Need a Good Careplan book

Nursing Students General Students

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Specializes in Oncology Unit.

I just sold my "All in One Care Planning" at Amazon because I didn't find it helpful. I need a new care plan book b4 class starts. Any reccomendations??? I heard about Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual by Spraks and Taylor, is it any good??

Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Hi, Kristy! I have a older book from 1999 by Lynda Juall Carpenito called Nursing Care Plans & Documentation: Nursing Diagnoses and Collaborative Problems. You might still be able to get a copy of it, but I don't think it is being published anymore. Carpenito is authoring a lot of books on nursing diagnosis, I noticed. I particularly like this book because it has nursing care plans for both Medical and Surgical conditiions and is well organized. Medical conditions are grouped by body system or major categories of illness. There is also a section for therapeutic procedures and includes care plans for dialysis, mechanical ventilation, TPN, and tracheostomies to name a few. I used this book (over 800 pages) to help write care plans at the nursing home I was working in. I never hear much tell about it these days, so I'm sure it must be a bit outdated insofar as nursing diagnoses run. But, hey, nursing diagnoses may come and go, but basic nursing care is still that. Good luck in your hunt!

I start my first year on September 6th and have purchased as optional books Nursing Diagnosis Handbook by Ackley and Ladwig and also Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual by Sparks and Taylor. I purchased both used/new condition so I did not pay the full price. They look as though they will serve the purpose. I think I have seen them both metioned on this web site before. Hope this helps.

Pasha :)

I just sold my "All in One Care Planning" at Amazon because I didn't find it helpful. I need a new care plan book b4 class starts. Any reccomendations??? I heard about Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual by Spraks and Taylor, is it any good??

mosbys nursing diagnosis handbook...it has seriously saved my tush for all my careplans. it has all the possible nursing dx for all the different med dx, and clear rationales for all the interventions and goals. i seriously could not write a careplan without it.

Specializes in NICU Level III.
mosbys nursing diagnosis handbook...it has seriously saved my tush for all my careplans. it has all the possible nursing dx for all the different med dx, and clear rationales for all the interventions and goals. i seriously could not write a careplan without it.

Can you PM the ISBN number of that to me?

I just sold my "All in One Care Planning" at Amazon because I didn't find it helpful. I need a new care plan book b4 class starts. Any reccomendations??? I heard about Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual by Spraks and Taylor, is it any good??

Hey Kristy,

That's the care plan book I used during nursing school, and I thought it was great. I found it to be very thorough and specific as well as having age-related care plans (adult, peds, geriatric, etc.). The only negative I found with this book was the lack of psych care plans when I had my psych rotation. At that point I bought a separate psych nursing care plan book.

In spite of this however, I would highly recommend the Sparks and Taylor book. I found it to be an excellent investment in nursing school! :Melody:

Best of luck to you,

Donna :)

Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.

Mosby's Nursing Care Plans:Nursing Diagnosis and Interventions (5th ed) by Gulanick & Myers.It has careplans for just about anything you need.

Specializes in OB, lactation.

Except the person who posted above, just about everyone I've met hates the Carpenito books.

I got the Ackley & Ladwig Nursing Diagnosis Handbook at my school library and probably either keep checking it out or buy it. Here it is on Amazon, with the reviews there:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/032302551X/104-2899559-7586311?v=glance

I just looked up the Mosby's guide out of curiosity, the one I found here is also by Ladwig; no Amazon reviews there yet, it's apparently about to come out in a couple of weeks:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0323036651/qid=1123857101/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2899559-7586311?v=glance&s=books

I guess everyone has their favorite... maybe see if you can scope a couple out at your library before buying!

Specializes in ER.

Yeah, "Carpenito" is a dirty word amongst my peers. :chuckle

If you get a Carpenito, apparently you need to stick with the older one mentioned above. The one I had, 2004 edition, was HORRENDOUS. Couldn't find a dang thing in that book, horrible organization, complete waste of money.

I quit using a careplan book after that, and just use my nursing texts (which contain potential Dx for the various conditions) and my Taber's. I also have a Med/Surg handbook that lists Dx and interventions/outcomes after explanations for care. I don't know why but I find it easier to use various sources than a careplan book. Like Mitchsmom said, I think everyone has their own favorite way of doing this.

Also, there is an online careplan maker I use sometimes when I am stumped. Found the link in this forum somewhere, actually!

http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/MERLIN/Ackley/NDH/Constructor/

Specializes in OB, lactation.
Yeah, "Carpenito" is a dirty word amongst my peers. :chuckle

If you get a Carpenito, apparently you need to stick with the older one mentioned above. The one I had, 2004 edition, was HORRENDOUS. Couldn't find a dang thing in that book, horrible organization, complete waste of money.

I quit using a careplan book after that, and just use my nursing texts (which contain potential Dx for the various conditions) and my Taber's. I also have a Med/Surg handbook that lists Dx and interventions/outcomes after explanations for care. I don't know why but I find it easier to use various souces than a careplan book. Like Mitchsmom said, I think everyone has their own favorite way of doing this.

Also, there is an online careplan maker I use sometimes when I am stumped. Found the link in this forum somewhere, actually!

http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/MERLIN/Ackley/NDH/Constructor/

What she said :)

I was also going to mention that most of my books seem to have ND/care plan stuff in them, and Taber's has that section at the end... I haven't really found a care plan book to be a necessity, but more an extra for brainstorming... but programs vary & you may feel differently. Ditto on the online careplan constructor too.

Oh, my "Nclex Review made incredibly easy" book lists nursing dx & actions for conditions too, so sometimes I look at that & it's actually easier because it's narrowed down to the most important/relevant stuff instead of including everything ('Energy Field Disturbance' is still my favorite and I swear I'm going to use it one of these days just to see what my instructor says!! LOLOL)

Specializes in ER.
'Energy Field Disturbance' is still my favorite and I swear I'm going to use it one of these days just to see what my instructor says!! LOLOL)

:rotfl: Gotta" love that one!

When we were doing papers on fluid and electrolyte imbalance last semester (very ill patients) we had to include 2 nursing diagnoses. One of our group asked if she could use "energy field disturbance" and the instructor told her if she did she would be forced to write "This is a bulls**t diagnosis" on her paper in red pen, and we would get her in a lot of trouble. I don't think we had a bigger laugh the entire semester.

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