Semester 2
Cardiac, respiratory, endocrine — where the exam gets mean.
Med-Surg I is the semester where 'study harder' stops working and 'study differently' starts. The content is systems-based, but the exams are complication-based: they hand you a set of vitals and labs and ask what's going wrong before anyone charts it.
Guaranteed exam question, every term, forever.
Memory trick
Left = Lungs (crackles, dyspnea, orthopnea, pink frothy sputum). Right = Rest of the body (JVD, peripheral edema, ascites, weight gain, hepatomegaly).
Left drowns you, right swells you. Two words, ten points.
Respiratory unit lives here and it feels impossible until it clicks.
Memory trick
ROME: Respiratory Opposite (pH ↑ / CO₂ ↓ = resp alkalosis), Metabolic Equal (pH ↓ / HCO₃ ↓ = metabolic acidosis). Look at pH first, then match it to CO₂ or HCO₃.
pH tells you who's guilty. CO₂ and bicarb tell you which one did it.
Hyper- and hypokalemia both cause lethal dysrhythmias with opposite EKG changes.
Memory trick
High K⁺ = tall peaked T waves, muscle weakness, bradycardia → calcium gluconate to protect the heart, insulin + D50 to shift, kayexalate/dialysis to remove. Low K⁺ = flat T waves + U waves, cramps → replace slowly, NEVER IV push.
IV push potassium is a felony against your patient. Diluted and pumped only.
Priority questions want the sequence, not the treatment list.
Memory trick
Assess → 12-lead EKG within 10 minutes → aspirin (chewed) → nitro (check SBP >90, no PDE5 inhibitors in 24–48h) → morphine → troponin. Oxygen only if SpO₂ <90%.
Nitro + Viagra = a blood pressure that leaves the building. Always ask.
Endocrine's favorite compare-and-contrast.
Memory trick
DKA = type 1, glucose 300–600, ketones + acidosis, Kussmaul breathing, fruity breath, sicker faster. HHS = type 2, glucose >600, no ketones, profound dehydration, altered LOC, sneaks up over days. Both: fluids first, then insulin drip, then watch potassium crash.
Insulin drives K⁺ into the cell. Your patient's K⁺ will tank. Watch it like a hawk.
The oxygen question ('how much do I give a COPD patient') is a trap when you overthink it.
Memory trick
Target SpO₂ 88–92% in COPD. Pursed-lip breathing on exhalation. Asthma: rescue (albuterol) before controller (steroid inhaler), rinse the mouth after steroids. A silent chest in asthma is an emergency, not improvement.
Quiet asthma isn't calm. It's a patient who can't move air.
Med-Surg loves 'day 3 post-op, patient has ___' stems.
Memory trick
First 24h: bleeding, atelectasis, urinary retention. Day 2–3: fever from atelectasis/pneumonia. Day 3–5: DVT/PE, wound infection. Day 5–7: dehiscence/evisceration (cover with sterile saline gauze, low Fowler's, knees bent, call surgery).
Endocrine emergencies with opposite everything.
Memory trick
Storm = hyper gone wild: fever, tachycardia, agitation → cool them, beta blocker, antithyroid meds. Myxedema = hypo gone flat: hypothermia, bradycardia, hypoventilation → warm slowly, IV levothyroxine, airway support.
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Nursing Fundamentals
Semester 1
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Pharmacology
Semester 2
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Med-Surg II
Semester 3
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Pediatrics
Semester 3
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OB / Labor & Delivery
Semester 4
