The Medical-Surgical lectures were the majority of my nursing program curriculum. Med-Surg took over many of the semesters with a sprinkle of Maternity, Pediatrics, Management, and Leadership, and of course, Pharmacology. The short two years are jam-packed with so much information. How are you supposed to take notes and study to pass a test, usually in one or two weeks? In my second semester, it dawned on me, the exams and NCLEX questions all asked for similar information. I began to utilize a template I made in OneNote. A few years after nursing school, I found my notes. I decided to turn my template into a notebook.
Questions on exams and NCLEX usually are under a few different categories. Med-Surg is a broad subject that looks into the various disease processes, including pneumonia, shingles, cerebral palsy, etc. The notebook template is broken down into Pathophysiology or the definition of the disease process, symptoms, risk factors, collaborative care, diagnosis, medications, nursing interventions, teaching, and support. Additional pages, including dot grid pages, to take extra notes that might not fit in the template. For example, like tuberculosis, you can use the additional page to write out the difference in latent vs. active or the course of medication. These topics developed most of the questions. The notebook will also have several lined sheets for notes.
The information more accessible to find and formatted in the same method helped me to study. This note-taking method helped me, and I wanted to share this method with anyone struggling with the amount of information. Once the notebook is available, I will have links to purchase.