ASU Rent or Buy Nursing Books

Nienna Celebrindal · Dec 2, 2014

For sure buy your physical assessment book, I wouldn't buy pharm. I really love Mosby's but I'm not familiar with that book to be able to give you advice there.

Ocean_Vibes · Dec 2, 2014

Do you agree with the ones that I have RENT or BUY next to? Those were just my thought, I would love to hear yours if they differ! Thank you for your response!

twss2323 · Dec 4, 2014

I got my first degree from U of A, so I'm a little reluctant to help out a Sun Devil

I think you'd be fine renting pharmacology. You have your drug book that you'll be keeping and there's online resources (I love the epocrates app btw). I bought my health assessment book but ended up selling it. I bought the APA manual and it's sitting on my shelf in the plastic. I use PERLLA (Microsoft program) for all my APA formatted papers-- I highly recommend it. When there's something PERLLA can't do for me, which isn't often, online resources are plenty... So in my opinion, it may not be worth buying. I definitely agree with renting the calculations book UNLESS you typically struggle with math, if that's the case, it could be helpful to keep it around. I have no idea about the Mosby's book-- I'd wait til the semester starts to find out if you really need it, if you're in a bind, there's always 1 day shipping from Amazon (only $3.99 if you sign up for a free Amazon student account). I agree with the rent/buy choices on the rest.

If you can-- maybe there's a SNA Facebook page for your program or something-- try and talk to students in the program... They've taken those exact classes and know what you really need or not, that'd probably be your most reliable source of information. Good luck!

Ocean_Vibes · Dec 8, 2014

Thank you very much for your response!

aliashanika · Oct 30, 2015

I'm not sure if you're still active on this site, but I was wondering if you'd be able to share some advice on which books you would suggest to buy and which ones to rent now that you've been through the semester? I applied for Spring 2016 and we are supposed to be hearing next week! But I found this post on thought I'd give it a shot so that I know how much I need to save for textbooks!

Ocean_Vibes · Nov 1, 2015

Hello!

This is just my personal opinion on what I experienced through my Junior 1 and now almost done with my Junior 2. Feel free to contact me anytime as you go forward on any topics :) I'd be more than happy to help in any way! Nursing school is intense, and I wish I knew someone who was a step ahead for me to ask questions of!

I don't know if your Junior 1 list is the same, but this is my list with what I ended up doing written first, and RENT/BUY/DON'T NEED if I were to do it again written next with rationale listed below:

Health Promotion Throughout the Lifespan: 9780323091411: RENTED/ RENT

This book was used in my Junior 1 Nursing Concepts class. You don't need it for Junior 2.

Physical Examination & Health Assessment: 9781437756852: RENTED/RENT

This book is escaping my mind. I remember the cover of it, and I know there are readings for Junior 1 for it. I don't remember using it very often, but I also didn't do all the assigned readings. You won't need it for Junior 2.

Fundamentals of Nursing: 9780323079334: RENTED/ RENT

I rented this book for Junior 1, but there are readings for Junior 2 for this book as well. I still haven't re-rented it, and since the semester is more than half way over at this point I probably won't re-rent it.

Communication in Nursing: 9780323083348: RENTED/RENT or DON'T NEED

I honestly can't remember this book. I remember the cover of it, but I can't remember if we used it (hich probably means we didn't haha)You definitely don't need it in Junior 2. This might be a book that you wait and rent if you feel it's necessary.

Nursing Diagnosis Application to Clinical Practice: 9781608311095: BOUGHT/BUY

I use this book almost everyday. It's a must. I used it all throughout Junior 1 and I've continued to use it all throughout my Junior 2 rotation. It's very helpful for your nursing care plans!

Medical-Surgical Nursing Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems: 9780323086783: RENTED/RENT or BUY

I ended up renting this book my Junior 1 rotation, but I also had to re-rent it for my Junior 2-Adult Health rotation. If you rent it all 4 semesters (Junior 1 and 2/ Senior 1 and 2) it would still cost less than purchasing it. That's how I looked at it, which is why I chose to rent it the first time, knowing that even if I had to re-rent it (which I did), it still wouldn't cost me as much as buying. I don't know if I'll need it for Senior 1 yet, but I used it for Junior 1 and half of Junior 2.

