Most important thing to take away from Pathophysiology?

[Kinda Flustered]

What do you guys think is the most important thing to take away from Patho? I am asking because I worry that I am paying too much attention to tiny details and not enough on the big picture.

My professor focuses on signs and symptoms in her notes, then I add my own notes from the book that focus on the "why" behind the signs and symptoms. Am I concentrating on the wrong thing?

[joseyjo]

Knowing the "why" is the most important thing in nursing (imo) :)

[Kinda Flustered]

That makes sense, because then you have an idea of where the disease will likely be headed, right?

[joseyjo]

Yep, and it is MUCH easier to answer critical thinking questions when you know why something happens.

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

Knowing signs and symptoms is good... knowing the why behind the signs and symptoms is better. As you begin to understand how the body responds to things, you should be able to begin to anticipate the S/Sx that occur in a given disease state. Knowing those responses also lets you have a better understanding of what you need to do to correct the issue and which medications you'll need to have on hand to accomplish "it." Doing that kind of study also allows you to get a deeper understanding of pharmacology too...

[Larry2016]

What do you guys think is the most important thing to take away from Patho? I am asking because I worry that I am paying too much attention to tiny details and not enough on the big picture.

My professor focuses on signs and symptoms in her notes, then I add my own notes from the book that focus on the "why" behind the signs and symptoms. Am I concentrating on the wrong thing?

As long as your "why" is not superficial.

Example: Why is hypertension secondary to diabetes?

My ICU instructor explained this general concept to me: if you can understand what happens in pathology at the cellular level, you can basically explain any disease process. Pay attention to what happens at the cellular level.

To answer the example question: hypertension is secondary to diabetes because diabetes is an endocrine disorder where 1) not enough insulin is produced by the pancreatic beta cells or 2) the insulin that is produced may not be effectively used by the cells. If insulin is not produced, or if insulin that is not produced is not effectively used by cells, glucose cannot enter the cells and remains on the hemoglobin of red blood cells. Too much accumulation of glucose in the blood cells causes an increase in blood viscosity, and an increase of glucose in the blood requires the heart to work harder, which then leads to hypertension.

An example of a superficial answer would be: because people don't eat right.