Published
I wouldn't worry too much about medical terminology because you'll be able to look up terms you're not familiar with in the Tabers. Microbiology...hmmm. I would say don't pay too much attention to that either because there's a whole chapter in the nursing textbook on infection control and its all very basic micro.
All the other subjects you mentioned will come up again and again. Basic psychology will come up again in growth and development. At each stage of the program, you will be expected to know what behaviors to anticipate from specific groups of people during nursing assessments and interventions, and when you do the psych course you'll get into it at a more advanced level. You'll need very basic algebra skills when you get to medication administration because you'll be expected to correctly calculate dosages of the medications you're going to give. Basic A&P you'll need for the preliminary chapters on cardio/respiratory, digestion, elimination, etc. The real A&P doesn't actually hit until you get into the med-surg courses, and at that point its going to be more about pathophysiology than about the names of bones and muscles.
I would say that chemistry is the biggest one. Fluids and lytes and acid-base imbalances are probably the topics that come up the most. But, for the first nursing course, you're going to focus more on nursing processes than on anything else. The bulk of that first course is on very basic things like safety, infection control, bedmaking, hygiene, mobility, comfort, and the like.
I would suggest you look at the text book you are going to be using. You can look at the book and see what the focus of the book is. We used two different books for my Fundamentals classes and one was very pathophysiology oriented the other was very how to take care of patient oriented, so it was very well rounded that way. If you have already had an A&P class then I have found that the knowledge that I got in that class carried me through nicely. You can overstudy and then you have your head so full of the stuff you studied and if it is not what you need you can get very frustrated. I just finished second semester and have had B's all the way so I am not doing to bad
Rhonda
I agree A&P is very important for FON. You need to know how the body systems function and interact with each other. Some of the more obscure details weren't as important.
For example, you need to know how the blood circulates thru the heart and lungs to understand why left-sided heart failure causes fluid build-up in the lungs, while right-sided heart failure causes distended jugular veins and pedal edema.
But no one ever asked me to locate the glenoid cavity or if the anterior cerebello-spinal tract was ascending or desending.
Good luck!
NewEnglandRN, RN
486 Posts
Heading says it all:
What knowlege did you use the most during Foundations of Nursing 1?
Math skills?
A&P skills?
Chemistry?
Psychology?
Microbiology?
Medical Terminology?
I want to review this summer before I start FON 1.
Thanks!:)