Nervous about Med-Surg

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Provided I don't totally bomb my final on Friday, I should be on my way to second semester of the ADN program. Yahoo! :D It's divided into L&D the first half, then Med-Surg for the second half. I'm really excited for L&D, but extremely nervous about Med-Surg. :uhoh3: I don't feel like my clinical experience this semester has prepared me for med-surg, and I don't know what to expect. Is there any area(s) I should be focusing my studies on? I plan to study as much as I can during the break. My instructor said to definitely know diabetes. Maybe I'm getting myself psyched out for no reason, but I want to be prepared. Any guidance is greatly appreciated!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN

1 Article; 5,115 Posts

well, in a strictly rational note, :D, you don't know any more about being an l&d nurse than you do about being a m/s nurse yet, do you? that's why you're in school :D.

relax, keep your eyes and ears and heart open, and bone up on your physiology and anatomy before you start either of them.

yeah, and study up on diabetes:redpinkhe-- it's getting to be one of the biggest admitting or contributing diagnoses these days.

ashulee89

66 Posts

I feel the exact same way right now. I just finished up level 1 nursing, we were in a nursing home which wasn't more than CNA work and PO med passes. Now I'll be moving onto level 2 which will consist of the same classes you spoke of. On our last day, one of our clinical instructors(who teaches other levels as well) told us to really hit the books on IV push and piggy back even though we haven't even STARTED to talk about it. Apparently alot of level 2 students who are in clinicals are now failing because they're instructors don't feel they know enough about that topic. We're supposed to have open labs to practice. I plan to spend my winter break reviewing the material I've learned to try and keep things fresh, along with IV push and piggy back. :) I hope this helps. Goodluck!

nrice28

199 Posts

At our school we just finished up with peds/ob and next semester I go into Medsurg and psych. I was wondering if you have done peds yet. But supposedly peds was the harder subject in my program and I did better in it than I did in OB. I was shocked! But I just didn't enjoy OB at all. I think medsurg will be hard but doable and that you will learn a ton! Its good your nervous! I was too going into peds this semester and while a lot of my peers failed the course I almost made an A. I went in thinking "failure is NOT an option" so if you put your mind to it you'll be fine. But just make sure to keep up on the reading. I was looking at my book and started feeling overwhelmed but I am sure its got to be somewhat similar to pediatrics. Pretty much medsurg is geriatrics so that kinda helps me be able to anticipate what to expect. GL and let us know how ur doing when you get time. I haven't been on here in a while b/c all I did this semester was read...but don't stress..just do it!!! :)

juju81

4 Posts

Thank you for the encouragement :loveya: I think the part that makes me the most nervous is the meds. My instructor said it is not uncommon to see patients in MedSurg that are taking upwards of 12 medications, and we will be responsible for knowing all there is to know about the list of 150 or so that she gave us. My strategy is to break them into smaller chunks by classification, but it still seems so overwhelming. I know I'm just getting started, but I can't wait to get to the point where I just know them :) My class didn't do anything at all with IVs for 1st semester, but I do know that is on the agenda for 2nd, so I will be studying up on that for sure. My first semester was on an orthopaedic floor, so nope, haven't taken Peds yet. That is in third semester with psych. I think you're right, it is good to be nervous. That way I will push myself harder. I really appreciate all the support, you all are wonderful!!

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