Book recommendations to prepare for school this fall?

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Should I get a medical terminology dictionary and start learning the terms? I purchased Fundamentals Success by Nugent and Vitale and it acts as though you really need to own one. It recommends Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. What do you guys think? Is it a good idea to start learning the terminology now? What kind of books could I start studying now to give me a leg up for this upcoming semester? Time will be tight for me once school starts (familial obligations, etc.) so I'd like to do as much as I can now to give me a head start. Any books you wished you'd read BEFORE starting nursing school? Thanks for the recommendations in advance!

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Specializes in My goal is to be an Oncology Nurse.....

I'm a first year Nursing this fall and I've already been going over a dosage calc workbook and NCLEX book. I also will be going my Nursing Fundamentals book as soon as I get it. To me being prepared to go into this can only help, not hurt. ;). I also took a med term class last fall too and that really helped to explain how med term is created and how to piece the prefixes and suffixes together to make words.. If you've never been around medical before, I would go over any of the books required this semester and begin to familarize yourself with the material and then once it's explained in class and in clinicals it will click!! :)

hope this helped!! Good Luck this Fall

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If you've never been around medical before, I would go over any of the books required this semester and begin to familarize yourself with the material and then once it's explained in class and in clinicals it will click!!

Yeah, this is my plan. I only just found out I was accepted and am eagerly awaiting finding out the specifics books we will be using for school. I most definitely plan to pore over them as soon as I get them!

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Specializes in SDU, Tele.

Don't buy your required text books until you find out exactly what you need. Sometimes they put books on the list you only open once.

But I am also preparing for my first semester. I was advised to get Fluids and Electrolytes Made Incredibly Easy(SUCH an amazing book), Saunder's NCLEX Comprehensive Review(I got an older version; still awesome), and a Pathophysiology RR by Hogan. You want to know general patho's, not specific stuff but the physiology of an MI, stroke, etc.

Review hardest AP concepts.

I went a step further and purchased a second Fluids book RR by Hogan, and a Nutrition RR(I didn't take the class) and Fundamental's of Nursing RR by Hogan. I like Hogan's RR books because they are easy to read and gives you easy review Q's. You may not want to get all of these, but this summer I have SOOO much time on my hands. :-)

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Specializes in SDU, Tele.

PS Never ever get supplemental study guides at a store. Your required texts are expensive enough. All the books I purchased were less than 4 dollars! The Nutrition and Fundamentals were less than 3 bucks. Only the Saunder's book cost me about 10 dollars. I got them on Amazon in used condition but all were spotless expect the NCLEX book.

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I bought the tabers dictionary and haven't opened it once...waste of money to me. I use my laptop a lot when I'm studying/in class, so anytime I don't know a word, I just google it. It's a lot faster and it's free. I didn't go over any med terminology before school started and am doing fine. The fundamentals success book is going to be more helpful to you during the semester...the test success book I talked about before is worth reading before school starts. It not only gives help on test taking, but also goes over the nursing process as well along with all kinds of other info. That's the one I read through before school, but you probalby won't pick it up again once school starts. Just not enough time for it. One thing you could do is go to a books a million or barnes and nobel, pick up some books out of the medical reference section, they have nursing books grouped together and go sit in their cafe and look through them. It's a good way for you to see if a book is worthwhile without having to buy it. Sometimes I just go pick up one of their nclex books and practice questions/read through stuff, then put it back on the shelf. It's a great way to save money but still get use and studying out of their books!

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Don't buy your required text books until you find out exactly what you need. Sometimes they put books on the list you only open once.

I suggest renting your textbooks from a company like Chegg.com. If you return your books within 30 days you get your money back. I've done that a couple times because some teachers don't even use the books that are REQUIRED.

I wish someone had told me to buy an NCLEX book (I studied for the NCLEX with Saunders) at the beginning of my program. Before starting school, take a look at the practice questions to get a sense of how you will be tested in school and on the NCLEX. A lot of my classmates struggled on tests the first couple semesters because they weren't used to the style of questions that require critical thinking rather than just direct recall. I would also go through the chapters and do practice questions that correspond with what you're studying in school.

Gook luck!

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