Gulanick care plan book, anyone familiar?

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I'm going into my 2nd semester and I'm looking for a care plan book. Someone mentioned Meg Gulanick, but I'm not familiar with it.

I currently own Ackley's and its okay, but I may need something more informative. We will be focusing on IV therapy and Respiratory.

Any info on this book or a better source would be great..:wink2:

Thanks a Million!

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Hi-

I'm not familiar with that book - am also a 2nd semester student. I purchased the Thomson Med-Surg Care Plan book as many fellow students had it last semester and raved about it. I'm very happy with the purchase and hope this info might help you as well!

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Ok, I'll take a look at that one too. thanks for your help, and good luck with next semester!:p once I start on the 24th, I will probably not have time for this site, but I'm glad I found it.:typing

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Gulanick is a good care plan book if you're already used to doing careplans and using these types of books. If you're not too good at careplans I would recommend Sparks and Taylor Nurising Diagnosis Reference Manual 7th ed. Its an easier format to use. Hope it helps

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

My school used to require the Ackley book, so I went and bought it. Then I noticed the other day that they have replaced it with the Gulanick book. I guess somebody in my program likes that one better. Looks like I'll be buying the Gulanick book, also.

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would you happen to know what edition of Gulanick they replaced it with. Thanks that would be a big help.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

i have a 6th edition of this book and sometimes use it as a reference when answering care plan questions. i reference the nursing diagnosis pages that are on the website and free for public usage a lot. there are 45 nursing diagnosis pages from the book that you can see online here: http://www1.us.elsevierhealth.com/merlin/gulanick/constructor/index.cfm

the book is written for nursing students.

the first section (chapter 2) goes through 62 nursing diagnoses, many of the most commonly used, and is pretty much giving you a short reasoning of what that nursing diagnosis means, the nanda taxonomy information [if you have your own copy of taber's cyclopedic medical dictionary you will find the nanda taxonomy information for all the nursing diagnoses in the appendix], noc and nic linkages, assessment information related to each nursing diagnosis, therapeutic nursing interventions that might apply to each nursing diagnosis both collaborative and independent along with rationales and teaching interventions and rationales. remaining chapters contain specific care plans for diseases by body systems. there are no peds or ob care plans and the only psych care plans are for depression, bipolar, anorexia nervosa, bulimia, rape, substance abuse and suicide.

i think a better selection of sample care plans are provided on the cd that accompanies nursing care planning made incredibly easy because all these areas are covered: med/surg, ob/gyn, peds/neonatal and psychiatric.

iv therapy would fall under fluids and electrolytes. diagnosing is based upon the signs and symptoms the person has. care planning is problem solving and involves using the nursing process. every care plan book explains this in the first chapters. the gulanick book is no different and that is what they do in chapter 1. the problem is that a lot of students never take the time to read this information. i constant tell everyone to bone up on the nursing process, know its 5 steps and what goes on in each step. i don't think everyone believes me. nclex specific states that the nursing process is included and tested over on the nclex licensing exam. the nursing process is what critical thinking is all about. if you understand the nursing process and how to use it, you can write a care plan from scratch. the nursing process is how the care plans in these books are developed.

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Wow! beautifully said, I will definitely take your advice on the info. Thank you very much..... :p

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

I have several care plan and nursing diagnosis books. I use them to help answer care plan questions. I have each because they offer something the others do not. What are you looking for in a care plan book? If you are looking for care plans to copy, good luck. Almost all the care plan books only include care plans for the major illnesses. If you have to write a care plan for a patient who has some medical condition that isn't in any care plan book then what will you do? Best bet is to know how to construct a care plan from scratch. That takes knowing the nursing process. The nursing process is what the authors of the care plan books use to construct the care plans in these books. The nursing process is what your instructors are teaching you throughout your nurses training.

Nursing Care Planning Made Incredibly Easy will show you how to construct a care plan from scratch using the nursing process + it has that disc of care plans. I think it is a better choice. I also like Nursing Care Plans: Guidelines for Individualizing Client Care Across the Life Span, 7th edition, by Marilynn E. Doenges, Mary Frances Moorhouse and Alice C. Murr. I constantly refer to NANDA International Nursing Diagnoses: Definitions and Classifications 2009-2011 for nursing diagnosis information. You will need a care plan book that will provide rationales for the nursing interventions.

Knowing how to read the NANDA taxonomy is important as well. You can't effectively diagnose if you don't know what a diagnosis means or recognize the signs and symptoms of a diagnosis when they are staring you in the face. Taber's has this information in the appendix, some care plan books have it, nursing diagnosis books have it and you can obtain it from NANDA. I have a lot of posts on allnurses pertaining to nursing diagnosis and care plan construction.

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I have both the Gulanick and Ackley books. They're both good, but laid out differently. I liked Ackley when I was just starting to write care plans (not that I'm an expert now by any means!) because the format seems a little easier to get with. The Gulanick book is good, and it has been really nice to have the 2 books, because sometimes one book will have an intervention or rationale that I think "fits" better with my patient's situation and I will use that one rather than one in the other book that maybe doesn't fit as well. It's nice to have a little choice. Also, some of the interventions and rationales are in one book but not the other and vice versa...

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

i used the gulanick book while i was in school (it came highly recommended to me) and i really found it very, very helpful. i got it for less than $10 on ebay and i really got my money's worth out of it--i carried that thing everywhere!

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.
would you happen to know what edition of Gulanick they replaced it with. Thanks that would be a big help.

According to my course manual, it was replaced by the 6th edition (2007).

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