HELP in medsurg!

[Teddybear11]

hii. to keep a long story short ... i didn't do too well on my first med-surg test. i studied my butt off for this test and i didn't do well! someone please help, i have to do well on my next test which is in three weeks! advices, tips, anything will be helpful! message me privately or anything ... i really need the help especially from those who recovered from this nightmare haha. thanks guys!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

part of studying med/surg is learning about many different diseases. that includes learning the pathophysiology, signs/symptoms, usual tests ordered, and medical treatment for a medical disease or condition. this includes knowing about any medical procedures that will need to be performed on the patient, their expected consequences during the healing phase, and potential complications. surgery is a treatment for a disease or condition.

click on the link at the bottom of this post, the critical thinking flow sheet for nursing students, and print it out. use this to help you learn all the elements you need to know about each medical disease/condition you will be studying in your course. to determine priority of treatments and interventions consider the sequence of the appearance of symptoms and/or maslow's hierarchy of needs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs)

[intuition]

I have to tell you that I have just really started to implement Daytonite's critical pathway sheet in med/surg,:heartbeat I can't tell you how much this has helped. Well, actually I can. Before using her sheet, I scored a 68 on my 1st med/surg exam. After using her sheet to study, I scored a 96.

I was really confused on how to study for med/surg and how to make the transition from memorization to application. With Day's sheet, it helps you UNDERSTAND the disease and not just memorizing it. I feel that is the key to success in med/surg.

I make sure I write out the patho behind the disease, the pharm or meds they use for the disease, and the nursing interventions.

I hope this helps, trust me I was just in the same boat as you, but I have started to get out of that boat. Good Luck!

p.s. thank you so much Daytonite for all you do on this board.

[missjennmb]

Just a tip. Don't "study for tests". The rule of thumb is that you will remember up to 70% of your material every time you see it. (I didnt make that up, it was in my pre-entrance test study guide) With that in mind, I always try to see the material multiple times from day one, so that I truly UNDERSTAND it, and not just memorize it last minute. I also find it counterproductive to do huge study sessions, because I find I recall more information if I do it in small chunks over a longer period of time.

Good luck with your next test!