med-surg questions...

[RFA158]

I have been an RN for 3 years, working full-time in community health in CA. Am returning to the hospital (med-surg) full-time, as I am obtaining my MSN in nursing education. I am a bit nervous about the switch, but wanted to do it, as I felt I was losing clinical skills. A few questions:

1) What should I purchase in terms of supplies? Of course, already being an RN, I already have a stethoscope, scrubs, etc.

2) Also...any suggestions of any books I should consider to be invaluable?

I read the advice on another thread in terms of what everyone suggested for surviving med-surg....loved it! I just had a few more questions. Thanks in advance!

[NursingAgainstdaOdds]

Hemostat, bandage scissors, and calipers if you're working tele. I wouldn't survive my shift without those three things!

[NurseCard, ADN]

Scissors, a roll of tape at all times, plenty of black ink pens =)... a clipboard if you are working general med/surge. A penlight, maybe. An up-to-date drug reference book. (though your unit may most likely supply several)

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

i think you'll quickly learn what physical objects you'll need on the job to help you organize. when i was recently hospitalized i noticed that all the rns carried their own 3-ring binders. in them they had the computer generated kardex for each of their patients plus other personal information they wanted. some had copies of specific facility policies or procedures. one nurse had a conversion table in hers. another had a drug compatibility chart she had gotten somewhere.

i worked med/surg for many, many years. these are books i had at home for reference and replaced periodically:

• taber's cyclopedic medical dictionary
  
• fluid & electrolyte balance: nursing considerations by norma m. metheny
  
• mosby's diagnostic and laboratory test reference
  
• nursing care plans and documentation: nursing diagnosis and collaborative problems by lynda jewell carpenito
  
• pathophysiology: the biologic basis for disease in adults and children, third edition, by kathryn l. mccance and sue e. heuther. currently in it's 5th edition of publication.
  
• the current edition of mosby's nursing drug reference

when i first started out working i was constantly looking up information about some of the diseases the patient's were having. a good pathophysiology book is helpful, i think. the lab reference is also helpful too because the docs are always ordering a test you won't know about. understanding the underlying pathophysiology leads to an understanding of the manifested symptoms the patient has. the symptoms are what the doctor's (and nurses) treatments are aimed at.

a couple of books i've picked up recently that i like a lot are:

• nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: diseases from lippincott williams & wilkins.
  
• nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: treatments from lippincott williams & wilkins.
  
• nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: procedures from lippincott williams & wilkins.
  
• portable rn: the all-in-one nursing reference, third edition, published by lippicott, williams & wilkins, 2007
  
• saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri

here is my list of general medical weblinks that i also use for finding online if i can't find it in any of my books (and i have a lot more books than i've listed above):

• medline plus (use the search box) http://www.medlineplus.gov/
  
• family practice notebook (use search box) http://www.fpnotebook.com/index.htm
  
• emedicine http://www.emedicine.com/ (you may have to register to view articles, but registration is free)
  
• medem http://www.medem.com/medlb/medlib_entry.cfm?sid=103af635-c640-11d4-8c0100508bf1c1f1&site_name=medem
  
• medicine net diseases & conditions a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
  
• medicine net symptoms & signs a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/symptoms_and_signs/article.htm
  
• medicine net procedures & tests a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/procedures_and_tests/article.htm
  
• medicine net diseases & conditions a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
  
  
• web md index list of tests http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/medical_tests.htm
  
• web md index list of medical conditions http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_topics.htm
  
• web md index list of symptoms http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_symptoms.htm
  
  
• the mayo clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/
  
• encyclopedia of surgery http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/index.html
  
• lab tests online http://www.labtestsonline.org/
  
• national institutes of health http://www.nih.gov/
  • the various institutes and links to them: http://www.nih.gov/icd/ - lot of disease information in the various institute sites, particularly on diabetes and heart diseases

  [*]national library of medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html

  [*]merck manual of diagnosis and therapy (use search box) http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/sections.jsp

  [*]merck manual of medical information http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html

  [*]merck manual of geriatrics http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmg/contents.jsp

  [*]world health organization (for information on tropical diseases) http://www.who.int/topics/en/

[petgroomer]

Wow Daytonite, yours is a very complete list of reference materials. I just send it to my Onenote to keep it handy.

I live in Canada, and I'm getting ready to take the CRNE in October. Right now I'm using the Silvestri for a theoretical brush up. I have several years worth of university studies but mostly in Spanish, so my brain is having a good work out.

