How to Succeed in the Nurse Refresher Course

The Nurse Refresher course utilizes three textbooks:

1.         Medical Surgical Nursing: Critical Thinking in Client Care, by Priscilla LeMone and Karen Burke, 3rd edition, 2003, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ISBN: 0-13-1083406-x

 

2.         Clinical Nursing Skills: Basic to Advanced Skills, by Sandra Smith, Donna Duell and Barbara Martin, 6th edition, 2003, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. ISBN: 0-13-1083406-x (the ISBN is the same for Med/Surg and Skills books, they are packaged together)

 

3.         Pharmacology: A Nursing Process Approach, by Joyce LeFever Kee and Evelyn R. Hayes, 4th edition, 2003, W.B Saunders Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ISBN: 0-7216-9345-8

All three textbooks are required. The following is a list of resources with each book and the best ways to utilize these resources.

1.     Lemone and Burke:

  1. This book has a companion web site: http://cw.prenhall.com/burke

**You may have to type this URL in and save as a bookmark. Depending on your computer this URL may not be active if you hyperlink from here to the URL.

The following areas are at the companion site for each chapter and can be helpful when studying:

    • Multiple choice questions
    • Case studies
    • Challenge your knowledge
    • Nursing web destinations
    • Glossary
    • Chapter outline
    • Study break

 b.        A CD-ROM comes with the Lemone and Burke book. The CD-ROM is known as the Study Wizard. The Study Wizard does not cover each chapter, but the chapters it does cover are very helpful when studying.

The following areas on the CD-ROM can be helpful when studying:

  • Practice questions
  • Diagnostic reports after testing
  • Test stimulation
  • Glossary
  • Vocabulary practice
  • Links to web sites

 

 c.        Self-checks: there is a Study Guide with the Lemone and Burke book. This Study Guide is an excellent way to self-check your knowledge after completing the reading assignments and objectives for each section in this book.

 Answer as many of the questions as you can in the Study Guide, then check your answers with the correct answers in the back of the book. Completing the exercises that pertain to the chapter's reading assignments is an excellent way to study for your exams and the final for the Lemone and Burke book.

2. Kee and Hayes:

a.         In order to teach the fundamental principles of pharmacology, the textbook utilizes drug categories with prototype drug charts. The student will be able to relearn the categories of drugs and apply them to the specific drugs in that category. The role of the nurse in drug therapy is very important and ever changing. This textbook stresses the following areas to assist the student in relearning the nurses' role in drug therapy:

  • Prototype charts
  • Nursing Process - Plan of Care
  • Client Teaching
  • Cultural Considerations
  • Critical Thinking Scenarios
  • Specific Drug Tables
  • Internet sites of interest (Listed in the front inside cover of this textbook)
  • Selected drug interactions (Listed on the last page of the textbook)
  • Updated drug information, including the latest FDA approved drugs in all categories.

The nursing care plans in each chapter are an excellent way to relearn the role of the nurse in the care of the client. While utilizing the nursing process, emphasis is placed on the nurse's role in assessment and client teaching.

b.         An overview of pharmacology and the drug categories are included. This will help you key into the important points to remember for each chapter.

c.         Self-Checks: self-checks are critical thinking scenarios designed to assist the student in applying pharmacology knowledge to "real life" situations. They can be found at the end of each chapter under the section called "Critical Thinking in Action". Try to answer the questions first, then compare your answers with the correct answers found in the Web course under Unit II, Module 3 for each of the assigned chapters. The pharmacology chapters are integrated throughout this class. Even after you finish studying pharmacology in Module 3, you will still have to refer back to this module as we study each of the other modules. For example, when you get to the module for cardiovascular disorders, you should refer back to Unit II, Module 3, which contains the related drugs for these disorders.

3. Smith, Duell and Martin:

a.         At the end of each UNIT, review the "Critical Thinking Application" and at the end of each CHAPTER, review the "Management Guidelines". Also when the reading(s) pertains to a skill, review the checklist found on the CD-ROM (included in the book) for that particular skill. All three areas are good self-checks and an excellent way to prepare for the exams, the final and the Competency Check offs (scheduled for NUR 7010) from the Smith, Duell and Martin assignments.

b.         Skills competency guidelines are included under Unit 6, Module 12. These guidelines will be utilized for check off of competencies prior to starting NUR 7010, the Clinical Practicum. Related skills will be included on all exams for each module. For example: with the genitourinary disorders, catheterizations will be included with the exam for genitourinary problems.

Suggested study pattern for each unit: 

1. Review each module's outline (from homepage click on course content icon, then specific unit icon and then specific module icon)

2. Review each chapter's objectives (from homepage click on course content icon, then specific unit icon, then specific module icon, and then specific chapter icon)

3. Review the exam blueprint and exam review questions for each unit's exam (from homepage click on course content, then specific unit, and then blueprints or review questions)

4. Complete the reading assignments

5. Complete the self-checks and exam review questions

6. Complete the case study or teaching plan for that unit and post to discussion area

7. Take the exam for that unit