Drug Cards?

Altra, BSN, RN · Jul 7, 2004

Not sure what the requirements are for your program, but ... after using them for 3 semesters I can't really recommend card decks - the various books are SO much more comprehensive. I have Nurse's Med Deck, 8th ed. It's published by Davis - same publishers as the Davis Drug Guide. But there are SO many drugs that are not in the card deck. The deck is supposed to be the "1000 most commonly prescribed drugs." HA. Then why am I always having to go to another source for my patients' meds? Not just occasionally, but constantly.

In my program they made the card deck a required "text" because (as in many nursing programs) we have to turn in the card for each med we administered to patients in clinical that week, along with an evaluation of the effectiveness, side effects, etc. The idea was that the card deck would save tons of writing, and it does. But there are too many drugs missing, and I'm now convinced that, as much of a pain in the *** as it is, it's better to write out the pharmacologic action, side effects, nursing considerations, etc. Many people learn better when writing it out.

If I had to do it over again I'd buy the Davis Drug Guide w/CD - you can print out "cards" and it's much more comprehensive than the card deck.

Whatever you decide to purchase, the backup source is Google searches. If you do a search for a med, somewhere within the first 10 hits or so will be the "official" web page of the med from its manufacturer - you can print this out and use it as well.

Good luck! :)

francine79 · Jul 8, 2004

I agree with MLOS. I use just a regular drug book. I have heard from many of my classmates that the drug cards don't have most of the drugs you need to look up in them. Most have said buying them was a big waste of money.

michelle95 · Jul 8, 2004

When I was in LPN school, they wouldn't let us use pre-made drug cards. We had to make them ourselves.

jschut, BSN, RN · Jul 8, 2004

Hey MLOS~

Thanks for the heads up about the Davis Drug Guide w/CD. I didn't know you could buy such a thing to help make drug cards....

What a concept! LOL!

ItsyBitsySpider, BSN, RN · Jul 8, 2004

I use the Quik cards, 13th ed. and only because they are required. I find them to be a hassle really. Best thing I've gotten is a Palm Pilot and downloaded a drug book on it which is sooo handy and much easier to carry around than those drug cards.

Indy, LPN, LVN · Jul 9, 2004

Thanks for the tip on google searches! That'll save me some writing on the drug cards I do have to make up - for when mine aren't in my deck.

And as for drug books, I have to share this. DO NOT, no matter HOW tempting it is, buy Springhouse's Nursing Drug Guide. It looks like a drug book, it acts like a drug book, it's missing some things that about drive me bananas. What's it missing?

Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate)

Zetia (ezetimbe)

Hydrocodone

Pneumonia vaccine

Any other vaccines

With the hydrocodone, it's listed as an ingredient in an appendix for combination drugs. And in the front where it lists general characteristics of the drug classes, you can look at opiates. But I'm picky. I do think it should be in the text just in case something about it may be different from, say, oxycodone, which IS listed in the text.

This has resulted in me looking up more drugs from the 2 year old Davis manual at the hospital during or before clinicals than in my own book, which I paid for. Just say no to springhouse, trust me. Davis is much better.