Ebook or Textbook?

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Specializes in LTC Facilities/Home Health.

Hi everyone,

I am very undecided about what I should use during nursing school. Ebooks or textbooks? I need to decide soon since school starts October 1st. What are your thoughts or suggestions on this and what are you using?

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.

I HATE, no despise ebooks! I tried to use ebooks for micro & A&P because they were cheaper. But I just couldn't get over the scrolling & scrolling & nothing was easier with the ebooks. But that is my opinion, maybe you would like the ebook. I missed having the physical copy in my hand. I will never use another ebook again!

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Ebooks are cheaper, but it depends on how you learn! For me there is no way I could use purely ebooks because I need to actually be holding the book and not looking at a screen to retain information. I don't know why that is, it's just how my brain processes info! If you can learn with ebooks then I say do that option because they are way more cost efficient?

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I thought I would hate ebooks, but the ebook version came with most of my books, and I love it. I love that most of my books are inside a barely-two-pound laptop. But, I do feel that my eyes get tired faster.

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Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
I thought I would hate ebooks, but the ebook version came with most of my books, and I love it. I love that most of my books are inside a barely-two-pound laptop. But, I do feel that my eyes get tired faster.

If I would've gotten the ebook with my book it probably would've been ok. I'm sure there's a way I can access the books on my phone but I just have to figure out how.

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Not a big fan of ebooks. For casual reading they have been fine for me, but when it comes to intensive reading for school, well they are no-no. My eyes get tired faster, and I feel its hard to work with it. For me there is something about touching and turning pages that is magical. So I prefer the physical textbook4.

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I have an ebook for my A&P 1 class and Im okay with it. I did buy an earlier version of the book at a used bookstore just to have it.

Once I get into nursing school, im not going to use ebooks. If i have them it's okay, but I prefer having books in hand.

I feel like I can't always trust if my laptop will stop working or something will happen. I'll always have the physical book. Plus, I like being able to highlight things, and sometimes I'll trace a diagram if it's important.

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I like to have my resources in eBook. I absolutely have to have my textbooks as a physical copy. I stare into those pages for hours. My eyes would fall out of my head if I tried to read a screen for that long. Now a success book, lab book, or another resource? That's really nice to be able to search for the information I'm looking for.

It's really a preference though.

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Specializes in Addictions Nursing, LTC.

Ebooks suck when you have open book/open note tests, but they don't allow you to have the text open in another window. I end up rewriting the majority of the text in my notes, and spend my test time frantically searching through my notes for that one obscure sentence I probably didn't write down in the first place.

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Specializes in Ambulatory Care.

Get the physical book. Aside from what all the posters above mentioned, you can always sell the book when you are done. An even better option is renting it. It is 1/4 of the price, you send it back when the class is over, and most of the time they pay for the shipping both ways. I've rented books from Amazon before vs. from the school and the price is usually lower. Save your money for coffee on finals. :)

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I absolutely cannot stand eBooks! They're okay for leisure ready but for studying, oh, heck no. Maybe it's just because I'm old and stuck in my ways but I need paper. I can tab a page, flip through the book, write in it if it's not a rental textbook, etc. I tried to study with an eBook on my Kindle because I had to take an entrance exam for my RN school and the only place I could get a study guide in time to review for the test was by Amazon as an eBook. All the other bookstores would have to order it and I didn't have the time for that. I was cursing the Kindle by the time I was finished reviewing math formulas that I haven't seen since high school 20 years ago...I still passed the entrance exam and was able to enroll right away but the agony of using an electronic book was so painful:madface:

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Specializes in Occ. Hlth, Education, ICU, Med-Surg.
Hi everyone,

I am very undecided about what I should use during nursing school. Ebooks or textbooks? I need to decide soon since school starts October 1st. What are your thoughts or suggestions on this and what are you using?

E-books are extremely hard to navigate and quickly locate information. I've tried a few and I definitely prefer regular textbooks.

However...the only way you'll truly be able to tell is to try using one...I wouldn't get all e-books until you've tried one. If you don't like it you can just put up with the nuisance for one semester and you'll know your preference. So...my recommendation is get one to try it while using all regular textbooks initially

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