Calculate with Confidence: 9780323089319: RENTED/ DON'T NEED

I rented this for my Junior 1 rotation, and didn't open it once. Yes, there are reading assignments listed on the schedule for this book. I never did them. I would recommend renting this book if math is something you struggle with, especially conversions (for example: ounces to milliliters) because you will be doing a lot of medication conversions. This book was also listed for Junior 2. I have not rented or bought it, and still see no need. I think this book really comes down to personal preference and current math level.

Mosby's Dictionaty of Medicine, Nursing, & Health Professions: 9780323074032: NEVER GOT IT/ DON'T NEED IT

They did not mention this book once.

Pharmacology for Nursing Care: 9781437735826: RENTED/ RENT

This book is necessary. There are a lot of readings out of this book. It is a dry hard to read book; in my opinion. I would recommend saving your money, renting this book, and spending your money on buying a study guide or something extra to help you with pharmacology if you need it.

Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses: 9780803639768: BOUGHT/BUY

This is an absolute must. You will use it all the time! I love it!

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: 9781433805615: RENTED/ DON'T NEED

I did not use this book. It was a waste of a rent. The information can be found online.

Conceptual Foundations: The Bridge to Professional Nursing Practice: 9780323068697: RENTED/RENT

You must get this book. It is for your research class, and it's a must. It SUCKS to read. It's time consuming and dry, but my professor referenced it often. She also used it in trivia questions that added extra credit points to your grade!

Nursing Social Policy Statement: 9781558102705: BOUGHT/DON'T NEED

I bought this book used because it was actually cheaper than renting it. I think I opened it once or twice. It's under $10, so if you want you can get it, but I personally don't think it's necessary.

aliashanika · Nov 1, 2015

Thank you SO much for this list! I'm sure you're very busy with school and everything and I really do appreciate you taking the time to type this up with so much detail. And thank you for offering to help as well! I'm not 100% sure if the book list is the same yet since it hasn't been released, but I will definitely be looking at this when it does so I can get a pretty good idea on which books I should buy and which ones to rent. Thank you again!

kris10s08 · Dec 12, 2015

I have most of my books on my smartphone. I purchased the Nursing Constellation Plus from Skyscape for less than $200 and your school might have a discount with them too. Nursing Constellation Plusâ„¢ | Skyscape Mobile It comes with Davis's Drug Guide For Nurses, RNotes, Diseases and Disorders and Nursing Therapeutics manual, Tabers and Davis's Comprehensive Lab and Diagnostic tests with nursing implications. I also added Ignatavicius Clinical Companion for Med-Surg nursing. It's great having them on my phone and the Nursing Constellation comes with an online version at no extra charge.

saminella520 · Dec 30, 2016

Can anyone tell me if they were required to have the online access codes. I was going to buy/rent everything seperate since it is so much cheaper but for the spring 2017 semester there is a $1039 package that includes all the ebooks and an access code. When I looked it up the access code is 499 by itself! Any advice?

aliashanika · Dec 31, 2016

I didn't need any access codes until junior 2 and that was for an EBP class that was online. You'll need simchart, though. Keep in mind that there has been a curriculum change and I'm not sure how much they've changed regarding books and using access codes. If you know anyone who's entering junior 2 in the spring, ask them. They'd had a better idea since they have the same curriculum as you! I rented all my books besides Carpenito, Medical-Surgical Nursing (bought old edition), Davis' Drug Guide, and Fundamentals of Nursing.

saminella520 · Dec 31, 2016

For this semester there is the $1039 package that includes the ebooks of : concepts for nursing practice, fundamentals of nursing, med surg nursing, pharm for nursing care, calculate with confidence, health assmt/physical exam, drug ref, nursing diagnosis, and the online access for NCO 2.0 nursing concepts (good for 3 years of access), and in addition to all that it says we need an online code for NUR 336, something called shadow health, which is a seperate $125.

I'm just trying to find out if there is any way out of spending $1200, unfortunately I don't know anyone entering junior 2 this spring. If I could find everything cheaper to rent I would do that, but there are some I would buy such as the ones you mentioned, but I'm just unsure of the online access