Im a label reader. It doesnt matter if its my shampoo bottle, the cereal box at breakfast, or the contents of my lotion; I love to read the labels! In fact, when I was in graduate school, I was a member of the local food cooperative, which sold primarily organic products and a lot of alternative/natural remedies for common ailments. The place was a little bit hippie and a little bit hoity-toityand I loved it! When I went shopping, it always took me twice as long as necessary because I would get distracted reading labels, especially in the home remedies aisle.

As a scientist, I enjoy reading labels because I find it really interesting to know what chemicals are in the products I use. Plus, I get a little ego-boost every time I read a label and can recognize or identify some of the chemicals found in the product J. As we are progressing through the study of organic chemistry, you are also learning names of molecules that you will begin to recognize on labels (Im assuming you will become a label-reader, also, by the end of the semester!).

In this module, in particular, we have encountered many functional groups that are used commonly in the health sciences and I am assuming that you use many of them in your careers as nurses (and students).

The discussion for this module is less of a discussion and more of a report-back sort of assignment. What Id like for you to do is to read some labels and find two distinct applications of molecules containing functional groups that you recognize. I am not a nurse and I would like to know more direct applications of what is being learned, so, if possible, I would like you to find ways in which you encounter these functional groups in nursing. This might be with anesthetics, topical treatments, antiseptics, or any other application you can think of. Your assignment is to report back on these two applications. If there is one, provide the trade name for the product, give the name systematic (IUPAC) name of the molecule found in the product, and determine which functional group(s) is in the molecule