Help! Med surg

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hey All, so I started med surg this week and basically we are going over electrolytes and ect. I wanted to know what should I expect from this course. Can anyone suggest any test taking skills or w.e you think I would need. Thank you in advance!

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You're studying electroconvulsive therapy in med-surg? What kind of unit is this?

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Medsurg is the bread and butter of nursing. Make sure you really get it down.

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Fluids and electrolytes will always be with you. Make sure you know them cold-- what they are, how they work, what body systems are most affected and how, common tests, common treatments, and making nursing assessments and diagnoses.

Yeah, I know, you read all that in your syllabus. Still true.

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With electrolytes it is essential to memorize the lab levels. In fact, the foundation of electrolytes comes down to rudimentary memorization of the signs and symptoms of both too low and too high levels. No other way around it. Once you have that down, proceed with AliNajaCat's advice. Med-Surg is tricky because students not only have to know facts but also figure out how every system/diagnostic/medication/procedure affects each other.

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Definitely know your electrolytes forwards and backwards!

My advice for memorizing the basics is to make a T chart for the s/s of lows and highs of each electrolyte (including the actual value at which it is considered abnormally such - memorize this stuff!).

This will make it easier to connect the dots when you're studying certain disease processes and medications etc. as well as understanding what you may see in clinical.

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Great advice! I agree with AliNajaCat

It will save a lot of study time if you truly understand your prior knowledge prerequisites and nurse fundamentals. The important thing is to not only understand the material but the sequence of the material. How is this material organized? What is the thinking process to solve this problem?

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Not to scare you but med/surg was one of the tougher classes in nursing school.

Best advice:

Try studying with a study group even if it's one person. Teaching the material helps you retain the information better.

If you would rather study alone, on a separate piece of paper, write out the etiology, signs & symptoms, and treatment. Then the nurses role. Whatever you miss, write it in different colored ink or highlight it

Study like your life depended on it!

I finished with an A- (the highest in the course) and I had it with the most difficult professor in the program.

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Agreed. What is the goals for medical surgical knowledge? It is the bread and butter. Also, it will help you become a nurse with the knowledge on how to reduce medical errors and misdiagnosis

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