Books to use for excelsior

[missdeevah, NP]

i have gone over several threads and posts over this issue, but there is so much conflicting info. i do not plan on getting my books through any third party publishing company. with that said, i would like to know...those of you who went the cheaper router like i am trying to do...could you please list the books that you used and which you found most helpful, and where you got them from and if possible, how much you spent? i know i can get this information from the excelsior website, but i have been there and there are just so many books listed, and i don't know which ones i can safely omit. i just graduated from lpn/lvn school in august, and i enrolled with exclesior 2 days ago...i would like to get started on nc1 asap while i am still on a roll. i'm trying to go as cheap as possible...probably even borrow some books from the library, etc. any input will be appreciated.

[aegirl]

I bought the college network guides off Ebay. That was the easiest route for me...everything was right there instead of surfing through different text books. I wasn't going to go directly through TCN. I spent about $500 on all of the nursing concepts books. I'm now finished and waiting for the CPNE.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

i went and bought a good med-surg , peds, mental health , and maternity book... then bought lisa arends cd's to supplement that. i also download the free content guides.

[caliotter3]

You have been given good advice by the other posters. To that I would add: I bought the texts listed in the Excelsior study guide after looking at them at the bookstore and comparing books. I also found that NCLEX prep books on the various subjects, and the general prep books like Saunders, were really more useful to me personally because I could practice answering question after question without wasting a lot of time doing reading. Write down the ISBN numbers from the Excelsior recommended texts and get them cheaper on the book websites. And don't dismiss the NCLEX prep books b/c you will use them when you study for the NCLEX. Good luck.

[missdeevah, NP]

thanks for all the responses so far...those of you that stated that you bought the books recommended on the excelsior website...did you buy all the books? and if so, did you use all of them?

[SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN]

thanks for all the responses so far...those of you that stated that you bought the books recommended on the excelsior website...did you buy all the books? and if so, did you use all of them?

i bought them all.

i have used a lot of the med/surg and pharm texts. i would recommend that you buy those. forget the cultural crap books, the critical thinking books, yada yada yada. you will need decent peds and maternal/child texts and can probably get away with any (for rn's) you can snag.

i bought a set of lisa arends notes and they were okay. gave me nothing that wasn't in the texts.

[tater.jake]

I have chosen to buy the "college network" books from ebay. I bought NC1-6 for $610. A little more than they usually go for on ebay I think. I am still happy, though. I just want to move forward.

[aefrancis]

i went and bought a good med-surg , peds, mental health , and maternity book... then bought lisa arends cd's to supplement that. i also download the free content guides.

hi, i am a new user. i am also enrolled with excelisor online nursing program. where can i get lisa arends cd's to supplement my studies, and how much did it cost you. thanks

[Lunah, MSN, RN]

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlarends = Lisa Arends on eBay.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

lunah gave you the correct link. i paid a little over $12 for each cd this includes s&h.

hi, i am a new user. i am also enrolled with excelisor online nursing program. where can i get lisa arends cd's to supplement my studies, and how much did it cost you. thanks

[DoubleblessedRN, ADN, RN, EMT-B, EMT-P]

If you are looking for textbooks, I have some excellent recommendations. You can find most of these used on Amazon or Half.com.

Pharmacology: A Nursing Process Approach 5th Ed. (Kee et al.)

Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, Process and Practice 7th Ed. (Kozier)

Wong's Essentials of Pediatric Nursing (Hockenberry)

Brunner and Suddarth's Textbook of Medical Surgical Nursing (Smeltzer & Bare) (I have the 2003 edition; I believe there is now a newer edition)

Maternity Nursing (Lowdermilk & Perry)

Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (Varcarolis)

[missdeevah, NP]

if you are looking for textbooks, i have some excellent recommendations. you can find most of these used on amazon or half.com.

pharmacology: a nursing process approach 5th ed. (ker et al.)

fundamentals of nursing: concepts, process and practice th ed. (cozier)

wong's essentials of pediatric nursing (huckleberry)

brynner and siddhartha's textbook of medical surgical nursing (smeltzer & bare) (i have the 2003 edition; i believe there is now a newer edition)

maternity nursing (lowdermilk & perry)

foundations of psychiatric mental health nursing (varcarolis)

omg, i am so glad you listed these books. i just bought these from various sources, including ebay, half.com and amazon (except for the med-surge book by smeltzer, which i already had) . i paid as little as $0.99 for some of them. i mean the books are so totally affordable, it just takes a lot of research and patience (not even that much, really). and the lisa notes...i somehow had found them on ebay over a year ago and bought them without even knowing or having heard anything about her. i just need to find the cd...i had also bought a couple of other notes from other people (nurse justin or something like that, i think). i am so on a roll and ready to start. i'm glad that i finally have a clear understanding of what books i need. i'm so ready to begin studying, as soon as they get here! thanks everyone for your input, and i hope that this thread also helps other people who have had questions about what books to buy. i know it can be confusing!