studying for med-surg

gumby1411 · Sep 12, 2010

If the instructors are telling you to focus your studying on their powerpoints, then most likely, the info you need to know is going to be in those powerpoints. You can supplement with the readings to help reinforce the powerpoints. I'm not familiar with the Lewis book, so I can't help you with that one, but I'm pretty sure that no med-surg book is going to read like a novel. It's technical writing, so it's going to be difficult to read. Also, depending on the topic it can be so boring (in fact, I should be reading about the acid-base balance right now - yawn!).

nlion87 · Sep 12, 2010

Utilized a different text book but this helped me when studying for med surg- In outline form List disease/disorder, pathophysiology of the disease/disorder, diagnostic tests used to identify each disesae/disorder and special nursing considerations associated with each diagnostic test, signs and symptoms of the disorder, special nursing implications that go along for the disease/disorder as well as listing the meds used to treat disease/disorder and corresponding nursing implications associated with each med. It may be time consuming but as you are writing you are also reviewing as well plus no need to reread chapter--your notes will be all set for the exams

ShantheRN, BSN, RN · Sep 12, 2010

I'm in med surg II and after suffering through the first med surg with it I can honestly say....that Lewis book is the suck. There's no conceivable way to read it without ending up like this :bugeyes:

Keep in mind we're in a new term and I haven't been tested yet to see if my system is working, but here's what I do. My instructor uses Pps but also mentions things in Lewis. Some peeps from the class before me said skimming the text was a good idea. I've been reading the Pps before lecture, reading again with my added notes after, then going through the assigned reading for the critical thinking exercises. I find those help me "get" the material much faster than rereading the dry robotic prose that is Lewis. There's exercises throughout the chapters, then a couple pages of questions at the end.

I cannot read that book! Back in med surg I, I'd try so hard to get through it.....and then the cat would come over for a cuddle, or something shiny would distract me :lol2:

mkhoaja · Sep 12, 2010

Could any one give me any tips for studying med-surg. We are using the lewis book and I'm not liking it. Our instructors say to go off of their power points and not to dive in so much in the book but for some reason I feel like I have to read. If I don't read I'll feel unprepared. Did anyone have this book before? What did you do to study?[/quote']
I also use the Lewis MedSurg book and I am in MedSurg 2 currently. I like to wait and see what my instructors teach during class, then I will go back and read about those diseases. For example, she went over Asthma in class and it took like 20 minutes and we moved on. However, in the book, asthma covers something like 22 pages. So I read everything to supplement what I learned in class.
And this for the most part this is how I study. Our instructors told us that they cannot possibly teach us everything in the book, so it is our responsibility to read the book and learn a lot of it on our own. Welcome to nursing school I guess. LOL

golosa82 · Sep 13, 2010

Hi I am taking med-surg and I use this method for studying as well, kind of like concept mapping, however when its time to take the test the questions usually ask what priority nursing diagnoses or interventions would be done. Each chapter explains what the nursing diagnosis or intervention is for each disease, but i can never figure out what the priority one would be, resulting in me having difficulty with my exams. Any suggestions?

>--stethoscope--o · Sep 14, 2010

You guys I think I'm falling in love with my book. Lol. Keyword: think. We'll see how I do on my exam.

chuckz, BSN, RN · Sep 14, 2010

I'm a dork so I used to read the book. That being said, many of my colleagues got the same grades I did by just using the power points. I think a good rule of thumb in nursing school is to study what the teachers post and use the book to clarify points that are not clear to the student. Just my own FYI

Carrie_MTC · Sep 14, 2010

The incredibly easy series was a lifesaver to me through nursing school. I would recommend buying these books. Amazon.com: Medical-Surgical Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! (Incredibly Easy! Series) (9781582555676): Springhouse: Books -this book is great for summarizing what your textbook is really trying to get across in half the words. Amazon.com: NCLEX-RN Answers Made Incredibly Easy! (Incredibly Easy! Series) (9781608312917): Lippincott: Books - one of my favorite books in nursing school. Tons of med-surg questions. Another question book I used a lot was Med-Surg Success. It is broken down by body system, and then questions are organized by disease. Hope that helps:)

emtoh17 · Sep 14, 2010

We use Lewis also and honestly I have never used it except for reading about shock. I have just used my pp's and occasionally use Lewis for clarification. However I do plan on using it for Critical Care...

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 15, 2010

I really like how our Med/Surge teacher teaches the class. He doesn't use power points or handouts, he teaches it all like in a caremap style. He uses the white board and do like the disease in the middle, than branch off to the signs and symptoms and interventions and drugs and stuff. He really engages the class to and not by having people raise their hands, he calls out on people as he is filling in the sections for answers. We do 3 classes of med/surge, we have the first one that is in the first year for the LPN level and than we do 2 classes of advanced med/surge in 3rd and 4th semesters.

lsk40 · Sep 15, 2010

omg we use Lewis too and I hate it I find it very hard to read after I get done reading a chapter I still feel like I hav'nt read anything