u/Extension_Cost_6410

Posting this because I wish someone had handed it to me earlier. These are the lab values that showed up over and over in practice questions. I made flashcards and just hammered them until they were automatic. Knowing these cold frees up so much brain space during the actual test.

Potassium: 3.5 to 5.0
Sodium: 135 to 145
Calcium: 9.0 to 10.5
Magnesium: 1.5 to 2.5
Chloride: 98 to 106
BUN: 7 to 20
Creatinine: 0.6 to 1.2
Glucose (fasting): 70 to 100
Hemoglobin: 12 to 18 (varies by sex)
Hematocrit: 36 to 52
Platelets: 150,000 to 400,000
WBC: 5,000 to 10,000
pH: 7.35 to 7.45
PaCO2: 35 to 45
HCO3: 22 to 26
INR (normal): 0.8 to 1.1, therapeutic on warfarin 2 to 3
Digoxin therapeutic: 0.5 to 2.0
Lithium therapeutic: 0.6 to 1.2

The therapeutic drug levels (dig, lithium) trip people up the most because the questions love to give you a number just outside the range and ask what you do. Memorize the ranges and you instantly know if it is toxic.

What lab values did your program drill that I might have missed?

Posting this because I wish someone had handed it to me earlier. These are the lab values that showed up over and over in practice questions. I made flashcards and just hammered them until they were automatic. Knowing these cold frees up so much brain space during the actual test.

Potassium: 3.5 to 5.0
Sodium: 135 to 145
Calcium: 9.0 to 10.5
Magnesium: 1.5 to 2.5
Chloride: 98 to 106
BUN: 7 to 20
Creatinine: 0.6 to 1.2
Glucose (fasting): 70 to 100
Hemoglobin: 12 to 18 (varies by sex)
Hematocrit: 36 to 52
Platelets: 150,000 to 400,000
WBC: 5,000 to 10,000
pH: 7.35 to 7.45
PaCO2: 35 to 45
HCO3: 22 to 26
INR (normal): 0.8 to 1.1, therapeutic on warfarin 2 to 3
Digoxin therapeutic: 0.5 to 2.0
Lithium therapeutic: 0.6 to 1.2

The therapeutic drug levels (dig, lithium) trip people up the most because the questions love to give you a number just outside the range and ask what you do. Memorize the ranges and you instantly know if it is toxic.

What lab values did your program drill that I might have missed?

Posting this because I wish someone had handed it to me earlier. These are the lab values that showed up over and over in practice questions. I made flashcards and just hammered them until they were automatic. Knowing these cold frees up so much brain space during the actual test.

Potassium: 3.5 to 5.0
Sodium: 135 to 145
Calcium: 9.0 to 10.5
Magnesium: 1.5 to 2.5
Chloride: 98 to 106
BUN: 7 to 20
Creatinine: 0.6 to 1.2
Glucose (fasting): 70 to 100
Hemoglobin: 12 to 18 (varies by sex)
Hematocrit: 36 to 52
Platelets: 150,000 to 400,000
WBC: 5,000 to 10,000
pH: 7.35 to 7.45
PaCO2: 35 to 45
HCO3: 22 to 26
INR (normal): 0.8 to 1.1, therapeutic on warfarin 2 to 3
Digoxin therapeutic: 0.5 to 2.0
Lithium therapeutic: 0.6 to 1.2

The therapeutic drug levels (dig, lithium) trip people up the most because the questions love to give you a number just outside the range and ask what you do. Memorize the ranges and you instantly know if it is toxic.

What lab values did your program drill that I might have missed?

Studying preeclampsia today and ran into this. The kind of question that's easy if you know Mark K's mag sulfate signs, brutal if you don't. Posting for anyone who wants a check.

A 32-year-old patient at 36 weeks gestation is receiving magnesium sulfate IV for severe preeclampsia. The nurse assesses the patient and finds deep tendon reflexes 1+, respirations 10 breaths/min, and urine output 18 mL/hour over the past hour. Which action should the nurse take FIRST?

A) Stop the magnesium sulfate infusion

😎 Administer calcium gluconate 1 g IV

C) Increase the patient's IV fluid rate

D) Notify the healthcare provider

Drop your answer and reasoning. I'll come back in a few hours with the rationale and the "three Ds" pattern Mark K teaches for this exact situation.

Saw this come up while studying and it's the kind of question that catches people even when they know the content. Posting for anyone who wants a quick check.

A nurse is reassessing a 45-year-old patient with bipolar disorder who has been taking lithium 600 mg twice daily for 6 weeks. The patient reports new-onset coarse hand tremor, diarrhea, and confusion. The most recent lithium level is 1.8 mEq/L. Which action should the nurse take FIRST?

A) Encourage the patient to drink extra fluids

😎 Hold the next dose of lithium and notify the provider

C) Administer the next scheduled dose with food

D) Reassure the patient that these are common side effects

Drop your answer and reasoning. I'll come back in a few hours, more like between12 or 24 hrs😎, and post the rationale plus why each distractor is tempting.

Also curious for those who got it wrong, what tipped you toward the wrong answer? That's usually where the real learning is.

Came across this scenario while studying and most of my study group got it wrong on the first read. Posting it for anyone who wants a quick self-check.

A nurse is caring for a 28-year-old woman 2 hours after a vaginal delivery. The nurse notes a saturated peripad in the past 15 minutes, a boggy fundus that is displaced to the right, and BP 102/64 (down from 124/78 at delivery). Which action should the nurse take FIRST?

A) Notify the healthcare provider

😎 Administer oxytocin 10 units IM

C) Massage the fundus and assist the patient to void

D) Increase the IV fluid rate

---

Drop your answer and reasoning. I'll come back in a few hours and post the rationale + why each distractor is tempting. Also curious, for those who got it wrong, what tipped you toward the wrong answer? That's usually where the real learning is.

I used to bomb every "which action should the nurse take FIRST?" question. The pattern that finally clicked: the right answer is almost always the one that addresses the cause of the problem, not the symptom.

Example pattern (without quoting an actual question): if a postpartum patient has a boggy fundus displaced to the right, the cause is usually a full bladder — so the first action is to massage and have the patient void, not to give oxytocin. Oxytocin treats the symptom (atony), not the cause (bladder distension).

Once I started asking "what's the cause?" before "what's the treatment?" my priority question accuracy jumped maybe 15%.

Curious — what tricks do you all use for first-action questions?