Newbie question about learning materials

P_RN, ADN, RN · Feb 4, 2003

I think I'd start with a good Anatomy Book.....Gray's Anatomy for example, and a good dictionary, perhaps a Taber's....Maybe a Merck Manual..that's even on the net.......good luck and study hard.

MelRN13 · Feb 4, 2003

I would also recommend a good drug guide, maybe Mosby's or Davis.....good luck!

Peeps Mcarthur · Feb 4, 2003

Jgg,

Anything pertaining to psychosocial issues, such as Development Through the Life-span type material.

The Grand Theories: Erikson, freud, and that other guy that concentrated on cognitive development.

Review basic psychology.

According to my experience, you will not see much of the sciences like Anatomy & Physiology, Cell Biology etc, in the first semester.

You will probably see drug calculations though, in the form of simple operations with fractions. It was only a brief annoyance in my program, but some students failed it because they found it difficult to work with decimal points and scientific notation, or let the phrase "dimensional analysis" freak them out.

It's more general math than it is algebra...............really.

Anyhooo, don't just assume, as I did, that there is going to be alot of science. Your grades will reflect your mind-set if you have to try and switch gears.

Do buy alternate referrence books if you can afford them. Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary would be very helpful to keep you up to speed with the medical jargon, but learning about psychosocial issues and taking a peek at how to write a careplan and the world of nursing diagnosis will help you more than any of those science texts.

Good luck to you.

kimmicoobug · Feb 4, 2003

I would recommend getting an NCLEX review guide. I have two of them. My instructor is also considering adding a book by Kaplan to the required reading list, and I have heard it is a really good book to have around. I also recommend the Davis Drug Guide. For me, it is easier to read than Mosby's.

Also, hold on to your A&P book. If your instructors are anything like one particular instructor I have (but he is an excellent teacher, really), then you may need to know your systems inside and out.

Hey Peeps, I know you are fairly new to the program, and yeah, the first quarter kind of sucked...but it should get more into the stuff you are looking for the further you get into it. With a lot of my subjects recently, we have had to know our systems forwards and backwards and put it all together with the disease process.

Freshman RN · Feb 4, 2003

I just started last semester, and this is what I would reccomend. Find out the book list for the semester and start there.

A great Idea would be of course if you could find a nursing student to coach you.

Keep your A&P books.

Don't forget math for meds.

Mosby's has a great encyclopedia on CD-Rom.

Care Plans Cd-Rom also recommended.

I know that my fundementals book came with a companion with tests and questions.

Peeps Mcarthur · Feb 4, 2003

Yea, and this person needs to know that the 1st semester is going to be psychosocial, right?

Any time that's spent reviewing systems, drugs, chem, anatomy, stuff like that can be done at the little section it will be in.

Unless you're really, really weak at those subjects. Even the medical terminology was defined everytime there was a new word.

Stick with Erikson and careplans, and brush up on Microsoft Word for making tables and writing papers and plans.

6 months is a long time, but it may come in very handy if you have trouble understanding the nonlinear world of psychology and its function.

BTW, there is no software that I'm aware of that is oriented towards nursing. I've seen alot advertised, but it deals only with medical issues like EKGs and such. None of any of that is important now.

The foundation of nursing is psychosocial.

Your first semester will be trying to teach you what that is. I would advise you try to find out what that word means to YOUR program.

Peeps Mcarthur · Feb 4, 2003

Quoting myself

BTW, there is no software that I'm aware of that is oriented towards nursing. I've seen alot advertised, but it deals only with medical issues like EKGs and such. None of any of that is important now

I want to try and clarify that(I'm blurry-eyed from algebra).

I mean that I have found no software that is holisticly based.

I would describe nursing and medicine as being like two parallel lines on a graph.

They will not meet, but they are part of the same equation. One does not equal the other, but they are headed along eachother's coordinates for an infinite number of those parallels.

You can't make nursing software that is holistic. Even a computer program needs an intersect.

Does anybody understand that?

or is it just the parabolas talking

:uhoh3:

Freshman RN · Feb 4, 2003

True, not all software is hollistically(sp?) based however the first semester you are really learning by rote. S/Sx of infection, Kreb cycle, heart sounds etc...

Peeps Mcarthur · Feb 4, 2003

From Freshmanrn

S/Sx of infection, Kreb cycle, heart sounds etc...

That was vaguely present in my program, but we were rarely ever asked about it. Our instructors were more interested in how the pt reacted to it socialy and psychologicly. It was practicly worthless to spend time memorizing anything but Erikson's developmental theories.

Freshmanrn, know how blessed you are to be in a program that teaches science along with the psychosocial stuff, and not just throwing it into the studyguide as an obligatory gesture.

That is excellent.

Freshman RN · Feb 5, 2003

Goes to show that you really need to find out what they expect in a program. Ours was all kinds of nutrition, diets, positioning, legal issues, HMo's, DSR, etc... This semester is IV's and OR.

P_RN, ADN, RN · Feb 5, 2003

You know the thing about "new words" being defined when they are used......I always took great delight in already KNOWING the word.......felt like I was at least one step ahead......