Lab Value Flashcards

What it is

Lab Value Flashcards is a deck of 75 lab cards built for nurses. Each card gives you the normal range, what high means, what low means, and the nurse action.

It uses spaced repetition. Rate each card Again, Hard, Good, or Easy after you flip it, and the tricky ones come back sooner. Study what is due, all cards, or just your weak cards, and turn on a clinical prompt on the front when you want a challenge.

Quiz mode tests you on the decks you pick, and the Progress tab tracks what is due today, what you have studied, and what you have mastered. Reference ranges vary by lab, so always use your facility's ranges.

What you'll learn

• Normal ranges for the labs you check every shift
• What high and low values mean for your patient
• The first nurse action for an abnormal result
• Which labs pair with which conditions and meds
• How to read a value in context, not in isolation

How it helps you

NCLEX tests clinical judgment, using NCSBN's Clinical Judgment Measurement Model. Every NURSYN game is built on the nursing process. Lab Value Flashcards works these ADPIE steps: Assessment, Diagnosis.

• Lab interpretation is the Assessment and Diagnosis part of ADPIE: recognize the cue, then analyze it
• Spaced repetition is built in, so you review right before you would forget
• Rating yourself is retrieval practice, which beats rereading
• Short daily sessions fit between classes and clinicals

How to play

1. Pick your decks
2. Read the card and flip it (tap or press Space)
3. Rate it Again, Hard, Good, or Easy
4. Switch to Quiz mode to test yourself
5. Check Progress to see what is due and what you have mastered

Clinical topics covered

Sources

The clinical content and the teaching approach behind this game line up with these references.

1. How to Understand Your Lab ResultsMedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine. What reference ranges are and why they vary from lab to lab.
2. Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis (Cepeda et al., 2006). Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354-380Psychological Bulletin. A large review of spaced practice: the best gap between study sessions grows with how long you need to remember.
3. Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). Psychological Science, 17(3), 249-255Psychological Science. Practice testing beat restudying for retention 2 days and 1 week later.