Books to help prepare for nursing school

fgoff · Jan 29, 2007

I wouldn't recommend 'books' as much as I would recommend subscribing to a nursing journal.... This would keep you up-to-date on practice issues you will be exposed to while in school as well as general medical/nursing care. If you can, go to your schools library and compare some to see what might work for you. Or go online... There are so many now!

marilynmom, LPN, NP · Jan 29, 2007

I'm in a BSN program right now. Nursing journals would be your best bet. I can't think of any book(s) really that would help. There is always something to read and learn in journals though. Plus you will already have some on hand once you start your program and have to do articles and reviews and presentations (etc), the journals can be a good resource.

JaxiaKiley · Jan 29, 2007

you can get subscriptions on ebay for good deals

fleur-de-lis, BSN, RN · Jan 29, 2007

They made us read Bed Number 10 our first semester. It is really good at giving you a patient's perspective and is written for the layperson, so it is not a hard read. I really enjoyed it! I don't have the author's name handy, but you should be able to find it on Amazon or Ebay.

Others have recommended How to Survive and Maybe Even Love Nursing School, although I have not read it myself.

Galore · Jan 30, 2007

I've read 2 books so far that are just general preparations for nursing school. The first one, Stressed Out About Nursing School by Stephanie Thibeault, is pretty generic and simplistic - if you've done much reading here, already applied to nursing school, or talked to anyone who's already a nurse, you will most likely already know what's covered here.

The second one, Student Nurse Handbook: Difficult Concepts Made Easy by B. Gayle Twiname and Sandra M. Boyd, is more thorough and pretty blunt. I've found it helpful but probably wouldn't pay for either of these...since the info is so general it's not like a reference book you'd want to invest in. I got both of them at the library for free :)

tookewlandy · Jan 30, 2007

I would buy "Fundamentals of Nursing made incredibly easy" since you have 6 months until you start, that book will get you started on the basics you will learn in the beginning, so you can get head start on that. Plus it will be good reference to go with your other books

xt1 · Jan 31, 2007

For an entertaining look at whats to come read:

Huttman, Barbara. Code Blue: A Nurse's True Life Story

I loved this book!

peacelovestar · Jan 31, 2007

I'm sure you've already thought about this, but if it's at all possible... Try to get in contact with anyone doing a nursing program in your area... at your school, etc. Ask around. I liked the idea of the nursing journals. Definitely keep reading this board. Read about all the different specialities. Read the health section of the newspaper.

Or, at my school, you can tell what every class needs (books wise) so you could see what books are required for nursing (or the best ones, opitional books--usually not as expensive) and kind of go from there. I'm not telling you to buy your books early..esp with new editions coming out like crazy but hopefully you get the idea. At my school our bookstore is so large that we have a large nursing section.

Is there a chicken soup for the nursing soul? I'm pretty sure there is. I heard it was good. Go to Amazon, type in nursing books, nursing student, etc etc... and read the reviews! Might find something good :)

My sister is in nursing and I love flipping through her books, asking her what she did today, etc. It's awesome. Just a thought, I know I'm lucky living with her and having that source of knowledge right there... but hey, it was worth mentioning!

Soup Turtle · Jan 31, 2007

I'm reading one of my first semester books while I wait to start class in March. It's called Fundamentals of Nursing 7th ed by Kozier. The book is pretty simple and strait forward. There isn't much in there (so far) that I don't know at least something about. What I find REALLY helpful are the review questions in the book and study guide that go with it since the manner of questioning is so different from "regular" test questions.

The wait is killing me!!!

hs2005 · Jan 31, 2007

Thank you everyone for so many great ideas, your suggestions have been really helpful! I am going to check out some of the different journals for sure, after looking on line I see there are a ton of them.