CHEMISTRY COURSE FOR NURSE ANESTHESIA: AN ANALYSIS OF NEEDS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
Contributors: Lehigh University.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 218
Subjects: Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: A prerequisite for acceptance in the LaRoche College master's level nurse anesthesia program is the completion of a full year of general chemistry within the past five years. Students enrolled in the nurse anesthesia program, therefore, will have a broad base on which to build the molecular concepts of an integrated organic-biological chemistry course.

The elements of chemistry used by nurse anesthesia practitioners, as well as needs in a chemistry program related to the pursuit of further education and career mobility, were determined through a survey of active practitioners and nurse anesthesia educators. The survey responses provided the basis for proposing a specialized chemistry course. Because the range of topics useful for the nurse anesthesia practice is broad and the instruction time limited, each chemistry concept or principle had to be carefully evaluated for its ultimate usefulness to the student. The topics for the course were organized into four units of study: cellular chemistry, chemistry of gases and fluids, pharmacological chemistry and physiological chemistry. Laboratory exercises, which have significance for the nursing/anesthesia practice, were also planned.

The mode of presentation of the course was also an important consideration. Current research in education indicates that an integrated course, which emphasizes the chemical basis of other areas of the nurse anesthesia curriculum and the area of clinical practice, will have more transfer potential than an isolated chemistry course. Students will be encouraged to collaborate in the learning process through a systems approach to teaching the chemistry course.

Once the proposed chemistry for nurse anesthesia course if implemented at LaRoche College, it will have to be evaluated. Monitoring students' ability to apply chemical concepts will give an indication of the effectiveness of the course.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-05, Section: A, page: 1305.

Thesis (D.A.)--LEHIGH UNIVERSITY, 1984.

School code: 0105.