Pathophysiology, A & P, Microbiology, Fluid & Electrolyte Resources

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Here are the Patho guides that I promised to put up awhile ago. Just right click on the link, and "save as." These were tailored to how my instructor taught the class, and what we were expected to know. They are a combo of lecture notes, notes from my book and additional info & graphics to help understand...I focused on these for the tests and got a high A in the class.

Good luck, and hope these help someone!

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I'm only 2 weeks into my last year of nursing school and I'm already ready to pull my hair out ~ what I haven't already lost from stress anyway :) j/k Anyhow.....my test on fluids & electrolytes is coming up and I just can't figure out a way to remember everything. I keep getting stuck on certain parts and I feel a little dumb today :) Any advice on how to study for this or any helpful websites, tools, etc. would really make my day! BTW ~ I've been at clinicals since 5am this morning and I feel a little bit like a zombie! :trout:

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Make charts or lists to help explain this information and clarify this information for you.

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I agree with Daytonight, making a chart helps so much! Another thing to remember is think of the actual physiology going on when you have an imbalance rather than just memorizing symptoms of each. If you just memorize your sure to forget but if you know what they do in for your body you can figure out most of the signs and symptoms and causes.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

Have attached some of my lecture notes from F & E. Hope this helps ?

F & E Part I.doc

Answers to Study Guide for F & E.doc

F & E Part 2.doc

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

Have also attached some of my lecture notes/ study guides from my "Fluids" lecture ?

ANSWERS to Dehydration Case Study.doc

ANSWERS Fluids Study Guide.doc

FLUIDS Flow-Chart.doc

Fluids Lecture Notes Part I.doc

Fluids Lecture Notes Part II.doc

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

One more...

ANSWERS to Overhydration Case Study.doc

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.
kristen3g3tp8 said:
What is the effect of digitalis on ca++???

It causes the amount of calcium in the cells of the heart to be increased. Calcium excites the cells of the heart causing it to beat. The more calcium that builds up in the heart cells, the more stronger and forceful the heartbeats are.

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  • A nurse is caring for a client who has tissue ischemia. Which of the following nursing goals is a priority?
    • Obtaining accurate medical history
    • Reestablish oxygenation to the area
    • Immobilization of the affected area
    • Assessing for circulatory changes

I was thinking its assessing for circulatory changes cause ischemia has to do with blood clots but some ppl say its reestablishing oxygenation.

  • The nurse is administering skin testing with intradermal injections of allergens on a patient's forearm. Immediately after the nurse administers one of the injections, the patient complains of itching at the site and of weakness and dizziness. The nurse should first:
    • elevate the arm above the shoulder
    • administer subcutaneous epinephrine
    • apply a tourniquet above the injection site
    • apply a local anti-inflammatory cream to the site
  • A patient is treated at a clinic with an injection of long-acting penicillin for a streptococcal throat infection. Her history reveals that she has received penicillin before with no allergic responses. When the penicillin injection is administered, the nurse should inform the patient that:
    • she must wait in the clinic area for 20 minutes before she is discharged
    • since she has taken penicillin before without problems, she can safely take it now
    • She would have immediate symptoms if she had developed an allergy to penicillin
    • She should monitor fever and skin rash typical of type III immune - complex reactions.
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Specializes in ER, ICU, Infusion, peds, informatics.

1. i would agree with reestablishing oxygenation to the area, if it could be done with nursing interventions. i can't think of one, though. that would probably require interventional radiology or surgery. so then it would be assessing for other circulatory changes.

2. agree -- subq epi. weakness and dizziness indcates a systemic reaction, requiring a more aggressive intervention.

3. agree -- wait 20 min (even if you've had a med before, you can still react. i'd had pcn type drugs many, many times before i ever reacted).

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I saw that you also posted these questions in the general nursing discussion forum. I just wanted to give you the reasoning behind why the answer to the first question is the second answer choice: reestablish oxygenation to the area. It has to do with the nursing process. The word "goals" in the question was the clue to the answer. During the nursing process you are first assessing the patient and then determining goals, outcomes and nursing diagnoses. This all occurs before the planning stage which is where you actually start introducing your nursing interventions. One of the appropriate nursing diagnoses for a patient with tissue ischemia is Ineffective Tissue Perfusion. One of the major causes of a patient having this problem is that their body is unable to successfully transport oxygen into the capillary membranes. Formulating nursing goals for a patient are directly related to the causes of their problem. So, a goal would be to do something to help get oxygen to the oxygen-deprived tissues. None of the other choices: obtaining an accurate medical history, immobilizing the affected area and assessing for circulatory changes isn't going to accomplish that. So, clearly, there is only one answer choice. If the question had been worded differently and said "what is your first priority in taking care of this patient?" then your choice, assess for circulatory changes, would be correct. The reason. . .because the first step in the nursing process is to assess and collect data. I would sequence my own assessment in priority above getting a medical history from the patient, although it, too, is also part of the data collecting process. Immobilization of the affected area is a nursing interaction which would be undertaken after assessment and goals were determined.

Most everyone has given the correct answers and reasoning for the other two questions. They are pretty much grounded in knowledge of medication and reactions to them.

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I got the answers from the Professor yesterday!

A nurse is caring for a client who has tissue ischemia. Which of the following nursing goals is a priority?

Reestablish oxygenation to the area

The nurse is administering skin testing with intradermal injections of allergens on a patient's forearm. Immediately after the nurse administers one of the injections, the patient complains of itching at the site and of weakness and dizziness. The nurse should first:

apply a tourniquet above the injection site, because this will help the itching from spreading. A nurse can not administer subcutaneous epinephrine unless ordered. So that was such a tricky question.

A patient is treated at a clinic with an injection of long-acting penicillin for a streptococcal throat infection. Her history reveals that she has received penicillin before with no allergic responses. When the penicillin injection is administered, the nurse should inform the patient that:

she must wait in the clinic area for 20 minutes before she is discharged

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