I just purchased the "Portable RN" and was looking for reviews of it. I haven't found any reviews; however, you refer to it several times: so I imagine it's a tumbs up book :)

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

petgroomer. . .this is an old thread. this list was updated, expanded and has since been made into a sticky thread. you can see the much longer list on the nursing student assistance forum here:

• https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/medical-disease-information-258109.html - medical disease information/treatment/procedures/test reference websites
  

portable rn is only one of the books i use as a reference when answering questions for students. i actually have many others that get used much more often. the sylvestri book is a good review.

[MedSurgLPN2005, LPN]

Lots of pockets!!!!

[petgroomer]

petgroomer. . .this is an old thread. this list was updated, expanded and has since been made into a sticky thread. you can see the much longer list on the nursing student assistance forum here:

• https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/medical-disease-information-258109.html - medical disease information/treatment/procedures/test reference websites
  

portable rn is only one of the books i use as a reference when answering questions for students. i actually have many others that get used much more often. the sylvestri book is a good review.

i've had the portable rn for a few months now, i find it good for "on the go sharping" (i'm taking crne in two months so i appreciate being able to study while commuting . on the other hand, the sylvestri book is a lifesaver. i graduated a few years ago and gave away most of my notes (good girl:saint:) and thanks to this book i feel i'm not missing much but gaining a lot.

btw, for the psychosocial aspects for crne i'm reading other books; however, i review core nursing knowledge not for a particular test but for my patients.

[MedSurgeMess]

i think you'll quickly learn what physical objects you'll need on the job to help you organize. when i was recently hospitalized i noticed that all the rns carried their own 3-ring binders. in them they had the computer generated kardex for each of their patients plus other personal information they wanted. some had copies of specific facility policies or procedures. one nurse had a conversion table in hers. another had a drug compatibility chart she had gotten somewhere.

i worked med/surg for many, many years. these are books i had at home for reference and replaced periodically:

• taber's cyclopedic medical dictionary
  
• fluid & electrolyte balance: nursing considerations by norma m. metheny
  
• mosby's diagnostic and laboratory test reference
  
• nursing care plans and documentation: nursing diagnosis and collaborative problems by lynda jewell carpenito
  
• pathophysiology: the biologic basis for disease in adults and children, third edition, by kathryn l. mccance and sue e. heuther. currently in it's 5th edition of publication.
  
• the current edition of mosby's nursing drug reference
  

when i first started out working i was constantly looking up information about some of the diseases the patient's were having. a good pathophysiology book is helpful, i think. the lab reference is also helpful too because the docs are always ordering a test you won't know about. understanding the underlying pathophysiology leads to an understanding of the manifested symptoms the patient has. the symptoms are what the doctor's (and nurses) treatments are aimed at.

a couple of books i've picked up recently that i like a lot are:

• nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: diseases from lippincott williams & wilkins.
  
• nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: treatments from lippincott williams & wilkins.
  
• nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: procedures from lippincott williams & wilkins.
  
• portable rn: the all-in-one nursing reference, third edition, published by lippicott, williams & wilkins, 2007
  
• saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri
  

here is my list of general medical weblinks that i also use for finding online if i can't find it in any of my books (and i have a lot more books than i've listed above):

• medline plus (use the search box) http://www.medlineplus.gov/
  
• family practice notebook (use search box) http://www.fpnotebook.com/index.htm
  
• emedicine http://www.emedicine.com/ (you may have to register to view articles, but registration is free)
  
• medem http://www.medem.com/medlb/medlib_entry.cfm?sid=103af635-c640-11d4-8c0100508bf1c1f1&site_name=medem
  
• medicine net diseases & conditions a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
  
• medicine net symptoms & signs a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/symptoms_and_signs/article.htm
  
• medicine net procedures & tests a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/procedures_and_tests/article.htm
  
• medicine net diseases & conditions a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
  
  
• web md index list of tests http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/medical_tests.htm
  
• web md index list of medical conditions http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_topics.htm
  
• web md index list of symptoms http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_symptoms.htm
  
  
• the mayo clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/
  
• encyclopedia of surgery http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/index.html
  
• lab tests online http://www.labtestsonline.org/
  
• national institutes of health http://www.nih.gov/
  
  • the various institutes and links to them: http://www.nih.gov/icd/ - lot of disease information in the various institute sites, particularly on diabetes and heart diseases
    

  [*]national library of medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nlmhome.html

  [*]merck manual of diagnosis and therapy (use search box) http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/sections.jsp

  [*]merck manual of medical information http://www.merck.com/mmhe/index.html

  [*]merck manual of geriatrics http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmg/contents.jsp

  [*]world health organization (for information on tropical diseases) http://www.who.int/topics/en/

you may want to consider a smartphone/pda to download these onto....i can't survive without mine, although others say they hardly use them....

[orangepink, NP]

I downloaded this software from Skyscape into my blackberry 8900. It helped a lot!

Skyscape All in One Nursing Constellation