Summer reading before Med Surg I and Maternity

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi everyone,

I just finished 1st semester and survived. I'll be doing Med Surg 1 in the fall followed by Maternity in January.

Sorry to ask with there being a few threads already on this topic. I wondering about more current resources.

So suggest away. :)

I do my med surg & maternity in the fall too I'm also interested in this!

Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.

I'm finishing up Med/Surg I right now, doing Maternity and Peds in the Fall. For Med/Surg I, all I'd suggest is, if you must review something (I asked the same question during winter break and ended up not reviewing anything, but I'm doing well (A-, hope to end up with an A!)), I'd go with reviewing anatomy and physiology. Perhaps you can find the syllabus for your course so you know which systems/topics you'll be studying so you can review the A&P for those (in my course we did fluid and electrolytes, acid/base, renal, respiratory, cardiovascular, male/female reproductive, diabetes, and cancer). Med/Surg is focused on the nursing management of patients with diseases and disorders involving the various body systems. Therefore, you must know the relevant anatomy and physiology to know how to care for these patients. At least to me, Med/Surg is applied physiology. If you take patho along with med/surg, I think that's very helpful (a lot of the info will be repeated if you're studying cardiac patho along with cardiac med/surg for example).

So, if you absolutely must study something this summer, I'd go with that.

Specializes in Neurosurgery, Neurology.

Spend your summer ENJOYING the break. You will have enough to do when school starts!

Specializes in Critical care.

I'm just finishing up my medsurg classes... all I have left is the final! I've done well and my tips would be: If you MUST review (and I'm totally in camp enjoy-your-break) I would yes, review a&p (do you know how the liver, gallbladder, and pancreas work together? Do you know blood flow through the heart and the different valves? do you know your nervous system? how about endocrine signaling? do you know what triggers you to breath/how your respiratory system works? A quick review of male/female a&p would also be beneficial.

Also, start learning your lab values. If you have the Saunders NCLEX review book (if you don't, go buy it IMMEDIATELY) there is a nice chapter in there on lab values. Learn them, memorize their normal ranges, know the signs and symptoms of them being out of whack. They will affect every system you learn about and they will be on every test you take! Definitely know them.

I suggest med surg made incredibly easy! Also there is a RN nclex questions and answers made incredibly easy that really helps. Unfortunately I didn't but the first one and I think it really would have helped me. I made a B but I struggled with the material.

Hey everyone!

Thanks for the suggestions and enjoy the summer. :) lol hopefully I can discipline myself enough to sit down for 15 minutes a day and review some anatomy and physiology.

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