books that'll help prepare me for school

Nursing Students General Students

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hi,

does anyone know of some books for nursing students that will help prepare me for school? i have at least a year to wait and i want to use that time to learn as much as i can.

thanks:specs:

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Specializes in Adolescent Psych, PICU.

Have you read any of Echo Heron's books? I really enjoyed them. Another really good book (non-nursing but still applicable) is called The Secret Life of Germs, I read that this summer and I think it helped me with Micro and also now in Fundamentals of Nursing...it's just an interesting book and easy to read.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

i would suggest that you check your college bookstore to see what textbook they are using for fundamentals of nursing or basic nursing and start with those. your college library should have older copies of these textbooks on the shelves if you don't want to buy your own copy. there's not a whole lot beyond that in nursing textbooks that is going to make much sense to you at this time. i can suggest two textbooks:

professional nursing: concepts and challenges by kay kittrell kittrell chitty - about $45

interpersonal relationships: professional communication skills for nurses by elizabeth nolan arnold, kathleen undeman boggs, kathleen underman boggs - about $40

in the meantime, how about some inspirational and lighter reading books such as these:

chicken soup for the nurse's soul: 101 stories to celebrate, honor and inspire the nursing profession by jack l. canfield, mark victor hansen, leann thieman, nancy mitchell-autio - about $13

tending lives: nurses on the medical front by echo heron, heron echo - about $7

intensive care: the story of a nurse by echo heron - about $8

condition critical: the story of a nurse continues by echo heron - about $8

nurses: the human touch by michael brown r.n. - about $7

hugs for nurses: stories, sayings, and scriptures to encourage and inspire by philis boultinghouse, leann weiss - about $12

nursing illuminations: a book of days by patricia t. van betten, melisa moriarty - about $19

the courage to laugh: humor, hope, and healing in the face of death and dying by allen klein - about $16

beyond the wrinkles: inspiration from a nursing home by shirlee dudding - about $10

about nursing as a career:

training wheels for nurses: what i wish i had known my first 100 days on the job: wisdom, tips, and warnings from experienced nurses by barbara arnoldussen (editor) - about $12

careers in nursing by terence j. sacks, thomas a. schweich - about $16

opportunities in nursing careers (opportunities in . . . series) by keville frederickson - about $14

two just for fun:

bleed, blister, and purge: a history of medicine on the american frontier by volney steele - about $15

code green: money-driven hospitals and the dismantling of nursing by dana beth weinberg, foreword by suzanne gordon - about $18

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Although I am not in the nursing program yet, I purchased some great books on Amazon.com:

1. Portable RN, Math for Nurses: A Pocket Guide to Dosage Calculation and Drug Preparation...

2. Student Nurse Handbook: Difficult Concepts Made Easy (2nd Edition)

3. Saunders Student Nurse Planner: A Guide to Success in Nursing School

4. Critical Thinking in Nursing: A Practical Approach by Alfaro-Lefevre...

5. Test Success: Test-Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students by Vitale

I have all the books I listed above. One of my friends is using the portable RN, she told me it was very helpful in her semester in nursing 101. I did read Saunders, it is great. I dont know if that information is helpful.

Check out Amazon....I usually buy books with 5 stars..or 4

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Echo Heron's books are great. Also, "Student Nurse Planner" by B. Gayle Twiname and Sandra M. Boyd. "Your First Year as a Nurse" is pretty good too.

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Specializes in LTAC, Telemetry, Thoracic Surgery, ED.

I'm in my second semester and something you're going to be have to understand that they go over wayyyy too briefly in class is fluids and electrolytes. I bought fluids and electrolytes made incredibly easy and it's helped a lot. You don't really need much background knowledge to understand it and it's very important stuff....you'll be that much further ahead when you get to med/surg

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MANurse

I was thinking about getting the Fluids Electrolytes Balance Made Incredibly Easy. I am glad you mentioned it.

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Specializes in ICU-CVICU.

If you have extra time I highly recommend Medical Terminology...the book I have is Shiland's "Mastering Healthcare Terminology". I especially like this book because it is a great A&P refresher.

Don't just memorize...learn why things are called what they are. A Biology professor once told me that there are only about 200 roots, prefixes, and suffixes to name medical terms. If you KNOW what all the parts mean, you have just saved yourself a whole 'lotta learning because, more often than not, the definition is in the word itself! This is a "trick" that should be required but isn't always!

For example...what a really big word hysterosalpingography is! But, if you've studied terminology, you would have a pretty good idea what it means, because the definition is (mostly) in the word:

hyster/o--uterus

salping/o--fallopian tube

graphy--process of recording

X-ray procedure using contrast medium to image the uterus and fallopian tubes.

Go one further and learn why the uterus is named "hystero"...you'll get a good laugh. And why Caesarean section is named what it is...Words are so much fun!

Good luck to you!

May

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Dialysis.

How to survive and maybe even love nursing school by kelli dunham

it's pretty light reading but it's interesting and informative, shows you how to cope, take tests, not freak out......

good luck!:)

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I too loved the Echo Heron book (intensive care) I will be a 2nd semester nursing student and found that this book really lets you know that nursing is serious business but very rewarding. Echo describes the managing care of multiple patients in CCU and the ER... However be warned, there are some very graphic shocking details in this book.....

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Specializes in LDRP.

One of the best practical books I have used over and over in school is Math for Nurses. It is a review of basic math skills, then teaches drug calcs. It is invaluable and I would advise anyone to pick it up and start looking at it now! :)

Best wishes!

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