I'm going into my third semester.
I asked about the books just to see if you have a newer edition now. But the nutrition book you will need open, and the pharmacology book you might open (I read the first chapter and never opened it again), but you the pharmacology chapter in the main text will suffice. For med-surg you will want to get a book that will make learning the drugs easy to understand.
Make sure you get your math perfected. Although drug calculations of tablets aren't difficult, you will need to get 100% to pass the class. The exam will consists on calculations of tablets and injections and your second semester it will be on IV's. You will have this exam every semester until graduation. Calculators are not allowed in lecture exams but they are allowed on the drug calculation test (which is a lab exam)
Definately get a nursing diagnosis handbook and a drug book to assist you with your care plans. You may not start clinicals until 4 weeks in to the semester but that is what will help you. I think they have two lab books on the list (unless that has changed), the main one and the check list. I'm a visual learner so the checklist was useless to me.
Trust me on this get a study aid. Saunders is a great study aid and so are success books.
second semester is psych and med surg. You will have to find a good balance for the two classes because each one has three components. 2 lectures 2 labs and 2 clinicals. Which of course means exams within days of each other and care plans and drug cards due every weekend. Durig med surg and psych is when your knowledge of drugs really come into play. They will most definitely be on your exams.
I'm not trying to scare you. I just wish someone had told me about the second semester so I could plan properly. After midterms I had to request my work schedule to be part time and it made a world of difference in my stress level and my studying.
