diagnostic tests and their purpose

Nursing Students General Students

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Any good suggestions for learning the "how's and why's" for all those lab tests driving me crazy? My text seems like a foreign language without much relevant detail and I'm having a hard time understanding assessment parameters and the rationales behind the results.

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Specializes in Emergency, Transport.

I reccommend Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Handbook of Diagnositic Tests. I have the 3rd edition but i dont know if thats the most recent or not. It has pretty much every diagnostic test you could want to look up. It includes Blood work, Urine, cereberal spinal fluid, EEG, even swann cath stuff. it gives you the description of the test, purpose, patient preperation, procedure and post-test care, precautions, reference values, abnormal findings, clinical alerts, and interfering factors. this is a great book and i use it all the time!!

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I would try typing things in Google, eg. "purpose of chest xray" and see the different explanations you get. Wow I wish I had the Internet when I went to college!!!

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

there are a number of free online lab resources and references where you can find lab test information. they are listed on this thread:

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Specializes in Peri-op/Sub-Acute ANP.

I have to second the Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Handbook of Diagnositic Tests recommendation. I LOVE this book. It's not on my book list for school, but a friend had one and once I saw it I was hooked and got my own copy. I liked it so much also have their PDA version to take to clinicals with me!

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