Fundamentals V/S Med-Surg

melsman1904 · Mar 5, 2008

Well, I managed pretty well in Fundamentals and so far Med-Surg isn't too bad.

RNDreamer · Mar 5, 2008

I'm also hearing and reading how difficult the Med/Surg class. This worries me because at my school (BSN), Med/Surg I is worth 6 credits and Med/Surg II is worth 8 credits. Is it like this at other schools?

KPolk RN2B · Mar 5, 2008

Yeah my Med-Surg class is 8 credits also so I don't know what to expect. I just feel like :uhoh3:

akspudus · Mar 5, 2008

Well from my experience. Some people find Fundamentals to be pretty easy. Most can pass (maybe even get an A) without reading the book. Just pay attention and take notes during lecture. Take that attitude to Med/Surg and get read to fail.

I went into nursing school after being active on these boards for nearly a year. I read how HARD NS was. When I was in first semester I was wondering "when is NS going to get hard?" From test to test, I was waiting for the "shoe to drop". Well guess what. The shoe drops, nursing school get challenging in second semester with Med/Surg and Pharm.

I was soo worried that Med/Surg would be tough that some of my fellow students thought I was just paranoid. I prepared meticulously for the first couple of tests. Low and behold, I am the only student with an A...so far. Hope that changes and more students can recover.

I think what happens is students get complacent. They take the first few quizzes/exams without reading and studying. They dig themselves into a hole..and try to get themselves out for the rest of the semester.

If you do the reading. Supplement the reading with NCLEX practice...you should do fine.

akspudus

amybethf · Mar 5, 2008

First of all, do not believe the hype in nursing school! U can only worry about yourself and worrying about everything else others say will just be self-defeating and adding undue stress. School is stressful enough! I just finished M/S last week and it was tough! I had to study alot more than in Fundamentals but M/S is adding to your knowledge base. That said, it's kind of a continuation of Fundamentals. But it goes more into the pathophysiology and alot more paperwork and expectations at clinicals. The emphasis is really on applying critical thinking. If you study and have a grasp of what they want you to understand, you will do fine. Buy an NCLEX book (Saunders or Lippincott) to help reinforce your chapters and learning and you will begin to understand the rationale. Patho and critical thinking is understanding the what, how and why! It is imperative to 'get' this. But if u find yourself not getting it, seek out your instructor early and always review your tests. And NEVER change an answer, just leave your eraser at home! Being a nurse is all about using judgment and critical thinking.

I had a lot of anxiety before beginning my program and I have 1.5 semesters under my belt. I have had not a lick of panic, stress, yes, but the only way to cure it is to STUDY, STUDY and STUDY some more. If you study tenaciously and efficiently, you will know what will be on the tests.

Look at all the nurses out there, it is not impossible!

Good luck and stay positive. Do not mire in the misery of others, it will get u nowhere in a jiffy! :redbeathe

Wsmith16, ADN, BSN · Mar 5, 2008

I really don't know how to put it into words. Med-Surg is a whole different ballgame. Fundamentals was way easier the concepts are easier to grasp. The things we learned in fundamentals we can say we've seen in our day to day life...bed baths, safety issues with clients in bed.

Med-Surg...ughhh. Is where the game has changed, much more is expected of you, pharm is a killer. And the concepts are much harder to grasp. That, said it is still very intresting even though it's a whole lot of work. Don't worry to much about it. Just know that you gotta study, study to get through. If you already live, & breathe nursing you will do fine.

Logos · Mar 5, 2008

Our med surg and fundamentals are both 8 credits- and I can honestly say that they were both hard. I have not had an easy test yet. But med/surg makes me feel like I am learning more, less common sense -more stuff you have to teach yourself. I like med surg, I feel like it is more "real medicine" so to speak.

MUCH more interesting than fundamentals.

flightnurse2b, LPN · Mar 5, 2008

med-surg definately put me on prevacid and kept me up all night many nights, but its very doable. i got an A in fundamentals 1, 2 and 3 and an A in M/S 1, 2 and 3. you can get through medsurg! yes it is alot of information. what helped me was bringing my laptop to class and typing up the power points, then comparing them with the book and highlighting the key points. it seems horrific at first, but once you start learning the dz process and then see it in a pt at clinicals, you will be like "ok, i get this!" study hard, and be confident. and lots of coffee and praying doesnt hurt either, lol. you can get through it! good luck!

miss rochelle · Mar 5, 2008

haha, there needs to be a shirt or sticker that says "I SURVIVED MED/SURG I !!!" and then in small letters underneath "(now i need to survive med/surg 2"

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Mar 5, 2008

This is one of those half truths. The reason being, it does not apply to students who studied first semester to get an "A". The rumor only applies to the students that got through Fundamentals without studying. The non-studiers take Med-Surg I and either fail or barely pass because they never developed good study habits to retain harder material. Thus, the moral to the rumor/story is: If you got through first semester with ease, don't think for a second that the rest of nursing school is easy! You need to study. GL! :up: :nuke:

DGood · Mar 5, 2008

I see some of you have to take med surg along with Pharm. Our program has us take Pharm before or along with fundamentals. Pharm was difficult and if you take it along med surg it probably just makes things worse.