To buy or to rent?

[JS88]

I'm about to start my nursing program and I was just wondering, is it better to purchase my textbooks or to rent them? Aside from it being cost effective to rent, I was wondering would purchasing it benefit me in anyway (aside from it sitting on my bookshelf, never to be looked at again), such as being useful for the NCLEX or future courses or will those textbooks be useless to me after the class is over? Just want to see what other people did and what their experience is, since it seems like I'm bleeding money left and right at the moment!!

[miasmom]

Buy. The are times we have questions that even if have been a nurse for 30 years that we trun into. Because we normally don't work with. Then we run into a patient or area we need a brush up. Plus by the time you are done with the program you will want tobburn the books and all the papers.

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Honestly, I don't see much point to keeping most nursing books. Considering that they outdate relatively quickly (sometimes even by the time they become available for purchase), the dearth of NCLEX review books available, and availability of resources through the internet or hospital/facility/school library, that textbook may fill no need by the time you become a practicing nurse. The only benefit to keeping some textbooks is that they are used in future classes. I sold all of my textbooks either after the class (peds/OB) or shortly after graduation (at a big loss, as many had a newer edition by that time). My primary go-to places for information about questions are the unit educators who have the most recent edition of books relevant to my specialty, journal articles, and reputable websites (universities, hospitals, etc.).

[linzjane88]

Buy the prior edition! I usually get my books for less than $20 every quarter. No teacher has had a problem with it yet. The content is 99% the same, there are just some updated pictures and minute details here and there. I wish I had done it from the beginning, it would have saved so much money!

[lauraline]

The decision is really up to you. I don't think it's particularly better to buy or rent. Each has its benefits.

I usually prefer to buy. Call me geeky, or maybe old fashioned, but there's something special to me about keeping a library of all the subjects I have mastered. Before the internet I used to use my parents textbooks for homework, and maybe that's where I got the idea to always save books, I don't know. So maybe I am just a hoarder! But, at any rate, I have found that textbook ownership has become beneficial in ways that I had not anticipated. Such as I often refer to them when I forget something I learned. I have also leant them to friends several times. I have even leant one to my grandmother's caregiver (lvn). Either way, I personally have always found textbook ownership to be enjoyable and come in handy in some shape or form. I have always found them useful. But that's just me.

If you want to rent because of price, don't forget you could always buy and re-sell.

It's really up to you.

[Tinker88]

I recommend buying your textbooks! I still refer to my books from when I was getting my B.S.ed. I will attend a nursing program this August and plan to buy for my BSN as well. As people have said, you may need to go back and touch up on things.

[Double-Helix, BSN, RN]

Buy, but not from the school. Buy used from a place like amazon or abebooks.com. Or if your school has an online forum for students, see if there are any upper classmen selling their books. You'll pay just about as much as you would to rent a book, and you can resell it at the end of the year and make a little money back.

[MrChicagoRN, RN]

Get the ISDN number, google them, then see what you can save. I've had good luck with powells, valore, and amazon resellers

[WoundedBird]

I've done the same thing that MrChicagoRN mentioned. I want to say I saved between $15 and $30+ on each book thru Amazon and their authorized retailers. I was also able to save almost 50% on my development book by opting for the ebook since I already own a physical development book. I thought about renting the book, but it's a paperback that won't stand up to the same amount of abuse as a hardcover, so I decided to not risk having to pay extra for 'damaging' the rental.

[allycat77, BSN, RN]

The program I start next month has us using some of the same texts during different semesters. So I bought mine, all ueed through resellers or found digital copies. Definitely look outside of your bookstore. You can typically buy from amazon for at least 20 bucks cheaper-- brand new. I would check with your program to see if you will be using these books for more than a semester.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Buy used online from amazon or half.com. I used half.com for the vast majority of my books in college, sold many on that site and even made a profit by selling some bought there back to my school.

[s.marie333, ASN, RN]

I personally purchased all of my textbooks. I have used books from foundations (first semester) to help me understand more complex issues from adult health (second and third semester). My medical-surgical textbook is used from second semester through fifth semester. I think it would be beneficial for you in the future with studying for NCLEX as well.