A CHEMISTRY COURSE FOR PRENURSING STUDENTS: AN APPLICATION OF TASK ANALYSIS

The purpose of the study was two-fold: (1) to determine what chemistry concepts are needed by nurses and in what depth they are needed, and (2) to determine whether prenursing students in two discrete general chemistry courses were equally prepared for a required health-oriented organic and biochemistry course.;Random assignment of prenursing students to the general chemistry courses was not possible. Hence, the nonequivalent control group design was employed in the study. It involved administering a pretest to the two groups of prenursing students, subjecting them to different treatments (general chemistry courses) for a specified length of time, and then administering a posttest to the two groups.;A departmental placement examination served as the pretest. Results indicated that both groups were equally prepared in chemistry, prior to taking either of the general chemistry courses.;Two posttests were administered. Students' understanding of general chemistry concepts considered essential for nurses, and prerequisite for the organic and biochemistry course, was determined from achievement on a general chemistry examination; students' performance in the organic and biochemistry course was ascertained from achievement on an organic biochemistry examination. Results (1) suggested that the condensed general chemistry course was somewhat more effective than the "regular" general chemistry course in teaching chemistry concepts prerequisite for the organic and biochemistry course and needed by nurses, and (2) demonstrated the prenursing students in the condensed general chemistry course were as well prepared for the organic and biochemistry course as those in the "regular" general chemistry course.;To ascertain the chemistry concepts needed by nurses, a three-part questionnaire surveying inorganic, organic, and biochemistry concepts was written and sent to random samples of nursing educators in baccalaureate degree programs from two Midwest states, and to baccalaureate degree nurses in hospitals from one of those two states. The responses to the inorganic concepts on the questionnaire and chemistry concepts prerequisite for the health-oriented organic and biochemistry course taken by prenursing students were used to develop a condensed general chemistry course. The resultant condensed general chemistry course was taught to prenursing students at the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John's University.