A Bridge between Two Cultures: Uncovering the Chemistry Concepts Relevant to the Nursing Clinical Practice

This study focused on the undergraduate course that covers basic topics in general, organic, and biological (GOB) chemistry at a mid-sized state university in the western United States. The central objective of the research was to identify the main topics of GOB chemistry relevant to the clinical practice of nursing. The collection of data was based on open-ended interviews of both nursing and chemistry teaching faculty and nursing graduate students with clinical practice experience. From the resulting interview transcripts, three categories emerged: (i) topics that are important, having a direct application in nursing clinical practice; (ii) topics that are foundational, facilitating understanding of important topics, but are not directly important in nursing clinical practice; and (iii) topics that are not important, having no direct application and significance in nursing clinical practice. With the data collected, a list of clinically relevant chemistry topics was developed. Information from this study can assist GOB chemistry instructors to better understand which topics to emphasize in their teaching. Representatives of the two cultures, the disciplines of chemistry and nursing, agree that a good understanding of chemistry, with clinical implications, is important for a practicing nurse. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)