Electrolyte Mnemonics

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Specializes in Being bossed around during clinicals..

i just took a test today that involved a lot of electrolyte knowledge. i, too, have been overwhelmed with not only trying to remember what the various electrolytes do, but what the s/s of too much/too little are,...and what the causes of each are. on a whim i went to bn.com and amazon.com and typed in "mnemonics nursing" as a search. lo and behold, i got a hit: mosby's fluid&electrolyte memory note cards. well worth my trip to barnes and nobles, and well worth whatever it cost me- around 20 bucks or so. the first listed author's last name is "zerwekh." it's a little flip book with lots of concise information. put it like this: i had to remember a lot of stuff last night on no sleep when i was studying for today's test (yea, i know-cramming and sleep deprivation before a test aren't good but not everything can be ideal)....and i was able to use the mnemonics to remember enough about hypernatremia and hyperkalemia to answer the questions correctly.

it is well worth the monetary investment. if you have a test coming up that covers electrolytes (most clinical tests have at least one or two questions about it), hesi, nclex, or you just can't keep it all straight during clinicals...go buy this book!!!!

zerwekh and her co-authors also have a few other study aids of similar style- look them up on bn.com or amazon. i have one of them and i'm waiting for b&n to get the volume 2 in so i can buy it. it's also a great resource, and with as much trouble as i have remembering the difference between addison's disease vs. cushing's and what nursing care we give, it was remarkable- i was able to answer the questions on today's exam correctly because i had looked at this book. it, too, is well worth your money!!!

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Our lecture on Electrolyte, Fluid , and Acid-Base Balance is next week. Thank you so much for the information. I will call them so that they can hold a copy for me.Thanks again. Best of luck, I just finished my first week of nursing school and I have a paper due Tuesday on Middle-aged Adult, Older Adult, and Very Very Old Adult. It is the Ericksen/Newman and Newman Adaptation of the Life cycle with those deveolpmental stages/tasks..I dont even know where to begin...

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[color=#333333]electrolytes normal values. it may sound silly but it works for me ;)

[color=#333333]na - salt is expensive now a days, it costs 135-148 per kilo. (135-148 meq/l)

[color=#333333]k - a banana cost 3.50 to 5.50 each (3.5-5.5 meq/l)

[color=#333333]chloride - since chloride regulates bp, here it goes...

[color=#333333]chloride said his bp is 98/108 - ooops it should have been 108/98. (98-108 meq/l)

[color=#333333]hco3 (bicarbonate) - bicarbonate said ten years ago he was 22 now how old is he? 32. (22-32 meq/l)

[color=#333333]ca - my bones started to become strong when i was about 8-10 years old. (8.5-10.3 meq/l)

[color=#333333]mg - magnesium is always exercising his muscles every 1 1/2 - 2 hours. (1.4-2.1 meq)

[color=#333333]hpo4 - phosphate said after regulating acid base balance and calcium his salary increased to 2.5-4.5%. (2.5-4.5 mg/dl)

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Thanks for the mneumonics!!!! I just passed Hesi and boards are 6 months away! I want to start studying NOW!!!!!!;)

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Specializes in SICU, MICU, CICU, NeuroICU.

This is one area that you need to memorize. Study hard. Just go over it again and again.

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[color=#333333]hco3 (bicarbonate) - bicarbonate said ten years ago he was 22 now how old is he? 32. (22-32 meq/l)

actually, you need to make sure of this...i've seen where the normal range was between 22-26 meq/l and 22-28 meq/l...32 would seem high.

can someone comment?

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Specializes in Being bossed around during clinicals..

I thought that the range for bicarb was 22-26?

Oh well, regardless, that explanation/way of thinking about electrolytes helped a lot....I've been studying that mnemoic book I wrote about months ago....and while it is helpful, thinking of it like "the cost of Na is..." helps a lot! Thanks!

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i just took a test today that involved a lot of electrolyte knowledge. i, too, have been overwhelmed with not only trying to remember what the various electrolytes do, but what the s/s of too much/too little are,...and what the causes of each are. on a whim i went to bn.com and amazon.com and typed in "mnemonics nursing" as a search. lo and behold, i got a hit: mosby's fluid&electrolyte memory note cards. well worth my trip to barnes and nobles, and well worth whatever it cost me- around 20 bucks or so. the first listed author's last name is "zerwekh." it's a little flip book with lots of concise information. put it like this: i had to remember a lot of stuff last night on no sleep when i was studying for today's test (yea, i know-cramming and sleep deprivation before a test aren't good but not everything can be ideal)....and i was able to use the mnemonics to remember enough about hypernatremia and hyperkalemia to answer the questions correctly.

it is well worth the monetary investment. if you have a test coming up that covers electrolytes (most clinical tests have at least one or two questions about it), hesi, nclex, or you just can't keep it all straight during clinicals...go buy this book!!!!

zerwekh and her co-authors also have a few other study aids of similar style- look them up on bn.com or amazon. i have one of them and i'm waiting for b&n to get the volume 2 in so i can buy it. it's also a great resource, and with as much trouble as i have remembering the difference between addison's disease vs. cushing's and what nursing care we give, it was remarkable- i was able to answer the questions on today's exam correctly because i had looked at this book. it, too, is well worth your money!!!

i too love love love these flip books. i have 2, one is a pharmacology flip and the other is an assessment flip. mosby's has some other books that aren't flips but help me tremendously. i am a visual/hands on learner. give me a picture or something catchy and i will remember it. that is what these books and flips do, they give the reader a visual to attach to the words. i will be getting more of these as i go along my nursing school.

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Specializes in Being bossed around during clinicals..

I'm so glad I was able to help by recommending those flips books. They really are great. I also recommend getting one of those "quick facts" books that can fit in your pocket....they're usually targeted for things like pedi, OB, ICU, etc. I usually brought one with me for whatever clinical I was attending instead of carrying around a ton of other stuff....towards the end of pedi I stopped bringing my drug guide book to clinicals because I just used the formulary on the hospital's computer system. Helped my back by not having to carry so much junk around!

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Specializes in LDRP.
Actually, you need to make sure of this...I've seen where the normal range was between 22-26 mEq/L and 22-28 mEq/L...32 would seem high.

Can someone comment?

Yep, we learned bicarb as 22-26 as well. Need to know that for electrolyte imbalance.

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