4xJG

The previous post is right, Ackley & Ladwig's Nursing Diagnosis Handbook. I'm starting my third semester in the fall and there's no way I could do care plans without it. Also, if you go to evolve.elsevier.com, there are free resources for each of the textbooks they publish. The resources for the Nursing Diagnosis Handbook have a care plan generator that is also really helpful.

Lewis, S. L., Dirksen, S. R.,Heitkemper, M. M., Bucher, L., & Camera, I. M. (2011). Meical-surgical nursing: Assessment and management of clinical problems(8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. Here's the full citation for the textbook and, as stated in my OP, the quotation referenced was on page 601-602. Clearly, the long-standing recommendations for inhaler administration order aren't going anywhere anytime soon; I just thought it was an interesting tidbit to add to the discussion.

If you know what universities you are interested in, their counselors, or sometimes even links on their websites, should tell you what the required prerequisites are. Here in AZ, quite a few of the universities have a transfer guide for the larger community colleges to say which of the CC courses count for completion of the prerequisite course. If the university, or universities, that you are interested in, are close to you, it's worth paying a visit to the admissions department to meet with an advisor so that you make sure you're taking the appropriate courses. I completed all of my prerequisites at a CC and then applied to a university BSN program for nursing school

I read this thread earlier today and agreed w PP since we were taught in school/clinical that bronchodilators were always given before steroids or other meds. Just came across this in reading my med-surg textbook: "Historically it has been recommended that [sABAs] should be used first to open up the airway and improve the delivery of subsequent medications. However, this is no longer recommended because there is no evidence demonstrating that it is beneficial, and it is a potential source of confusion to patients" (Lewis et al., 2011. p601-02).

Congrats on getting started!! Just wanted to drop a line to let you know a little about NUR330. I'm going into 3rd semester of NAU's traditional BSN at the Tucson campus. We took NUR330 with the CEP students at PCC down here. It was kind of nice that they intermingled us together for the semester, but they're not doing that anymore for some reason. The course has been dubbed "Care Bear Class" here in Tucson. The objective of the course should read, "When you become a nurse, don't be a jerk." You'll all do great! Good luck and congrats again (:

It's definitely not about being smart enough. If you do well enough to get TO nursing school, you can do well enough to get THROUGH nursing school, and become a nurse. It's about working hard, putting in the study hours needed, and thinking outside of the box sometimes. It's never too early to start reading up on NCLEX question strategies & rationales. That will help you greatly in your core nursing classes. It sounds like you're willing to do the leg work and you're on the right track. Good luck! (: