Med surg help

oceanblue52 · Dec 4, 2016

Really knowing your A&P and how the various systems connect with each other will help immensely with critical thinking, even if you are unfamiliar with the specifics on a test question. If you really want to be gung ho, start studying some of the signs and symptoms of the more common disease processes and the more common interventions to watch for. Do you have an NCLEX book like Saunders? Start doing some review questions. Med-Surg is hard but not impossible. Study a little each day and figure out your learning style that helps make things stick. I found recopying a condensed version of my teachers powerpoints really helped me along with Saunders review. Good luck!

CashewRN · Dec 4, 2016

Your pre-reqs are really just the study of a normal healthy body, where medsurg is the study of how disease causes a body to not be healthy. If you have a very firm grasp on your A&P and your other classes, you'all have considerably less issues with medsurg.

So, I suggest shoring up any topics where you fall short in A&P, Pharm and Micro.

2BRN17 · Dec 4, 2016

Really know your Pathophysiology. If you know how a disease process works you will understand the clinical manifestations and why you would be giving the med. I also recommend that you get the Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN examination book. The book is green. It breaks down med surg, peds, maternity, critical care...etc. Don't be afraid of med surg. You will be fine!

UnicornMagic · Dec 5, 2016

I would suggest getting very familiar with fluid and electrolytes. Learn the normal ranges, and what happens when you are above and below those ranges. Also, make sure you have a very good understanding of the heart. In my program, level 2 had a big focus on cardiac, which was pretty tough.

AliNajaCat · Dec 5, 2016

I used to tell students that the cardiac and pulmonary systems were the absolute bomb, because no matter what was the matter with your patients, if they didn't have hearts or lungs they were dead and we didn't have to worry about them any more.

Get a good handle on cardiovascular physiology and pulmonary physiology, and how they work together, and you will be in a very good position to integrate fluids and lytes, renal, GI, neuro, and endocrine into your knowledge base.

Remember: no heart, no lungs, no problem.

SweetPotatoes · Dec 5, 2016

know normal lab values for each system!

la_chica_suerte85, BSN, RN · Dec 6, 2016

Get super comfy with your major chronic conditions. COPD, CHF, diabetes (and it's accompanying fun friend chronic kidney disease), and stroke (so, so many strokes; know your left side and right side symptom manifestations/sequelae) are your big players in the medical part. Surgery is a little different but amputations caused by complications of diabetes are a good place to start, as are hip fractures and knee replacements.