eBook vs Physical Book

[Liz48]

So, apologies if this has been posted a lot previously, but when I was scrolling through forums, I was mostly finding topics from at least a few years back, and opinions and technology change.

Anyway, my school requires purchase of eBooks for every class we take. We can't opt out. I've never particularly been a fan of eBooks, but, oh well. My question is, does anyone else supplement their eBooks with hard copies? I'm considering it, but we all know how expensive nursing school gets to be. My main concern is we seem to have access to the book for only the semester. Did you find yourselves referencing texts later in the program or while studying for the NCLEX? Our books this semester are assessments, med-surg, fundamentals, mental health, and gerontology. To me, it seems like maybe eBooks would be fine for ones like psych and gerontology, but a physical copy would be better for ones that lay a foundation for future classes like assessments. That's just my very uneducated guess though. What did y'all do for eBooks versus physic textbooks?

[shiftingtides]

I tend to buy the physical book, or at least a version behind if it's too expensive. I don't mind reading some textbooks on my ipad, but the information sinks in better when I read it on paper.

[EmDash]

Are they having you rent the ebooks instead of buying them outright? Because if you are buying them, you should have access to them for at least several years. I'd honestly double check because it seems weird that the program would try to determine if you could rent or buy the texts. But obviously it's not out of the realm of possibility.

So far, I've only really looked back on past textbooks once or twice with the exception of using them as sources for papers. If I'm reviewing stuff from the previous semester, I tend to use my notes, Youtube, or an NCLEX review book more than anything else. I do know some people who have kept their Med-Surg text to look back on even after they graduate, but I figure the Internet is just as good for reviewing specific topics.

One option you could consider is buying the edition (or two) before the current one for the physical copies. Textbooks don't tend to change too much between editions. There's usually a lot of restructuring, so you shouldn't miss much in the way of info. But you'll have a decreased cost. Then you always have the current edition as an ebook.

[mindofmidwifery, ADN]

We use ebooks but we have access to all of them throughout the program. I actually prefer the ebooks and have not felt the need to purchase physical copies, especially since there are so many online resources included in our packages.

[Liz48]

One option you could consider is buying the edition (or two) before the current one for the physical copies. Textbooks don't tend to change too much between editions. There's usually a lot of restructuring, so you shouldn't miss much in the way of info. But you'll have a decreased cost. Then you always have the current edition as an ebook.

That didn't occur to me to go a couple of editions back to save some money. I might have to consider that one! Thank you.

[MiladyMalarkey, ASN, BSN]

Our school required an ebook package that also came with codes, we could also opt to add on the physical books for a extra $200. No thanks. I prefer hard books, but I'm not paying that much extra for duplicate content. I'm lucky in that I knew someone who graduated NS a few years prior and she gave me all her texts free, most of them were like 2-3 editions older of the same ones I had and honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of difference and it helped supplement my ebook thing. If you can do a edition or two older, you'll save $.

[Rionoir, ADN, RN]

I have all ebooks I love them they're very easy to search for certain topics. The only time I have an issue is when a teacher says read specific pages instead of entire chapters because a lot of them don't have page numbers.

[jess.mont, ADN, RN]

We have very few books - maybe 10 for the entire program? - so the cost isn't too bad. I bought a hard copy of the first book, then decided to use an ebook version and I loved it! I've avoided physical copies ever since. In fact, someone just passed on a physical book to me last week, and although I appreciate it, I hate using it because I've gotten used to my reading, searching, and notating methods, so I'm buying the ebook and passing this one on to a classmate. í ½í¸‚