Need advice on Medsurge Semester PLEASE!!!

[Nurse2Bforever]

Hello all. I posted my first thread a couple weeks ago, and I was so pleased with the quick and thoughtful responses that I got from several people. So thank you! I really appreciate people responding to my threads.

I'm in the MedSurge semester of the BSN program. We are using Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, 11th Edition. We already had our first test on fluids & electrolytes, which was very tough. Our next test is on cardiovascular system/diseases. The test is on about 300 pages of the book.

So what my question is: How can I study for this EFFECTIVELY? I'm not asking whether I should use notecards, or type up my paper again and again, or take NCLEX book questions. But rather, how do I recognize important information in the chapter? I want to know what sections I should pick out and concentrate on.

For every heart disease in the book, there's sections on pathology, symptoms, risk, medical and nursing management. I don't think most of the information on pathology and symptoms will be on the test, because we've already been tested on that information on pathophysiology. Is that assumption logical?

Any advice is appreciated. I'm study atleast 8 hours a day, and NOT procrasting. But I want to make sure I'm studying effectively. There's nothing worse than wasted time.

[NursingJenn]

#1 - NEVER assume! I does seem logical that since you were already tested on the s/s and patho that they would focus on other aspects to ensure you get full coverage of all material, but that is not always the case. I would def review the s/s and patho, then go on to interactions with other diseases, if you have covered some meds they should def be studied, then teaching and risks. All programs are set up differently, but they all have a common goal so just keep that in mind and weigh topics yourself to see what you feel is the most important as well.

[NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN]

I'm also in need of the same advice. I start medsurg 2 next week and I'm trying to think of a consistent study pattern that is effective.

For each of the diseases listed in our syllabus I think I just may make a chart that lists the etiology, patho, s/s, medical treatment, and nursing interventions.

Maybe this will help....

[lemonaidangel]

I am done with all my med surg classes, and we used Brunner's as well. I will tell you that while there were no straight up pathophysiology questions, you did have to have a good understanding about the patho in order to answer some of them logically. My teacher tended to focus on the signs and symptoms you would expect to see, possible complications, and nursing interventions. I relied heavily on my Saunders NCLEX book to review before tests, and that helped tremendously because it really cemented in my brain the appropriate nursing interventions for each disorder.