HELP with med/surg

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Any input will help. I'm an LPN student and I am now in med/surg. Anyway I have been doing pretty well in my classes,untill now. What I really need are some tips on how any of you studied during med/surg. There seems to be so much info, I can't take it all in. I need a 73 or better to pass this course or I fail out. Talk about stress!

Thanks

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Specializes in NICU, High-Risk L&D, IBCLC.

What helped me more than anything in med/surg I and II was getting a NCLEX review book and pouring over the questions that related to the material that was presented in class. Med/surg is more about critical thinking than memorization so don't even try to study that way. The NCLEX review book will also get you used to answering questions using your critical thinking skills.

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Thanks for the input. Does anyone else have any tips?

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I made comparison charts for similar disease processes. Since many diseases have similar symptoms & interventions, I focused on what was different for each one. I'd list the diseases across the top, then down the side I'd have rows for S&S, diagnostic tests, patho, treatment, etc. (This also really helped for all the different rashes in Peds.)

I also took extensive notes in class, retyped them, and then read them into a cassette recorder & listened to it whenever I could. Repetition is key for me on the memorization stuff.

The NCLEX review books also a help as someone mentioned. Going over the rationales is especially beneficial. You can only memorize so much, but if you get the concepts, you can apply it in many situations. Another thing that helped was doing case studies. Even if I couldn't even begin to work them out, just reading the answers & rationales helped.

Lastly, one of my instructors suggested studying everything from the basis of a few questions: "What is normal? What is abormal? What will I do if its abnormal? Why will I do what I do?" It sounds very basic, but it helped to a certain degree.

I'm in Peds & OB for summer & will have Med Surg III and Psych in the fall and plan to keep with these formulas. Our program has a 78% cut-off to pass.

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Hi LPNin07,

All the suggestions you've received so far have been great, especially using the NCLEX review books as study guides. Unlike other students, I didn't study from personal notes much, and I did well in med/surg and advanced med/surg. I think what helped me the most (besides NCLEX review books) was going over case studies in study groups and quizzing each other on the case study. It helped us anticipate what we might be asked, practice recalling info on the spot, and prioritizing our care. Making compare and contrast charts on similar disease processes also helped.

Good luck! You can do it! :)

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Specializes in Neuro ICU, Neuro/Trauma stepdown.

i had a review book specific to med/surg and one for pharm. my pharm book was pretty concise, so i used the pharm book mainly for the questions, but the m/s review was pretty much what was in the m/s big book, only in outline format. the reading for med/surg is so overwhelming that i would mainly cover the info in the review book and then hit the big book just for clarification.

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A friend of mine used to tape herself reading the class notes over again into the recorder and play them in her car repeatedly.......Some used index cards.......My personal best way was...if you do ATI...I think lots of nursing programs use it now.....is I took the dvd & played it in the computer & used my recorder to tape the lecture from the ATI disc from the speaker on my computer as if I were taping a lecture & used my headphones to listen to it over & over..it really helped me immensley....

I also get Nursing made Incredibly easy magazines......

I also remembered the Congestive heart failure by this..a little tip a nursing instructor gave me........Left sided heart failure affects the lungs..(L for lungs, L for left) And Right sided failure affects the Rest of the body..(R for right , R for rest of the body) this just always stuck with me...and on the heart the points of where the valves were.....APETM ( aortic, pulmonic, erb's point, tricuspid, mitral, point of maximum impulse) ...it just was the two things that always stuck with me & I never forgot them. A really great book to get too..we were required to have it....Staight A's in Medical Surgical Nursing: A review series Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins People in my class swear by this book...I do too... I think like Borders Books or Barnes & Noble would have it.....excellent book & I hate reading.....Good Luck

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Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.

KelliNurse06 great tips on the heart! I always have to think about L vs R sided heart failure. I will remember this as I prepare for the NCLEX! I agree w/everyone else that Nclex books are great for M/S or any other class as well! I loved M/S and like someone else said know what is normal...what is not..and why you do what you do. For me I just read the material...really read it, then if I was confused I asked q's in class....or googled it until I understood. I found if I read..then paid attention in class...I usually got it. It is very important (or was for me) to read BEFORE class....I was prepared. It really got me when people came to class, and would ask black & white q's.....that that would have known the answers to if they would have just read. Good luck to you!;)

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If you get the basic principles and logic behind med surg it will take you far.

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Specializes in Home Health, Podiatry, Neurology, Case Mgmt.

Lots of good tips, i just passed my LPN med/surg I, i take m/s II next term. I did alot of flashcards, and re-read the disease i really couldn't identify right away. I bought the Med/Surg made incredibly easy and they way the material was delivered helped me understand my textbooks much better too!

Also what helped me was using little sayings as well...for instance...Blue Bloter = Chronic Bronchitis C and B i woudl say stood forr Color Blue....things like that...we would just make up little sayings and stuff woudl stick...hope that helps...good luck

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Awsome tips. Thank you. I will definatly remember the left and right sided heart failure tip. At first I was worried about the class, but with a little input from all you guys and getting a study guide book, I feel more confident. I walked into class today and it all seemed to click. I guess I was worried b/c all the other classes I had so far came easier to me. Anyway we'll see what happens tomorrow when I have my next exam. I'll keep everyone posted on the results

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