Can anyone any GOOD nursing books??

MikeyJ, RN · Jul 16, 2007

I would first see what is required for you to purchase first. I usually go all out and buy "great" books that I think will be helpful for that particular class... and then I kick myself in the butt at the end of the semester because I never looked at them.

I am glad I didn't do that for nursing school because I know I wouldn't open them. Our required books to purchase are very indepth and wonderful -- and if I don't understand something, I usually look it up on wikipedia.

However, I will recommend an awesome care plan book that has done wonders for me!! Here is the link: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780323039543&itm=1

That book is amazing and am glad I purchased it. Our school actually ended up deciding to make that a required book for 2nd semester students.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2007

my recommendations are:

care plan book

nursing care plans: nursing diagnosis and intervention, 6th edition, by meg gulanick and judith l. myers - this book is student friendly and has a free online care plan constructor (http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/merlin/gulanick/constructor/index.cfm)
care plan book: maternal/newborn plans of care: guidelines for individual care, third edition (currently) by marilynn e. doenges and mary frances moorhouse - for ob

nursing diagnosis reference

nanda-i nursing diagnoses: definitions & classification 2007-2008 published by nanda international - this includes all the current 188 nursing diagnoses, their symptoms and related factors only and runs about $25 - you have to purchase it directly from nanda. most nursing care plan books do not include all the nursing diagnoses.
nursing diagnosis handbook: a guide to planning care, 7th edition, by betty j. ackley and gail b. ladwig - this is a reference book that includes all the nursing diagnoses up to 2005 - it also has a free online care plan constructor where you can view what the actual pages of the book look like (sample page: [color=#3366ff]deficient fluid volume) - includes outcomes and interventions for all the nursing diagnoses - runs $39.95

lab and diagnostic book

mosby's diagnostic and laboratory test reference by kathleen deska pagana and timothy james pagana - includes lab, x-ray and other types of diagnostic tests

pathophysiology book

pathophysiology: a 2-in-1 reference for nurses by springhouse, springhouse publishing company staff - runs $44.95 - organized by the major systems of the body - does not include psych or ob related diseases
pathophysiology: the biologic basis for disease in adults and children, 5th edition, by kathryn l. mccance and sue e. heuther - this is an unabridged work that gets quite involved in the pathophysiology of disease - cost is $93.95.

something that you can also do is look for used copies of some of the more expensive textbooks on the market (such as the mccance/huether pathophysiology textbook). when i was in nursing school years ago a friend gave my mother a 10-year old copy of a medical/surgical textbook to give to me. that book became a wonderful supplemental back up to our required textbook. i found stuff in that book that wasn't in our required textbook as well as alternative explanations of things that helped me understand what the required textbook was saying.

MB37 · Jul 16, 2007

You'll also need at least one NCLEX book. We were required to get the Saunderss comprehensive review, and I also have the "illustrated" study guide and a Kaplan review book that is all test strategies and practice NCLEX's, no review questions. My school offers a NCLEX strategies class that I'm taking next semester, and these are 2 of the texts for that class. It helps to do lots of questions, and to get different author's reviews of the material. I also got the textbook's study guide for patho this semester, it was "required," although they never asked for it, but I worked the whole thing.

Nrs2bE09 · Jul 16, 2007

Thanks so much!! I will look into the book mentioned above.