Recommended books to get a head start before nursing school?

2ndyearstudent, CNA · May 1, 2011

Is there anything else I should be prepared for BEFORE I start nursing school/any other things that will make the transition to nursing school easier? Any advice helps! Thanks in advance :)

My advice is to relax and enjoy your last summer before nursing school as much as you can.

Look, you have already laid the groundwork for your success in school, you worked your butt of in your prereqs, including math. You aren't going to learn that much more about Chemistry, A&P or math on your own this summer.

Soon enough, your instructors will start sending you information on materials you need to buy and stuff you need to study before school starts. When that happens, attack that content like it said something bad about your mother.

Until then, spend as much time with your family, your friends and your sanity as you can.

Good luck!

Noctor · Jan 17, 2012

I would highly recommend, "Confessions of a Surgeon" by Dr. Paul Ruggieri. I read very positive review of it in the Wall St. Journal and got it from Amazon over the weekend. While its main focus is on the brutal reality of being a surgeon, it contains a great deal of insight on the relationships both a professional and personal level between docs and nurses. Dr. Ruggieri gives a nod of respect to the profession of being a nurse that should give any young nursing student a sense of pride.

Hi everyone! I am about to start my first semester of nursing school this fall and I am wondering what advice you would give to get a head start during the summer. What books do you recommend a new nursing student get before starting in a nursing program? I happen to have a weakness in math and I am worried for the calculations I will have to know for the program. Are there any great "math for nurses" books you can recommend? Is there anything else I should be prepared for BEFORE I start nursing school/any other things that will make the transition to nursing school easier? Any advice helps! Thanks in advance :)

Snowbird17 · Jan 18, 2012

I agree with getting your life in order. Brush up on the required pre entrance subjects like A&P and chemistry. That will help you to better grasp nursing concepts and pharmacology.

Don't waste time learning nursing specific fundamentals like labs and vital signs. Let them teach you that. Just solidify what you are suppose to already know entering the program. Know the A&P of the heart like the back of your hand and it will serve you well for the rest of you career!

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2012

the anatomy coloring book and the physiology coloring book. my students always loved these.

great resources, real textbooks that you'll use as adjuncts for your a&p classes. don't start to obsess over learning it all before you get to take the classes-- just look it over and get a little feel for what you will be learning, and then use them for studying.

bosslady781 · Jan 19, 2012

Go on Amazon and check out, Test Success:Test Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students 6th Edition By Dr. Patricia Nugent and also Fundamentals Success by the same author. Good Luck!

metal_m0nk, BSN, RN · Jan 19, 2012

Get a book about fluids and electrolytes - like one of the "for dummies" series. Go to labtestsonline.org and just poke around. Get a feel for what different tests measure, when they're ordered, and what normal values are.

busygrl · Jan 19, 2012

Please don't stress about Math. I wasted my whole summer before nursing school worrying about it for no reason. I quickly found out that it's basic and not that big a deal. I remember that an instructor told me to read NCLEX books while waiting for school to begin. She said I wouldn't know the material but I would get familiar with how test questions are asked. Hope this helps!!

Pengüino · May 23, 2013

Just make sure you really, really know your Anatomy & Physiology. I kept all my study materials from that course including the text book, lab manual, and my notes. My A&P professor stressed that we would have to continue studying A&P.
I took her advice and spent at least an hour a day studying A&P when I was finishing my prereqs and applying to nursing school. Boy am I glad I did!
When you get to PathoPhysiology it saves a lot of time if you are familiar with anatomy. When the professor discusses cardiac failure and arrhythmia, she isn't going to go over the anatomy of the heart, or how the blood flows. She assumes you know it.
Even a few minutes a day brushing up on A&P is worthwhile. When I'm drifting off to sleep I review A&P in my head. I trace the blood flow through the heart, naming the valves etc.
By the way, congrats on your acceptance. You'll love nursing school. It's an adventure.

Thank you for these ideas! I begin RN school in a few months, and I am so happy that I came across some of your methods. I am sure you have graduated by now, so congratulations!

MathHatingNurse · May 24, 2013

Fiction. Once you start school, textbooks will be the only books you have time for, so read a few fun books you have been meaning to read :) And, as others have stated, just get things in order. Take a little time to relax a bit before your classes start.