med-surg questions...

petgroomer. . .this is an old thread. This list was updated, expanded and has since been made into a sticky thread. You can see the much longer list on the Nursing Student Assistance Forum here:

• http://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/medical-disease-information-258109.html - Medical Disease Information/Treatment/Procedures/Test Reference Websites

Portable RN is only one of the books I use as a reference when answering questions for students. I actually have many others that get used much more often. The Sylvestri book is a good review.

I think you'll quickly learn what physical objects you'll need on the job to help you organize. When I was recently hospitalized I noticed that all the RNs carried their own 3-ring binders. In them they had the computer generated Kardex for each of their patients plus other personal information they wanted. Some had copies of specific facility policies or procedures. One nurse had a conversion table in hers. Another had a drug compatibility chart she had gotten somewhere.

I worked med/surg for many, many years. These are books I had at home for reference and replaced periodically:

• Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary
• Fluid & Electrolyte Balance: Nursing Considerations by Norma M. Metheny
• Mosby's Diagnostic and Laboratory Test Reference
• Nursing Care Plans and Documentation: Nursing Diagnosis and Collaborative Problems by Lynda Jewell Carpenito
• Pathophysiology: The Biologic Basis for Disease in Adults and Children, third edition, by Kathryn L. McCance and Sue E. Heuther. Currently in it's 5th edition of publication.
• the current edition of Mosby's Nursing Drug Reference

When I first started out working I was constantly looking up information about some of the diseases the patient's were having. A good pathophysiology book is helpful, I think. The lab reference is also helpful too because the docs are always ordering a test you won't know about. Understanding the underlying pathophysiology leads to an understanding of the manifested symptoms the patient has. The symptoms are what the doctor's (and nurses) treatments are aimed at.

A couple of books I've picked up recently that I like a lot are:

• Nurse's 5-Minute Clinical Consult: Diseases from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Nurse's 5-Minute Clinical Consult: Treatments from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Nurse's 5-Minute Clinical Consult: Procedures from Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
• Portable RN: The All-in-One Nursing Reference, third edition, published by Lippicott, Williams & Wilkins, 2007
• Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, 3rd edition, by Linda Anne Silvestri

Here is my list of general medical weblinks that I also use for finding online if I can't find it in any of my books (and I have a lot more books than I've listed above):

• Medline Plus (use the search box) http://www.medlineplus.gov/
• Family Practice Notebook (use search box) http://www.fpnotebook.com/index.htm
• eMedicine http://www.emedicine.com/ (you may have to register to view articles, but registration is free)
• Medem http://www.medem.com/MedLB/medlib_entry.cfm?sid=103AF635-C640-11D4-8C0100508BF1C1F1&site_name=Medem
• Medicine Net Diseases & Conditions A to Z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
• Medicine Net Symptoms & Signs A to Z index http://www.medicinenet.com/symptoms_and_signs/article.htm
• Medicine Net Procedures & Tests A to Z index http://www.medicinenet.com/procedures_and_tests/article.htm
• Medicine Net Diseases & Conditions A to Z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
  
• Web MD index list of tests http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/medical_tests.htm
• Web MD index list of medical conditions http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_topics.htm
• Web MD index list of symptoms http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_symptoms.htm
  
• The Mayo Clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/
• Encyclopedia of Surgery http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/index.html
• Lab Tests Online http://www.labtestsonline.org/
• National Institutes of Health http://www.nih.gov/
  • the various institutes and links to them: http://www.nih.gov/icd/ - lot of disease information in the various institute sites, particularly on diabetes and heart diseases
• National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html
  
• Merck manual of diagnosis and therapy (use search box) http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/sections.jsp
  
• Merck manual of medical information http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html
• Merck manual of Geriatrics http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmg/contents.jsp
• World Health Organization (for information on tropical diseases) http://www.who.int/topics/en/