help with Med/Surg clinicals-most common meds

[KimmyNrs2be]

Hi you all! I will be start med-surg clinicals in October! I'm excited, scared and OVERWHELMED! I'm trying to do everything possible to be prepared, and I thought it may help me if I go ahead and learn side effects, nursing implications, etc. of the most common drugs. Are there certain drugs that you see lots of patients on? I thought I would learn about 20. What would you consider the twenty most common drugs? Also, if anyone has suggestions on preparing for med-surg clinicals, I would sure appreciate your input! Thanks.

[polly]

That first med/surg clinical is pretty scary. Some drugs that are common are Lasix (furosemide)- a diruetic, depletes potassium

lanoxin - slows the heart down and makes the beat stronger, prednisone - a steroid used a lot in asthma patients, general pain meds like, demerol, morphine, darvocet, vicodin. meds do tend to vary among hospitals. i work at two and the types of pain meds and antibiotics have certain routines at each. hope I was of a little help.

[bunky, BSN, RN]

Add Pepcid, Reglan, Coumadin, and Heparin to the above list. Read, read, read and know your Coumadin and Heparin facts down cold! I promise you they'll start coming up a lot. Oh and Phenergan and Vistaril are used a lot where I work too. Know some of the sleeping pills/sedatives like Ativan, and Temazepam.

Good Luck! It's scary, but you'll get through it. Do your reading and prepare yourself by knowing as much as you can about your patients DX, and meds.

[Brian, ASN, RN]

You can find the 200 most prescribed drugs at RX List:

http://www.allnurses.com/jump.cgi?ID=548

Hope this helps

[Nikita]

Be optimistic, don't think you have to read now so you can make it through. Be relaxed. Try learning "long-term", so you can remember it later. You will know your meds by having experience, by giving them out. I'm a nurse 9 years and I still look them up in the book if I'm not sure. Good luck, I know you'll do well.