Med/Surg Study Help!!!

you are just not going to find any websites that give a lot of straight out nursing information. i know, i've looked. occasionally, i run into a page that an instructor has posted that somehow got left on the internet, but as the years go on they tend to disappear and get pulled off. i have files of these things organized by subject. when i'm surfing and find something that i think might be of interest to a student i will copy the web address and file it.

i use a number of books for reference when i am answering questions in the nursing student forums. one book that i think will be extremely helpful for you is: saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri. it has a section on surgical nursing. another book i recently purchased that is newly published that may be a good help for students is nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: diseases from lippincott williams & wilkins. it has over 400 diseases listed in it including some psych and ob. each disease is given 2 pages so when you open the book the pages are in front of you to the left and right (somebody designed the layout of the book very nicely). the information on every disease is organized as follows:

• overview
  • pathophysiology
    
  • causes
    
  • incidence
    
  • complications

  [*]assessment

  • history
    
  • physical findings

  [*]diagnostic test results

  • general
    
  • laboratory
    
  • imaging
    
  • other

  [*]treatment

  • general
    
  • diet
    
  • activity
    
  • medications
    
  • surgery

  [*]nursing considerations

  • nursing diagnoses
    
  • expected outcomes
    
  • nursing interventions
    
  • monitoring

  [*]patient teaching

  • general
    
  • discharge planning
    
  • resources
    • organizations

in some cases various areas have been expanded upon because the particular disease just requires it. there are some drawings in it. basically, it's quick and concise. i like this book. cost: $34.95. lippincott is planning on releasing 3 other books in this series this year: diagnostic tests, procedures and treatments.

another book i use a lot as a reference is also from lippincott, william and wilkins: pathophysiology: a 2-in-1 reference for nurses. it, too, is one in a series. the other titles in the 2-in-1 series are: assessment, pharmacology and signs & symptoms. now, this book is organized by body systems and is strictly med/surg oriented. there are no psych or ob conditions listed in it. for each disease you are given an overview, causes, the pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, complications, how the medical diagnosis is made, medical treatment and nursing considerations. cost: $44.95. it has, i believe, one of the better explanations of the pathophysiology of heart failure and copd. but, that is just my opinion. it also includes drawings and has two sections with color plates.

a website that is similar to the nurse's 5-minute clinical consult: diseases, but does not have any nursing considerations (mainly because it is for physicians) is family practice notebook at http://www.fpnotebook.com/index.htm. use the search box to type in a disease you are looking for. this site presents you with most of the above information arranged concisely in an outline form with links to go to other pages for more information about a specific symptom or test. i often post it for students to get information about the medical treatment of diseases. another website where you can get up to date information on the medical treatment of diseases, including the pathophysiology is on emedicine (http://www.emedicine.com/), but i have to warn you that these articles are written for doctors so they can be a bit difficult to understand at times, but do try to muddle through them because there is a great deal of valuable information there.

other sites i've sent students to in order to find information are consumer websites. they are easy to read and give you the bare bones essentials:

• medline plus (use the search box) http://www.medlineplus.gov/
  
• the mayo clinic http://www.mayoclinic.com/
  
  
• health a to z - diseases and conditions page (use the search box) http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requesturi=/healthatoz/atoz/dc/index.jsp
  
• aetna intelihealth (use the search box) http://www.intelihealth.com/ih/ihtih/wsihw000/408/408.html
  
• emedicinehealth first aid and consumer health information list of topics from a to z http://www.emedicinehealth.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=60185
  
• web md index list of medical conditions http://www.webmd.com/a_to_z_guide/health_topics.htm
  
• medicine net diseases & conditions a to z index http://www.medicinenet.com/diseases_and_conditions/article.htm
  
• merck manual of diagnosis and therapy (use search box) http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/sections.jsp
  
• encyclopedia of surgery http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/index.html
  
• finding answers to your questions about surgery http://surglinks.com/index.html

if you're in summer break, take the time to explore these sites and become familiar with them. some have more than just information about diseases. i always think they have been posted on one of the sticky threads in the student forums, but i can never find it, so i always end up posting them into individual posts! many i found on a now defunct lpn school website on a helpful links page. if you are ever stuck with something, post a message on one of the nursing student forums or pm me.

good luck with med/surg!