Editing Medical-Surgical Nursing (section)

== How to Use This Article ==

Three habits make med-surg content usable on the licensure exam and at the bedside.

First, work from pathophysiology to findings rather than memorizing lists. If a disease reduces forward cardiac output, expect fatigue, hypotension, cool extremities, and reduced urine output. If it backs blood up behind a failing chamber, expect congestion in whatever vascular bed drains into that chamber.

Second, prioritize with a stable framework. Airway, breathing, circulation comes first, then acute changes in level of consciousness, then safety, then comfort and teaching. Among stable findings, the abnormal one that is new, sudden, or unexpected outranks the abnormal one that is chronic and expected.

Third, know the difference between an assessment and an intervention. Many exam questions are answered correctly by choosing to look, listen, or measure before acting, unless the patient is in immediate danger, in which case acting comes first.