Out of these 4 drug handbooks, which one should I get?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

I was given a list of four drug handbooks to choose from for my school's nursing program, so I took the list and went to my local B&N thinking that seeing them in person would help. Unfortunately, at this point, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for, as far as "good" information goes (especially as it pertains to drug reference books :).

I think I have it narrowed down to two (Lippincott or Davis), but any input would be greatly appreciated. The handbooks listed are:

- Pearson Nurse's Drug Guide 2013

-> ISBN# 9780132964890

- Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook 2013

-> ISBN# 9781455707232

- Nursing 2013 Drug Handbook (Lippincott)

-> ISBN# 9781451150230

- Davis' Drug Guide for Nurses (13th ed.)

-> ISBN# 9780803628335

Since these are all new editions, they don't seem to have enough reviews for me to surmise how much people like/dislike the texts. This is usually my go-to method for figuring out which Nursing texts to go with, especially when I have absolutely no prior knowledge about the subject matter.

I did try looking at the reviews for each book's prior edition to get a general feeling for the brands, which is how I got it down to Lippincott and Davis.

So, for any of you awesome people that happen to have any of these books (or even better - the exact edition!), any input would be GREATLY appreciated! :D

THANK YOU!

Another vote for Davis here also!

Specializes in NICU.

Davis by far!

A friend had recommended Pearson, but when I went to B&N and flipped through Davis, it was the clear winner. The CD-ROM was also great for copying/pasting drug info onto my care-plans.. saved a lot of time!

Specializes in Emergency.

I also suggest getting the spiral bound Guide to IV medications. A teacher handed it to me (She had gotten it free). and Iw as like, oh thanks....then after graduation, I realised what a valuable tool she had gifted me with.

Specializes in ICU, telemetry, LTAC.

The IV drug book you want is by Gayhart. It is excellent. I have supplemented that with the McGraw-Hill IV drug book, (electronic version) which has less info on compatibility but tells you how to mix the drugs, which I need to know sometimes. My hospital has no night shift pharmacist in house, and I don't prefer to call and wake one up unless all my resources don't make sense.

All the books you listed are really good, I do prefer the Davis one.

Specializes in Dialysis. OR, cardiac tell, homecare case managem.

Davis has been my go to for 14 years

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

I always recommend going to a store (or if you can look at a few sample pages online) and looking at the format of the book itself. Which one is most appealing to you?

Everyone has different likes/dislikes, and everyone is looking for information to be formatted in a certain way. I highly doubt that any book is more or less factually correct than any of the others -- they're all high-quality publishers with good reputations.

So what it comes down to is ease of use... which one has a font/style/format that works best for you? Is it easier to find the drug names in one or the other? Can you easily find the sections on what to watch out for (complications or contraindications), what you need to tell the patient about, etc? Which one "looks best" to your own eyes.... that's the one you need to get.

Thank you for all of the input! I know this subject probably gets rehashed every time a new nursing class starts up, but I appreciate all of you taking out the time to reply to me like it was the first time you heard the question! :)

I ended up going with the Davis guide, since it seemed to have exceptionally thorough "Nursing Implications" and "Patient Teaching" sections. I figured these two areas alone would serve me well in my upcoming semester.

Although, I must say I did like the way Lippincott's intro section had a whole part devoted to the various classifications, as well as listing the drugs that fell into each category.

All of that aside, I really wanted to send a big "THANK YOU" out to all of you. I read each of your comments and took all of them into consideration when I went back to B&N to look at the guides again. :) You guys are the best!

I was given a list of four drug handbooks to choose from for my school's nursing program, so I took the list and went to my local B&N thinking that seeing them in person would help. Unfortunately, at this point, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for, as far as "good" information goes (especially as it pertains to drug reference books :).

I think I have it narrowed down to two (Lippincott or Davis), but any input would be greatly appreciated. The handbooks listed are:

- Pearson Nurse's Drug Guide 2013

-> ISBN# 9780132964890

- Saunders Nursing Drug Handbook 2013

-> ISBN# 9781455707232

- Nursing 2013 Drug Handbook (Lippincott)

-> ISBN# 9781451150230

- Davis' Drug Guide for Nurses (13th ed.)

-> ISBN# 9780803628335

Since these are all new editions, they don't seem to have enough reviews for me to surmise how much people like/dislike the texts. This is usually my go-to method for figuring out which Nursing texts to go with, especially when I have absolutely no prior knowledge about the subject matter.

I did try looking at the reviews for each book's prior edition to get a general feeling for the brands, which is how I got it down to Lippincott and Davis.

So, for any of you awesome people that happen to have any of these books (or even better - the exact edition!), any input would be GREATLY appreciated! :D

THANK YOU!

We use Lippincott ar work and I really like it. I am probably going to buy one for myself :-)

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.
I ended up going with the Davis guide, since it seemed to have exceptionally thorough "Nursing Implications" and "Patient Teaching" sections. I figured these two areas alone would serve me well in my upcoming semester.

Although, I must say I did like the way Lippincott's intro section had a whole part devoted to the various classifications, as well as listing the drugs that fell into each category.

You know, you can get a "last year's version" of Lippincott for dirt-cheap online or at a "Bargain Books" type store, if you have one in your area. That way you can still have that intro section you liked (which will be helpful for you in your Pharm and Med-Surg classes), but only have to spend $5 or less on the book.

I have started doing this for all my classes.... particularly helpful if the textbook that is "required" for your class is snooze-inducing, or just not written to appeal to your way of learning. Sometimes just reading about Congestive Heart Failure as written by a different author is all it takes to "make it click and help it stick" in your brain. Or some textbooks may have charts or graphics of some sort that help you get the big picture, etc. Older editions of textbooks are dirt-cheap online, and are often a great resource.

Thank you, Brillo! :) I can't believe I didn't think of that earlier, but it goes to show you what an incredible resource this site is. For some reason, I didn't even think about how valuable an "old edition" text can be, especially when you consider that they're practically free!

As soon as I read your post, I hopped on eBay, and I'm scouring (no pun intended! :)) that site in a different window, as I type out this reply. I've also written down your tip on my whiteboard behind me, as well, so thank you for giving me a tip that will undoubtedly be an asset to my studies! :D

:w00t:

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

Since you liked that idea, I'll share one of my fave sites with you:

BetterWorldBooks.com - New & Used Books for Sale, Textbooks, Book Reviews & more - FREE SHIPPING

Most of their books are $4 with free shipping, and for every book you purchase, they donate a book to a literacy charity somewhere in the world. You do have to do your research.... some of the books were published in the 80s, and you have to make sure that the book you're getting is coming from BWB instead of one of their "partner" sites in order to get the free shipping. And I'll warn you right now, the site is horribly addicting... ALL THOSE CHEAP BOOKS!!!!!

I did my psych nursing class this last semester, and I had five different psychiatric careplanning/diagnosing books for under twenty bucks. The one that we were supposed to have for class was over $40, but everyone in my clinical group borrowed my "old" books b/c the stuff was easier to find and laid out better.

I also recommend purchasing at least a couple different nursing diagnosis/careplan books for your other classes. It's always nice to have plenty of options!

Specializes in 1st year Critical Care RN, not CCRN cert.

I personally own all 4 in last years model. The Davis and Pearson are the best of the best. For care plans I used both because I like pearson's nursing recommendations best and Davis's mechanism of action best.

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