Starting 3rd semester/med surg in August.. any suggestions on how to get ahead??

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I am a little nervous since this is where this year's senior class lost soooo many people! We have been told the 1st, 8wks is a killer so, any suggestions as to how to prepare ahead would be appreciated.This instructor has a rep. for being brutal but good & I don't want to be a failure. Thanks for any & all suggestions.

Specializes in Neuro/Med-Surg/Oncology.

H&H, electrolytes, blood counts

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Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.
:) I'm getting my vacation, my closet cleanings, my paper filings, and various household chores that I have put off, all that is getting done now. I start my Summer term which is one clinical day a week, with NO pre-planning in a couple of weeks. That will still leave me plenty of time. Oh, yes, I have an 8:00 AHS 129 class on Wed.'s. I have to score 100% on the ADN Dosage Exam. We do have to write like 4 journals this Summer for our Summer clinical. Anyone know anything about that?

Also, I am reading my "Medical Surgical Nursing MAde Incredibly Easy" book from cover to cover this Summer, and also memorizing lab values.

Anyone know the most important labs we need to know in Med-Surg?

Thanks, Tina

What do you think about the book? I was thinking of getting one too.I had planned to take biomedical ethics this summer so,all I would have in the fall would be med surg but......for the 1st time in years they did not offer it for the summer!!! Imagine that! Now I have that class from 6:00p-9:00p & clinicals are the same day in the am. Good Luck!

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find a student who has taken the class and pick their brain about the workings of the class, borrow their notes if possible and start reading prior to the start of the class... you'll be ahead. Borrow their book too if possible.

good luck and godspeed.

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:) I would definitely buy the book. I bought mine at Books A Million. It's well worth the $35.00. I read a liitle of it every day or every night before I go to bed. I have several of the "Incredible Easy" series. I also bought "Assessments Made Incred Easy and Dosage Calculations made Inc easy. I have the pocket size RN facts made Incred Easy that I carry in my pocket to clinicals, and will buy the Pathophysiology made incred easy....geez I wonder if they would hire me to be their spokesperson!! I do find them well worth the money, and you will always have them for reference. Good luck to you! :balloons:

What do you think about the book? I was thinking of getting one too.I had planned to take biomedical ethics this summer so,all I would have in the fall would be med surg but......for the 1st time in years they did not offer it for the summer!!! Imagine that! Now I have that class from 6:00p-9:00p & clinicals are the same day in the am. Good Luck!
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Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.

Thanks everybody great tips! & I will be buying the book!!

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I am so happy to see this thread. I also will be entering Med-Surg in August, and I am not at all prepared. I hate to say, but I got A's in A&P Lec and Lab, and only because I had all take home tests and the final. I never went back over the material because I figured when it came up, I'd just go over the part I don't know.....but I know now, there is no time for me to be learning A&P along with Med-Surg in the same semester......So thanks for the advice, and I now have my summer plans all mapped out.

One more thing though: I am in the ADN program, and pathophysiology course is only offered to the BSN nursing students. But are ya'll saying it is a good book to go along with Med-Surg? Or do you take patho w/ m-surg? I plan to get the Reviews and Rationales and the "Made Easy" books, but I want to make a list now so I can start asking for the books as B-Day gifts.....so list úm all.

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.
Do you recall the name of that pathophysiology book? Also, I have a very condensed review manual for med-surg that saved me in med-surg I, when you just need to get the idea of it all. It's called "Straight A's in Medical-Surgical Nursing", by Lippincott. Very good guide through class, and test review help. SG

Sorry I took so long getting back. Prentice-Hall puts out a review series. This one is simply called Pathophysiology. I found it to be the number one most valuable book for my third semester experience. Sometimes I referred to my Lipincott Medical-Surgical Nursing (part of their review series), and Medical Surgical Nursing Made Incredibly Easy was also very helpful in kidney pathophys. I never used my cumbersome boring text book even once and am very happy with the understanding I came away with.

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Specializes in home & public health, med-surg, hospice.
:) I would definitely buy the book. I bought mine at Books A Million. It's well worth the $35.00. I read a liitle of it every day or every night before I go to bed. I have several of the "Incredible Easy" series. I also bought "Assessments Made Incred Easy and Dosage Calculations made Inc easy. I have the pocket size RN facts made Incred Easy that I carry in my pocket to clinicals, and will buy the Pathophysiology made incred easy....geez I wonder if they would hire me to be their spokesperson!! I do find them well worth the money, and you will always have them for reference. Good luck to you! :balloons:

Yes, Tina, I think you should get a commission....lol.

Hey, I wanted to ask your advice or anyone else's that might be familiar with the series and the nature of Med-Surg II. It's my understanding that Med-Surg II places a greater emphasis on critical care issues than Med-Surg I.

So, my question is, which book from the Incredibly Easy series do you think would be more beneficial "Critical Care" or "Med-Surg"???

In a perfect world, I'd get both but have budget issues!

Well, anyway, any advice anyone has I'd appreciate.

Thanks..... :)

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:)hmmmmm, Maybe someone else can answer that question. I have the Med-Surg book and I love it. It covers every system . I have not looked at the "Critical Care" book yet. I'm not sure which one would suit you better. I did buy the "Pathophysiology M I Easy yesterday. I read some last night. It's a really good book also. It tells you what labs and test are needed for each diagnosis...The only thing I do not like about is that is does not give you the lab values with each lab . So I still have to look those up elsewhere. Maybe someone out there can make a suggestion for you, it would help me also. I'm gonna go broke buying books.... :chuckle

Yes, Tina, I think you should get a commission....lol.

Hey, I wanted to ask your advice or anyone else's that might be familiar with the series and the nature of Med-Surg II. It's my understanding that Med-Surg II places a greater emphasis on critical care issues than Med-Surg I.

So, my question is, which book from the Incredibly Easy series do you think would be more beneficial "Critical Care" or "Med-Surg"???

In a perfect world, I'd get both but have budget issues!

Well, anyway, any advice anyone has I'd appreciate.

Thanks..... :)

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Psych.

Hi,

I also want to get a start on Med-Surg (semester 3 of 4!) Can any one tell me what drugs I should study?

Thanks!

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Specializes in home & public health, med-surg, hospice.
:) I'm gonna go broke buying books.... :chuckle

Is it sad, Tina, that we look at study guide books the way other women look at a new pair of shoes???

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Specializes in Acute Medicine/ Palliative.

I would say know your heart meds and your respiratory meds WELL! Anti coagulants and insulins. Also, its a wonderful idea to know a prototype med for each category!

I have used Davis drug guide through my forst 3 years and its invaluable. At the beginning of the book is classifications of each med and what you find with them respectively. CHeck it out!

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