practitioner at Zozimbini hospital. My work as a geriatric nurse practitioner(GNP) is to check or assess patients holistically. I order diagnostic or laboratories test without being told by a doctor. After they are than examining the samples in the laboratory I have to interpret the result and diagnose the patients. And after diagnoses them I have to prescribe treatment or medication without a doctor’s order I can do that all by applying the knowledge I have learn from chemistry. And the other thing I do as a NP I provide patients education and also interact with their families.
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One of the things that I have to do at work that is related to chemistry is taking patients body temperature. The reason why I say it involves chemistry it is because when you check someone’s temperature you use measurement and the temperature must be accurate. Because some illness can be detected through change of body temperature. Sometimes a body changes its normal temperature to support the body’s own defense mechanisms and this also help me as a nurse practitioner to be able to prescribe medication according to the body temperature.
I use my chemistry knowledge when interpreting result after receiving them from the laboratory, the results have so much data so I need to be familiar with these things. That when I have to use what I have learnt from science that when interpreting result you interpret them on the background of a reference interval that Is used to distinguish health and diseases. The reason why I say it’s important to be familiar with all this thing it’s because it will help you if there are any systematic errors.
Some times a patients come to hospital for check up but that patient shows symptoms of someone who is diabetic. To be specific symptoms like loss of weight but has lots of appetite and patient urinate frequently. I then have to use test strip which is use to check glucose (sugar). Chemistry get in I when I have to apply to do the urine test strip which have to contain special chemical on it. If I put the strip into the patient urine sample and its changes colour means there is glucose or sugar presents in that urine sample. Which simply mean that person might be diabetic but I cannot conclude based on that. Blood test should be ordered so that at the laboratory they can check the level of glucose after the result we can then conclude it the patient is diabetic or not. Then we can start with the treatment plan.
Chemistry is related to nursing because as nurses I have to prescribe medication, I have to indicate dosage in which I have to tell patient how much they should consume at what time they have to take the medication. Which is using the knowledge you acquired in chemistry. Without chemistry I can even end up overprescribing or under prescribing or even end up giving patient wrong medication which can cause harm and or even worse lead to death. Using science laws can help me understand what the problems within patients’ body and help me make specific treatment plan. The knowledge that I acquired help me as a nurse to know that medication which belong to the same classification group or same brand do not work the same. Which then decreases the death rate that is due to lack of knowledge Because I get to know the side effect of each and every medication if it’s incorrectly used.
Orderly people turn to be at risk of becoming dehydrated because of medical condition which make it hard for them to obtain enough water and decrease thirst reflex which is the absence of feelings of thirst. Sometimes a patient come to the hospital because he or she got a running stomach. And you find out that there are no electrolyte solutions in the hospital pharmacy. Then me as a health practitioner I have to use homemade remedy. I have to make oral rehydration solution or glucose-salt solution which is used to restore lost electrolytes which are the minerals in the body found in blood, urine, tissues and other body fluids and treat diarrhea. The sugar is important because it improve absorption of water into the body. I have to be very careful with measurements when making the solution because too much salts can be dangerous and too much sugar can make diarrhea worse. And knowing chemistry help because when making the solution you have to boil water which include the state of matter.
I think we have to focus more on pharmacology which is the branch of medicine concerned with the uses, effect and modes of action of drugs. Pharmacology focuses more on medication and their effect on a person’s body. I think if I focus more here it will make my job much easier because my job requires me to assess, diagnose, treat and manage patients care. Knowing more about medical pharmacology can help me plan and to be able to manage patients’ medications. It will help me not to mix medications that are not supposed to be taken together. I remember the was this one incident that I prescribed two different medication that belong to the same group classification unknowingly that they are not supposed to work together. I think if we focus more here a bit can help me to have confidence when prescribing medication without doctors help.
And also, please let’s focus more on biochemistry because it’s involved the chemical practice that occur in living organisms. Biochemistry will help understand how the body function when the are diseases and infirmity and when it is healthy. The biochemistry also has to do with medication and how it works within the body. I think it is important for us to focus here because as a nurse I will not be dealing with patients only but I’ll also be dealing with the patients families so it important for me to understand the processes taking place so that I can be able to explain to their family. So, it is important for me to have biochemistry background. And also knowing about biochemistry can help me when I’m educating patients about certain diseases on what it does.
My profession really requires me to relay on skills that I should I’ve obtain in organic classes in order to be successful. Because in organic chemistry I have to learn about the names, composition, structure and synthesis of carbon compounds and their reaction to various other substance. And it is also part of food, chemicals and the most important thing medication and other things. So that why I thing it will really help me a lots if we focus more on this topic. In organic chemistry I will learn more about the important of chemicals bonds that are created between hydrogen atoms and carbon atoms and that this organic compound have to contain other elements.
During the study of organic chemistry I will learn why this organic compounds are important in humans. This will even help me understand how the oxygen moves from the lungs to the organs that need that’s need oxygen which will then help me when prescribing medication. We also use organic chemistry when checking patients blood pH to check if it acidic at acidic so that we will be able to start planning for suitable treatments. It’s also help knowing about organic chemistry when a patient changes medication because as nurse I should be able to know if the new prescribe medicine will not cause any harm within the body when it counteract with previous medication. In my own eyes I see that chemistry and nursing go hand in hand.
In conclusion I can say it is very important to take chemistry as one of your modules when doing nursing, Because there are other things that we as nurses learn in chemistry class and then we have to use it when working. Things like knowing how medication works their side effects and the dosage that it’s have to be taken in. How long a pills takes to get to the bloodstream. And what a should not be eaten or drunk while using these medication . It also help us understand what a doctor has prescribe a be able to see if an error has been made. Chemistry also help you understand how the body functions so I see chemistry related to nursing.