anyone have any insight on MED-SURG I (its kicking my butt)

breeqt · Jun 24, 2007

try med surg made incredibly easy, the cd-it has tons of questions. also the reviews and rationales book for med surg-makes material easier to understand.

suni, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2007

Nursing is application, if you know what the book says but cannot apply it, how will you nurse?

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2007

did you check to see if there is an online student companion website that goes with this textbook? the publishers (elsevier) may have something online. check the preface and introduction of your textbook and look for a website. sometimes these websites will be listed on the inside of the covers (front or back) of the book. occasionally, i've seen the website listed on the very back cover of the textbooks. many of these online companion sites have application type questions on them to help you study.

otherwise, it is nearly impossible to find med/surg questions on the internet except for some sites that have free nclex type practice questions. something you could do is purchase a good nclex review book which is what a lot of students do. go through the threads on this forum that talk about this subject because there are many opinions as to which is the best. i happen to have a copy of saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri which i use as a reference (i've been an rn for 32 years). however, it comes with a cd that has almost 4000 questions on it which i sometimes open up and play around with for giggles. you can tell the program which types and topics of questions you want it to present to you and it will give you the correct answers along with the rationale for the answer. a lot of people also like the review book published by kaplan, but i have never seen what it looks like.

another thing i can tell you is that you need to know disease pathophysiology and standard medical treatment. you need to know the progression of symptoms (mild to worsening to severe) of diseases and conditions. you also need to know the steps of the nursing process and what is supposed to go on in each step. many of these application questions will trip students up because they aren't able to figure out where the problem is in terms of the nursing process for the situation you are being presented with. this is the critical thinking skill that everyone talks about. it is a favorite thing that will "get" you on these types of exam questions time and time again. if you have a care plan book, the nursing process is usually reviewed in the first chapter(s). or, you can re-read about it here: http://home.cogeco.ca/~nursingprocess/index.htm if you learn one thing in nursing school, it better be the steps of the nursing process. you need to be able to recite them in your sleep and know what they are.

momathoner09, BSN, MSN, APRN · Jun 24, 2007

There is a book called Med-Surg Success. It can be hard to find in stores so you may have to order it. I used it for Med Surg I and now am still using it for Med Surg II so it is definetly worth it. I found the questions to be really similar style to those we were tested on. Good luck!

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?WRD=Med%2DSurg+Success&z=y&cds2Pid=9481

shock-me-sane · Jun 24, 2007

I remember med surg 1. I also remember that is when I discovered NCLEX books. I swear they have saved my life since then. Not only do I get a review of the material, but also how to take the tests. Look for ones that are broken up in sections like med surg, peds, etc. Off the top of my head I have Saunders and Davis (it's a purple cover) that I really like.

good luck!

Kasha143 · Jun 24, 2007

The best thing that helped me when I took med/surg was an nclex review book. I bought an illistruated nclex review by mosby's. It was awesome! There were pictures of cartoons to help you remember certain diseases and such. You can buy them at Barnes & Noble. Good luck!

celery · Jun 25, 2007

I agree that for me, and in my program, nclex review books where very helpful for the exams. I had 5 of them. I especially liked one by Saunders. I got all of mine from Barnes and Noble.

We used the same textbook you are using. If you try using an nclex review book, look at the table of contents of several of them before you decide, find one you think works best with your class.

DAMomma · Jun 25, 2007

All of these suggestion are really great. What exactly are you covering in M/S I. I found it to cover MANY things. What in particular are you having trouble with?

bonn2424 · Jun 25, 2007

dear mamma,

i have gastrointestinal, renal, perioperative & musculoskeletal tests left.

My main problem is that i always choose the worst of two best answers. I can normally rule out two of them but that last one always gets me. we get two answers that are right and one of which is more right than the other. Ive since gotten the NCLEX review book(Mosby's) and after i finish reading the assigned chapters in lewis i plan to give it a try, but any other advice will be noted. thanks for your concern.