How did you pass Med-Surg?

AspiringNurseMW · May 17, 2016

Khan Academy videos on YouTube were GREAT for pathophysiology of diseases. Mike Linares also has some helpful videos.

I never really used nclex review books, but I did use alot of question and answer NCLEX books, especially right before tests.

As far as what topics it might depend on your specific curriculum but we covered upper respiratory infections, chronic respiratory infections (COPD/Cystic Fibrosis), asthma, allergies and DIABETES among other thing. Diabetes was huge for us.

cmj806 · May 17, 2016

go to NRSNG Academy. They have a free med surg course you can sign up for and lots of downloadable cheat sheets. a resource I used a lot in med surg 1 and 2.

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · May 17, 2016

At this stage in your learning, I don't think you'll find the NCLEX prep questions will "make sense" right now. They're more helpful as you get towards the end of your training & experience.

NRSNG Academy is a great resource, so you might find that one more helpful than Saunders NCLEX prep.

The main thing you need to review for Med-Surg is your physiology & pathophysiology. Know the cardiac, respiratory, GI system, endocrine system, etc., backwards & forwards. That will go a long way to understanding disease process and how it affects your patients.

Good luck

akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P · May 17, 2016

For very early on nursing students, I really think that doing NCLEX review will not likely be very helpful at all. The reason for this is actually fairly simple in that very early on in nursing school, students really don't have enough knowledge/information to be able to effectively do NCLEX review. The NCLEX review books will probably end up going further into pathophysiology and the like than students are ready for. I'm not saying that doing NCLEX â€“ style questions are not appropriate at this stage, rather simply that doing NCLEX review is not appropriate.

To that end, I think that doing NCLEX â€“ style questions will absolutely be helpful in getting nursing students thinking along various ways to decipher an NCLEX question.

What did I do to pass Med/Surg? The answer is actually very simple. I read everything, for the most part anyway. I made sure that I had at least a basic understanding of the topics that were covered in class along the way and made sure that I read ahead, consistently stayed ahead of the reading assignments, reviewed the readings prior to class, and reviewed the material prior to an exam or a quiz. This way I was as up-to-date as I could be on the material.

From the clinical aspect of things, I consistently viewed and reviewed the procedures videos that school had assigned for us to go over, also I supplemented that with procedures videos from other sources, keeping in mind that my program wanted us to do certain procedures in specific matters, knowing that we would be absolutely safe by doing it in a particular way as they had prescribed. They knew all too well that when we became working nurses that we would take shortcuts or use methods that were perhaps faster but not necessarily safer than what we were taught, but they also knew that we could always default back to what they taught us.

pmabraham, BSN, RN · May 17, 2016

Lippincott's Q&A for the NCLEX RN in addition to the Davis Q&A for MedSurg were part of my tool chest for medsurg.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · May 17, 2016

I always suggest the blueprint in studying using the nursing process...

Think about it-depending on the subject and the condition, there's specifics related to each of them; paring each subject using the nursing practice helps you understand what to assess, what nursing diagnoses are important to the condition, the appropriate interventions needed, study the rationales for said interventions, and learn what measurable aspects can be evaluated.

I also suggest the Med-Surg Davis book as a good resource-I used "The Success Series" for each subject throughout nursing school and it was successful for me. :yes:

Net, RN · May 18, 2016

I just finished med/surg I. I will say it is a very tough class, however, it is possible to be successful. I purchased the med/surg success book and a nclex review book (lippincott). I also devoted 8 hrs/day or more to the material (especially if a exam was the following week). Although you have other classes, this may be the toughest. I did not move on from a subject until I was able to explain what was going on w/ that particular system. Be sure to read the patho section before the material! You must know that the SA node is the natural pacemaker to know why a person is having sinus tachy or bradycardia, and to know where the problem is occurring. You also need to know anatomy to know why a person w/ left sided heart failure will have pulmonary issues...or why right sided heart failure causes generalized edema. If your school offers tutoring to you, utilize it! Most of all, don't forget what "YOU" as the nurse would do.

SWimbish, BSN, RN · May 18, 2016

UWORLD