Sweaty armpits, clammy hands, feeling of impending doom, and feeling like the room is closing in on nursing students are all symptoms of anxiety about taking a nursing test. Many students experience these feelings during a test, and they tend to be overwhelming. The author talks about ways to decrease anxiety and share some test-taking strategies to help the nursing students through both the NCLEX and nursing school. She discusses ways to decrease anxiety while test taking. The author instructs the nursing students to take their own time to learn all the information and to study the material every week until the exam. She also instructs the nursing students to attend study groups, which gives them not only extra credit but also a better idea of what is on the exam.

Fundamentals of Nursing are the first nursing class nursing students will take to begin the nursing program. The skills nursing students learn in this course will provide the foundation for the many nursing responsibilities nursing students will assume throughout their career as both a nurse and a student. Fundamentals of nursing introduces nursing students to the thorough assessment of patients, the nursing process, communication between nurse and patient, cultural differences, functional health patterns, and the overall framework of nursing practice. From the time a patient is first admitted up to the day of discharge, patient education is very important. It is important for the patient to know and be aware of nursing care each step of the way. Explain patients’ medical diagnoses and provide printouts for them to review and read. As a nurse and student, it is important to be aware of the cultural diversity among patients.

Emergency nursing is needed when a patient presents with a critical illness or medical situation. As nurses, our job is to prevent complications, but not all critical situations can be prevented. Nursing student/nurse may have a situation where a rapid response or code blue is called, meaning that a patient’s current medical status has changed from stable to critical. A critical care team is available to provide care in these situations where a quick response is key to patients’ survival. This chapter discusses the most common emergency situations such as cardiac arrest, septic shock, perforated bowel, and gastrointestinal bleed you may encounter as a nursing student and as a nurse. Nurses are often the ones to recognize when a patient is in need of immediate care. Nursing interventions for respiratory failure is CPR is initiated. Mechanical ventilation is needed. A respiratory stimulant such as Doxapram is given.

This chapter provides the nursing students with tips and procedures to find out the disorders such as cardiovascular disorders, neurological disorders, respiratory disorders and endocrine disorders of patients and to provide nursing care to them. Medical-surgical nursing goes over most conditions and disorders that can occur in the body, including definition, symptoms, diagnostics, complications, drug therapy, and nursing care. Lab values are used to help diagnose or help figure out what is going on with the patient by identifying key constituents from a sample of either blood or urine. Patient education is very important, and treating hypertension is the key to preventing further complications. Continuous monitoring of blood pressure and regular checkups is needed. Teach patients to maintain a low-sodium diet and regularly exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle. Protective wear is necessary when taking care of patients receiving internal beam radiation.

In this chapter, the author discusses the standard nursing curriculum and a reference for every core nursing course Completing nursing school and the NCLEX brings the nursing students to another major pinnacle of their nursing career. As they enter their first nursing job, they will notice quickly the series of emotions they will go through. Emotions such as anxiety, nervousness, fear, confusion, and a little excitement were the feelings the author felt during the first days of her nursing career. These emotions slowly dissipate as the nursing students become more comfortable with the task at hand. Nursing is a field in which education is ongoing. There are always new medications and ailments that the nursing students will be responsible for knowing. At times it is challenging, but it is a very rewarding and humbling career.

Pediatric patients tend to be a little happier, full of life, and excited about everything. Patients vary in age from babies to 17-year-olds. In the pediatric nursing course, nursing students learn about the stages of development, common disorders such as cardiovascular disorders, respiratory disorders and hematological disorders, treatments, and nursing interventions. The course exams will be based on learning the various conditions and recognizing the nursing interventions for each. The assessment of a child is similar to that of the adult. Nursing students want to start their assessment from head to toe in order to get a general overall appearance of the patient. Always obtain a health history before beginning the assessment. To assess hearing acuity for infants, clap to elicit a response. For school-age children, a whispe.

Psychiatric nursing involves working with individuals with various mental disorders like schizophrenia, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and bipolar disorder. In psychiatric nursing, nursing student will continue to use the medsurg skills when necessary, but the real focus is upon therapeutic use of self. They will learn how to use words, body language, and the milieu to facilitate healing for patients with mental illness. Psychopharmacology, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), light therapy, vagal nerve stimulation, and transmagnetic stimulation of the brain are some procedures used to treat psychiatric disorders. They will learn the basics of supportive therapy using therapeutic communication, assessment of common signs and symptoms of mental illness, and multiple treatment modalities. Patients with psychiatric disorders may exhibit both physical and emotional symptoms. Although no medical problems may be assessed on initial examination, a patient’s symptoms may be exacerbated by the severe mental stressors.

In this chapter, the author discusses the standard nursing curriculum and a reference for every core nursing course. She highlights important material most likely to appear on class exams to facilitate successful exam preparation. The author discusses what to expect in nursing school. The biggest fears are the exams and clinical, the two factors that pretty much make up nursing school. The author highlights the most frequently tested information. As a former nursing student, she can tell the nursing students the ins and outs of how to get through the program. The author instructs them to buy the NCLEX book and study guide recommended by the professor. The nursing students often use test questions from these books. She also instructs the nursing students to use the PowerPoints as class notes and to figure out a study method that works.

This chapter defines each medication such as cardiovascular medications, antiplatelet medications, anticoagulants, cardiac glycosides and antiarrhythmic medications, and lists its side effects, explains its pharmacokinetics, and summarizes related nursing care. One of the many responsibilities of a nurse is to safely administer medication to patients. It is important to know what nurse are administering, its side effects, and the route. Nurse should also be able to educate the patient on the medications prescribed. In the hospital, medications are administered electronically. The patient wears an armband that is scanned and registered into the computer. This is a great process because there is less room for error. Pain medication can constipate patients, and a stool softener should be given in conjunction. Teach the patient about the side effects of pain medications. Monitor the patient’s mental status. Narcan can be given if the patient is overmedicated.

Women’s health course is usually taken with a pediatric nursing course because they pretty much go hand in hand. Nursing students will need to know the developmental stages a family experiences during the childbearing process, along with any complications that may occur in the prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum stages. They will be able to practice nursing care of women in all stages from the prenatal to labor and delivery. In the labor and delivery unit, the nursing students will experience the end stages of labor to the birth of the newborn. They will be able to be part of the experience of both a vaginal and a cesarean birth. In the postpartum unit, the nursing students will be able to perform a full assessment on the newborn. They will also experience the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Infants in the NICU require close monitoring, feedings, respiratory support, and intravenous therapy.