Wise to purchase an old edition?

Nursing Students Student Assist

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Hello!! First post, yay!!So I am thinking that buying older editions of most textbooks is a bad idea because it may have different questions that could be given as a class assignment (i.e., answer questions on page 20 but the old version has a photo on page 20) and I have heard that procedures change a lot. However, I am looking into purchasing an old edition of a medical terminology textbook (version 6 from 2008 ~$7 vs 7 from 2012 ~$75) This book would be for personal reading not for a class, I just want to make sure that I won't go to the hospital talking like in olde English or something hehe Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Textbooks, yes. Newest = best. Medical terminology, eh. Whatever you kind get really. I don't 4 years will make a huge difference. Stuff like that doesn't change.

ImKosher - I HATE it when they do the "custom" school books! I got lucky this last semester because I had a friend who had taken the class the semester before and he let me use his book but if I hadn't I would have been out over $100 and it was a loose leaf book! Not even something bound! Ugh. I feel your pain.

Another thing to consider is whether or not these books have online programs to be used with them. I heard that some books that have online codes that can only be activated one time. So the physical book is fine but the online stuff is not.

Good point, wildcatchristine! I always ask others ahead of me if they were required to use the online materials (some instructors do require it) and/or if they found any of the materials useful, but I didn't mention that in my earlier comments (as that's a concern any time you buy used, even if you buy current edition used). As with other used texts with one-time use online codes, you can probably still purchase the online access separately -- even if you chose to get one edition older -- but so far, I haven't been required to do so.

The two books for which I've used the online access a lot are my Davis drug guide and the Ackley/Ladwig care plan constructor. Drug guides and care plan books seem to be two of the few classes of nursing books that everyone agrees you really do need current edition, so even though most of my books are one edition older, I did get current edition on those.

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