Starting Med Surg in 2 Weeks

babyrnhlw · Aug 12, 2015

Michael Linares videos on youtube are FIYAAAA my friend. And as far as networking, find a nurse you click with and try to stick with her. Do impressive things. And if you can talk to the nurse manager, DO IT! Med-surg clinical was came very easy to me and most of my classmates, kind of like riding a bike. Just prep as much as you can beforehand. I'm sure you'll do great.

cupcakeluver · Aug 12, 2015

Third semester student here. I start my second Med-Surge course and Peds in 5 days. The first Med-Surge course was tough. I definitely had to stay on top of the reading. I'm a big fan of questions. I did them for every exam and I feel like they helped me immensely. I used Prep-U as an additional resource with the readings. Not everyone likes Prep-U. I recommend finding some format of NCLEX style questions to help you apply that knowledge and use that critical thinking that everyone talks about. That's just my personal take on it. I'll be finding out shortly how well it works for the second course.

We also had to prepare a comprehensive care plan for a patient. It was pretty much hell. Not trying to scare you....your school may not even do it. It did suck though. It wasn't extremely hard, just time-consuming. You had to provide a nursing diagnosis for each system so it all had to be connected. We will have to complete another one for this semester and I'm already having nightmares about it. It can be done!! Just take things one assignment at a time.

As far as networking goes....just do a good job! I treat all clinicals as if it's a job interview. Everyone is watching you, whether you realize it or not. Always work hard and give it your best. Be that nurse that you would want taking care of your family. Do whatever you can to be helpful. Keep your mouth shut and smile. That's been a tough one for me at times. It is a necessary evil of clinicals. I've gotten good marks with clinical and these tips have contributed to that.

I hope you have a great semester!! Give it your best shot! You don't get many chances in nursing school. Believe me, I'm reminding myself of the same thing. You'll do great. Hopefully I do as well. :up:

Tenebrae, BSN, RN · Aug 12, 2015

Get grounded in the basics

- Vitals, temp, pulse, respirations, blood pressure SPO2. Know the normal ranges. Have an idea of what you might do if a vital is outside of the normal ranges, eg Mrs Brown usually has a blood pressure of around 135/80, you check the blood pressure with an electronic cuff and find out its 180/100. Know how to do a manual blood pressure to check. Nurses love it if you can say "Mrs Browns blood pressure was 180/100, its normlLY 135/80. I checked with a manual and it was still 185/100"

Get grounded in basic assessment skills. I recently did a shift with a brand new enrolled nurse (LPN) who couldnt utilise basic nursing assessment skills. Head to toe assessment. But also learn how to assess as you go. Showering for example is not one of the most exciting nursing tasks, however it provides you with a brilliant opportunity to do a thorough assessment of the skin, it also allows you to assess a patients mobility, eg can they mobilise independently. If not, how much assistance do they need from you? If you are doing a set of vitals, as well as checked their vitals you are able to access if the person is alert and orientated, are they in pain? When did they last have pain relief? Do they have any nausea

Be keen and willing to learn. Dont be afraid to say to your preceptor "if the opportunity arises I would really like to observe X procedure". In my final surgical placement I said to my preceptor I would really like to observe a hip operation, I have cared for them post operatively but would like to understand what happens before they get to us". I got to observe a hip operation and it really helped me consolidate what I was learning on the ward, eg why post op exercises were so important

noelly10 · Aug 12, 2015

Get grounded in basic assessment skills. I recently did a shift with a brand new enrolled nurse (LPN) who couldnt utilise basic nursing assessment skills. Head to toe assessment.

Which I'm sure has to do with the fact that LPNs are not really trained to assess because it isn't in their scope of practice.

I suggest you get familiar with everyone's scope of practice before you begin to assume that they are not competent with a certain task.

Anyway, to the OP, med-surg nurse here. If there's a procedure, disease process, medication you don't know about, look it up. Because I guarantee there will be plenty going on on a med-surg floor that you don't know about, simply because there is a wide range and variety of diseases you will encounter.

Don't be afraid to ask your nurses questions. We like questions and we like teaching (most of us anyway). So don't be intimidated! Nurses are there to help.

Don't take anything anyone says personally. Let it roll off your back. Especially patients. They are in the hospital, they are stressed. So sometimes they may come off as mean and nasty, but if you are understanding with them, they will come around. But if you take it personally, that will set you up for a terrible day, and your patient will notice it.

Good luck!

mnw9412 · Aug 13, 2015

Anyway, to the OP, med-surg nurse here. If there's a procedure, disease process, medication you don't know about, look it up. Because I guarantee there will be plenty going on on a med-surg floor that you don't know about, simply because there is a wide range and variety of diseases you will encounter.
Don't be afraid to ask your nurses questions. We like questions and we like teaching (most of us anyway). So don't be intimidated! Nurses are there to help.
Don't take anything anyone says personally. Let it roll off your back. Especially patients. They are in the hospital, they are stressed. So sometimes they may come off as mean and nasty, but if you are understanding with them, they will come around. But if you take it personally, that will set you up for a terrible day, and your patient will notice it.
Good luck!

I really appreciate this advice! My previous clinical was at a nursing home, and there was a horrible grouch who was just mean and brutal to care for. The nurses working quickly made us aware that people in rehab units usually never planned on being there to begin with, and it's a huge external change for them. We have to make them feel comfortable and understand that no one wants to feel or be looked at as broken. For a while, they're allowed to be grouchy. Towards the end of the clinicals, the man was still in the unit and he just LOVED the nursing students.

Thank you so much for your words!