Pathophysiology Fall 2010

Nursing Students Student Assist

Published

Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

Is anyone going to be taking Patho this fall? It's a pre-req for a program I am applying to, while I know for some of you it's taken during your actual nursing program. I was looking to share resources and sites.

We're using Pathophysiology: The Biologic Basis for Disease in Adults & Children by McCance. This book is 1800 pages! We had to get the study guide too, which is 300+ pages. Yikes! Even though class doesn't start until the fall, I have started working through my book, not so much reading, but highlighting the info found on the Key Points page, and the study guide & publisher website quizzes.

Here are some helpful patho sites and resources I have found so far:

ItunesU has some patho videos I have seen but haven't downloaded yet. There is a great podcast by Dr Gerald Cizadio that has about 68 HOURS of lectures. I got to listen to a bunch of them on a recent road trip. My teenage daughter wasn't too thrilled though, LOL.

WSU Video OnDemand - Weber State University

- This is from Weber State U, videos of a class lecture.

Hths 2230 Introductory Pathophysiology Audio Lectures - Weber State University

- Here are audio files from the same WSU as well.

Anyone else willing to join forces and share resources, study tips, etc? :yeah:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

Oh SHOOT! I posted it in the wrong forum. Mods, could you please move this to 'Nursing Student Assistance'?

I knew I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning!! :lol2:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Moved across :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I just got done with that class and used the same book. For patho we had to learn the different classes, starting with sympathomimetics/sympatholytics. I would go through the first 3 chapters of your book - it describes the ways drugs travel through your body (very important to understand). Then I would jump to the two classes above because they are a recurring thing throughout the book. You will probably touch on those, cardiac drugs, urine and BM drugs and antibiotics for sure (most prescribed). We needed to memorize the generic, trade names of each the drugs, what they treated, dose, side effects, adverse effects, life-threatening effects and what class they were in. If you understand the way a certain class of drug works, you should be able to understand the basic side effects. Good luck and I don't want to scare you! Hopefully this will help a little!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Hi Sand dollar... i cannot figure out how to message you and send you my email!!! i dont mind posting it here.... its (email removed) thanks again! it was in regard to the lab manual chem 101

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm just finishing up Pathophysiology. We used Essentials of Pathophysiology Concepts in Altered Health Status, Carol Mattson Porth.

We didn't do any pharmacology in this class. It was all disease states and followed the same format as our anatomy and physiology courses. It was very interesting to apply the normal physiology we learned last term into abnormal physiology.

We took the body in 4 units

unit 1 - homeostasis and disease, genetic disorders, neoplasia and cancer

unit 2 - autoimmunity/immunodeficiency, cardiovascular, blood

unit 3 - fluid/electrolytes, acid/base, respiratory

unit 4 - digestion, endocrine, neurological and neuropsychiatric

We focused on etiology, pathogenesis andn manifestations of each disease that we studied. There were probably a 10-20/system/unit.

We also had a dvd called interactions - Exploring the functions of the human body where we read case studies.

Anyway, we didn't discuss anything about cures, medications, treatments, etc. I assume that the pharmacology will come in the 2 or 3 terms we have of pharmacology.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I'm sorry. Pathophys. For some reason I read Pharm. DUH to me! Well, I did use the same book for Patho and we did go through the whole book. I did it in an online class over the summer prior to nursing and it's doable. We just focused on the etiology, signs and symptoms, disease process, etc. The book is actually really good because it breaks each disease down into those same categories. My class focused a lot on genetic disorders (we had to know which chromosome was missing, added, etc). When we got further on in the book, we focused on the main diseases that effect more of the population such as diabetes. We also had to pick a disease and write a 5 page paper, etc, etc.

Hope this helps a little. While it is a HUGE book (with tiny writing) you will be able to get through it. There is a lot of information and the first few sections of the book are hard to digest. Once you get through that, the rest will be easier. Good luck this fall!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I'm sorry. Pathophys. For some reason I read Pharm. DUH to me! Well, I did use the same book for Patho and we did go through the whole book. I did it in an online class over the summer prior to nursing and it's doable. We just focused on the etiology, signs and symptoms, disease process, etc. The book is actually really good because it breaks each disease down into those same categories. My class focused a lot on genetic disorders (we had to know which chromosome was missing, added, etc). When we got further on in the book, we focused on the main diseases that effect more of the population such as diabetes. We also had to pick a disease and write a 5 page paper, etc, etc.

Hope this helps a little. While it is a HUGE book (with tiny writing) you will be able to get through it. There is a lot of information and the first few sections of the book are hard to digest. Once you get through that, the rest will be easier. Good luck this fall!

LOL That makes more sense to me. I read your post and thought - oh my, why didn't my program discuss treatments for those diseases we were learning.

We did quite a bit on genetic disorders in the first 1/4 of the course and a bit here and there in the rest of patho. We spent a LOT of time on fluid/electrolyte and acid/base. If you haven't had chemistry in a while, I would be prepared to review your chemistry in those sections. Lots of osmolarity, Na+/K+ pump, free H+, etc.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.
I'm sorry. Pathophys. For some reason I read Pharm. DUH to me! Well, I did use the same book for Patho and we did go through the whole book. I did it in an online class over the summer prior to nursing and it's doable. We just focused on the etiology, signs and symptoms, disease process, etc. The book is actually really good because it breaks each disease down into those same categories. My class focused a lot on genetic disorders (we had to know which chromosome was missing, added, etc). When we got further on in the book, we focused on the main diseases that effect more of the population such as diabetes. We also had to pick a disease and write a 5 page paper, etc, etc.

Hope this helps a little. While it is a HUGE book (with tiny writing) you will be able to get through it. There is a lot of information and the first few sections of the book are hard to digest. Once you get through that, the rest will be easier. Good luck this fall!

CBsMommy I figured it was a mistake, but still appreciated the info, I'm taking Pharm in the Spring. I have started reading the patho text and I'm really enjoying it... I think it's a 'You know you're a nursing student when' thing. :lol2:

I'm expecting something like the paper in this class too, unfortunately the synopsis on the ccconline site gives me diddly squat and all that's given is the systems covered.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am new here and this will be my first post. I am taking this class now and was doing some searching for some help on the web and came across this site. We are using the same book and yet it is a big book. We are having our first quiz on Tuesday. I am a little nervous but i know I will be fine. Thanks for the links to the lecture. My professor is a very old man and it take him a long time to say two words. This makes it very hard to keep up with his lecture. I hope we can help each other as we tackle this class this semester.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, Clinical Documentation Specialist.

HI llubega....welcome to allnurses!

I finished the class in the fall, so won't be going along with you on this one. However, I do have some tips to share with you.

For studying, I highlighted the different aspects of each disorder in different colors. Ie. general stuff in yellow, patho in red, clinical manifestations in blue...etc. It helped to keep things all sorted out for me. Also, do the study guide, I found it helped me.

As well, if you can get yourself a recorder, I highly recommend it. I am learning that now in my Pharm class. I can review my notes or listen to a part that I didn't quite get. I speed up my playback so I hear things quicker and it might work with your slow prof! lol

Since this is your first time here, be sure to check out the rest of the site. There are great areas for pre-nursing and nursing student assistance, as well as areas for your state. And, I'm sure you will also find helpful information about the nursing program you are applying to or are already in. There is great, valuable information all over this site and helpful people too. I found some fantastic general study tips here, geared towards the nursing classes... you can find them by doing a search in the box at the upper right.

Good luck on your test, I hope to see you around the boards!

~SD :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in ICU, ER, RESEARCH, REHAB, HOME HEALTH, QUALITY.

I am taking adv Patho @ South Ala - online class just started

We have 92 study quest just for the 1st unit-u which is quite stressful

2 c online

Thx 4 the tips!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment