Differences in editions Med Surg Text

[BeOne77]

Does anyone know what the difference is in editions 6 and 8 of the Lewis and Heitkemper Medical Surgical Book? I am taking a class that is using the 8th edition and I do not want to buy it because I have the sixth edition. Do you think I'll have any problems following along with reading assignments? My husband does not want me to buy the new book because he thinks it is a gimmick by the book company to sell more books. How updated is the new edition and in what areas? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks. I start my course Feb. 5th so please respond ASAP and let me know if you think I should shell out the 53.85 for a new book or the old one will do just fine. Thanks.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

moved to general nursing student for best response.:)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Suggest you loiter in the bookstore a bit and look at the new edition. There is likely to be a Preface for the 8th Edition that outlines the changes, or a note from the editor, or something like that. Also look at the publication/revisions dates. If the 6th is more than 5-6 years old, dollars to doughnuts there are a lot of important pieces of information in the new one-- the pace of discovery in our field is astonishing. Also compare the list of contributing authors-- if there are wholesale changes in one chapter's authorship, you'd be far better off having the new one; there's usually a really good reason for that.