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Discussion

Lab Values HELP!!!!!!!!

im a med surg 2 student and i need on a way to remember lab values for my final tomorrow... anything will help.

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    This mnemonic I found on the web,K+ 3.5 – 5

    Ca+ 4.5.- 5 ionized

    Ca+ 8.5-10.2

    Mg 1.5-2.5

    Phos 1.8-2.6

    Na+ 135-145

    Cl 95-105

    Crt .5-1.2

    BUN 10-20

    PTT 60-70 or 1 ½ times higher if on Heparin

    PT 11.0 – 12.5 or 2.o -3.5 times higher if on coumadin

    INR 2.0-3.5 for coumadin

    WBC 5-10

    RBC 5

    HCT 40

    Hgb 15

    pH 7.35-7.45 (40)

    co2 35-35

    . For me I’m going to remember:

    On vacation I -

    Ate 4 bananas with 5 glasses of milk, read 2 magazines about 2 fossils.

    Spent $140 on Napkins and a $100 on Clear heals.

    Did 15 BUN exercises and drank 1 Creatine shake .

    Met, 3 Idiots , 11 Pets and 65 Hunks.

    Translation......

    Ate 4 bananas (K+ found in bananas) with 5 glasses of milk (ca+ found in milk), read 2 magazines (magnesium) about 2 fossils (phosphorus).

    Spent $140 on Napkins (Na+)and a $100 on Clear heals. (Cl)

    Did 15 BUN exercises and drank 1 Creatine shake (Creatinine) .

    Met, 3 Idiots (I for INR),

    11 Pets ( P is for PT) and 65 Hunks. (H is for heparin’s PTT). PTT…Heparin look at the 2 TT connect them & you have an H…..Heparin

    Also PTT is ~30-45 secs…~2x’s more than PT.

    Then the other (PT) has to be Coumadin ~11-15 secs

    another helpful wab site

    Learn: Kaplan Lab Values (by star93064) - Memorize.com - Remember and Understand

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    This is a great way to remember the values.. and you can modify it to fit your way of learning

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    Make up your own mneumonic. Similar to the one above, but it will be more memorable for you if you create it yourself. It'll be more meaningful. Flashcards could help. Also, you could simply practice looking at lab values. For instance, we know that sodium is 135-145. Write out random numbers and determine if they are low/high/normal. For instance: 132,147,135,138,142,145,137,134,131,148,146. Do this for each lab. You'll get practice this way. Or, have a study buddy do this. Aside from memorization, the only way I got to know numbers was exposure over and over. Practicing looking at labs in charts that is. Good luck!

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    Flashcards are a great way to remember lab values. You can take them with you anywhere, and pull them out when you have a spare minute and review.

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    Make up your own mneumonic. Similar to the one above, but it will be more memorable for you if you create it yourself. It'll be more meaningful. Flashcards could help. Also, you could simply practice looking at lab values. For instance, we know that sodium is 135-145. Write out random numbers and determine if they are low/high/normal. For instance: 132,147,135,138,142,145,137,134,131,148,146. Do this for each lab. You'll get practice this way. Or, have a study buddy do this. Aside from memorization, the only way I got to know numbers was exposure over and over. Practicing looking at labs in charts that is. Good luck!

    That's how I learned them too, by looking at them in charts and determining (without looking at what the chart says) if they are high, low, or normal on your own.

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    Thanks for the tips..

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