Summer prep for Fundamentals ?

Anne36, LPN · Jul 3, 2011

I would wait for the syllabus. I start med-surg in the fall and Im waiting for mine. When I started Fundamentals it was 2 weeks after Pharm ended so we didnt really have any early prep time. I would enjoy the summer and do your required readings right before lecture so it is fresh in your head.

NJstudent2012 · Jul 3, 2011

I felt exactly the same way. I read the first 5 chapters of the Fundamentals book before the semester started. We did skip around somewhat but we did the first 5 chapters pretty quickly. I feel that the pre-reading did help. They throw so much reading at you the first couple of weeks, it gets pretty overwhelming. I would also suggest taking a look at the chapters for vital signs and health assessment.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Jul 3, 2011

I was fortunate to have the reading list during the summer, but I spent probably 1-2 hours for most of July and August reading before fundamentals. That way at least the material was somewhat a review during the semester. I intend to get started this week for third semester, it works for me. Without the specific readings you may read a bit of stuff that's not covered in much detail. For example, the chapter we had on ethics and legal wasn't covered much, neither was the one on the history of nursing. I'd focus on vital signs, head to toe assessment, nursing diagnosis and fluid and electrolytes- but that's only based on my fundamentals class. Good luck.

mfrancisco · Jul 4, 2011

I agree with JBmommy. That is exactly what I would focus on, if anything at all. I felt the same way you did. Fortunately, (I thought it was unfortunate at the time) we did not get our reading list until a week before the semester. I am so glad, because I probably would have wasted a lot of time reading what was not on the tests. I am going into my third semester of nursing school, and it is really hard for me to hold back from pre-reading for my next class (L&D). It's just not worth it. I may read, and it may not make a difference. However, if you do want to prepare, definitely start learning about head to toe assessments and vital signs to begin with (read about it, watch videos (hawknurse on youtube is great). Like JBMommy said, nursing diagnosis and F&E. Those subjects will arise again and again throughout nursing school, so it would be beneficial to get a grasp on these subjects from the start.

If you are going to be using ATI, I would definitely review the ATI fundamentals book. It's very concise, but covers the fundamentals topics well. Also, it would be wise to invest in a book called "The Fundamentals of Success" (part of the Davis Success Series). It gives practice NCLEX questions, and rationales for the answers. I truly believe that the ATI books and doing practice NCLEX questions helped me to do really, really well the first year of NS. Good luck to you, and congrats on getting in!

Don't worry about being a huge nerd. I love being a nerd! HA HA

NIUnurs2be · Jul 4, 2011

Thank you all so much for the replies : ) I really do appreciate everyone's input and advice

inthere · Jul 4, 2011

I would read the chapters on head-to-toe assessment, vital signs andthe nursing process. Everything comes down to assessing and the nursing process from what I have seen, experienced and been informed of (I am a first semester nursing student)...You learn and internalize that and you will be good to gobecause evry test question you get comes down to nursing process and health assessment in the end. :)