Med q's you have never heard of..

[Justme123]

I was just wondering how other's approach those questions for medications that only give the med with side effects you would expect with no scenerio. They were on HESI and I've heard other's talking about them on NCLEX, so I got to wondering how other's approach those questions. I hate just guessing, but what else can you do when you have no idea with no clues in the med's name like, lol??

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

You have to extrapolate to meds you know that have those side effects. For example, if someone's blood sugar was higher since being on medication X, one might think, "steroid."

[April, RN, BSN, RN]

Justme123,

For side effect questions, I knew that many medications cause side effects such as GI effects (nausea, diarrhea, constipation), orthostatic hypotension, or drowsiness. When I got questions about meds that I had no idea about when studying and while taking the NCLEX, I would look for those answers first. Sometimes all you can do is guess and hope for the best! :uhoh21: Good luck!

[coachlvr]

read the question... identify symptoms, or the patient's situation. then eliminate all drugs or choices that are medically similar. the oddball always wins!

i used this kaplan strategy when i took my NCLEX, I had alot of meds I had no idea what to think of it... but using the strategies paid off. Yes, I passed, after all 265 questions! lol.

[ORNURSETOBE]

JUSTME123,

Here is what I posted about meds in another thread. Hope it is helpful to your.

One suggestion about the meds. I only knew certain meds not all meds because it is too many to memorize. The meds from your final semester should still be fresh. Review those and make sure that you know those. Cardiac, Endocrine, Renal, Respiratory.

When taking the NCLEX, read the drug name and see if you can identify which system it came from (ex. Endocrine... Levothyroxine). Determine what the question is asking about that drug (ex. teaching about Levothyroxine). Read your answers and remember what that drug does to the client. Sometimes if you can't figure out which answer is correct, look at your four choices and see which answer is going to be the most dangerous for the client (ex. a. nausea, b. vomiting, c. hypotension, and d. blurred vision). Another thing I picked up about medications from Kaplan. When they ask about common side effects, it is usually nausea, vomiting, headaches. Less common and more severe is bronchospasms, hypotension, tachycardia, bradycardia, respiratory depression. If see a choice like that most of the time it is the answer.

Good luck!!