med-surg

Nursing Students General Students

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Just took my second med-surg test and failed both. I have done really good til now, i really need help how to study for med-surg. Thanx in advanced.

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Specializes in Rehab, Ortho-Spine, Med-Surg, & Psych.

Hello!

There is really an art to answering those questions. Knowing the content and what the diseases are... is not enough to pass the exams. Nursing students need to learn how to think critically. That is... once you know the "what is", you need to know "why" something is happening and "what" should the nurse do given a certain situation.

Practicing NCLEX type questions after studying the material will help you expand on how to think and connect loose dots. There are several books that help you develop this skill by giving you tools on how to approach the questions. I would ask your professor or librarian for suggestions. In my case, I use Kaplan's "NCLEX-RN Strategies for the Registered Nursing Licensing Exam" book... but there are other companies that prepare the same type of books. Go with the company your school uses for testing. My school uses Kaplan University's materials, so I stick to Kaplan products.

The key to success is practicing those NCLEX type questions :bookworm:, over and over.

Hope this helps! :up:

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Specializes in Med/Surg & Hospice & Dialysis.

I found the book Exam Cram super helpful. It breaks the systems down. Then each chapter has questions about that system. I also think there was a couple of NCLEX type tests in there, too.

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Thanx. I think that is my problem only learning the "what is" and trying to memorize everything and it is stressing me out. I just need a diiferent study style I guess... I just got the Saunders NCLEX and has really helped. I just get all the s/s and interventions mixed up.

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I think I will clllok into the exam cram book also.

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*look

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Specializes in Rehab, Ortho-Spine, Med-Surg, & Psych.

If you are having problems with the "what is"... I would recommend the MAry Ann Hogan "Reviews & Rationales" series. They are the bomb! It simplifies all concepts and gets rid of the fluff many textbooks have. They also come with NCLEX type questions on every chapter. You can buy the catch-all NCLEX-RN review or buy books by topic. If you look them up at Amazon.com, you'll find the entire series.

Good luck!

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Thanks a lot! I will try this book, we will see how this goes #stressd #depressed #lost #fear of change

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