Do I need to keep my nursing school textbooks?

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Aug 28, 2008

I'd keep the med/surg and fundamentals with techniques and procedures. The rest, lose.

elee86 · Aug 28, 2008

did not mean to reply to my own post...

Trauma Columnist · Aug 28, 2008

I go along with Susquatch but would toss ALL books in 5 years...care changes.

BTW - I just recently tossed my stone tablets that we used in nursing school - lol.

AJL_91 · Aug 30, 2008

Nope! Not unless you need some door stops. :chuckle

Seriously, I never used mine again. I just used an NCLEX review book. If you don't sell them right after the end of the semester, they usually aren't worth anything, though.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 30, 2008

Yes, you need to keep them. When you are doing you first years of nursing as a new grad you will be wishing you had them for reference.

natrgrrl · Aug 30, 2008

I am in my last year of Associate Degree. I got rid of everything except my Pharm book because I have a book that is much easier for me to access info and learn from (Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice). You should have a good skills book available, though.

When I sold my books back to the bookstore I got enough money to buy the wound care and documentation books that I wanted from Borders (almost $100). The bookstore even bought my NCLEX-PN book that wasn't a required text.

Jules A, MSN · Aug 30, 2008

I always sold almost every thing as soon as I took my final exam. I kept my dictionary, picture skills book and a couple of my favorite books in the field I am working in but thats all. You can always hit google if you need something and that would be preferrable over an out of date textbook anyway, imo.

CrescentLuna · Aug 31, 2008

No! I wish I'd sold mine while I was still in school. I've been a nurse just over a year and never ONCE dug back into my books - I used some of the NCLEX computer software for my NCLEX but mainly my Saunders book. Otherwise my work provided drug books, procedure manuals, anatomy and physiology information online, etc. I sold three of them back this year because I'm moving and wanted them OUT and am only getting back a fraction.

uscstu4lfe · Aug 31, 2008

i kept a couple of books just because i can't believe i read as much as i did (after i graduated i looked back and was really amazed at how much i had read), and i just can't toss books i paid so much for!

as far as nclex studying goes, i would go with current review books. like someone said earlier, care changes rapidly and the nclex reflects that, so you want to be as current as possible. good luck on your nclex and congraduations on making it this far

suanna · Aug 31, 2008

Kept mine for almost 20 years. Opened them once- when my daughter was pregnant I went over some of the basics of L&D with her. We had a great text called "Realities in Childbearing" Of course the school has since changed texts- I've seen the new one and can say with the current text I wouldn't have ever opened any of my books. There are too many sources of good, concise review materials to slog through basic nursing texts again. Even if you didn't put much effort into one area or another you more than likely absorbed enough material that a good review text would be a more effective reference.-Just one mans opinion.

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Aug 31, 2008

I'd keep them until at least you pass the NCLEX--you never know when you may need them again for school work. I'm in my last year and the other night I found myself looking up something in my Fundamentals book.