Which Nursing Diagnosis Book Should I buy?

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Hello everybody,

I wanted to ask would it matter if I buy NANDA and my school requires me to by a Nursing Diagnosis book by Ackley, 9th edition? The reason why I want to invest in NANDA is because it is highly praised on allnurses. I know that any book that has received much acclamation, is worth getting. Do you think it matters what nursing diagnosis book I get, or should I just stick to the schools' requirement? Thank You

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That book is the same book my school had us use as well.. it's supposed to be one of the best NANDA books available.

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Thanks!

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Specializes in Emergency Nursing.

Six of one half dozen of another. They are roughly the same thing.

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nanda-i 2012-2014 is the definitive book; i'm in independent practice and i use it almost every day so it's right up there on the shelf in front of me.

i haven't seen the other, but the problem i see with a lot of nursing texts is that they give the obvious diagnoses (knowledge deficit, fluid balance, pain, risk for infection, skin integrity..) and rarely, if ever, make it easier for a student to cruise a list of potential diagnoses with all their defining characteristics.

that means that students rarely get exposed to the full range of diagnoses, and (worse) they think that those are the only ones that count. nothing could be farther from the truth.

the nanda-i also has an excellent chapter in the front to explain nursing diagnosis (it's not what you think) and the power it gives nurses.

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i bought about five or six of those types of books to help me with care plans,, but the ackley was the best by far because it seem

to answer the questions the school wants on the care plans.

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Specializes in Critical care (coronary care).

nursing diagnosis: application to clinical practice

this book is a classic text that is revised to incorporate the 2009/2011 nanda-approved nursing diagnoses, offer definitive guidance on key elements of nursing diagnosis and its application to clinical practice.

author(s): lynda j carpenito-moyet

publication date: 07-30-2009

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I would also recommend the Ackley book for care plan assignments. What you could also do depending if you like to use online resources is to register at evolve.elsevier.com. I am pretty sure it is free and one of the things you can do is search for common nursing textbooks and "register" them. They require no registration codes and is totally free. I've done so with the Nursing Care Plan Diagnosis book by Ackley 9th edition. The entire textbook is practically on there. If you go to resources --> care plan constructor --> and if you begin to type a condition, the search bar will reveal common nursing diagnoses associated with that disease. Although the condition chosen will display the common diagnosis associated with it, it is not the only one that can be applicable. The defining characteristics, related factors, outcomes/goals, interventions with rationales, and nursing diagnosis associated with diseases section is also in there as it would be found in the actual textbook. This shouldn't be a replacement but should get you by.

Also, there is a plethora of other textbooks you can "register" for there as well that usually have extra questions, case studies, and other kinds of information that should supplement any student's learning. Particularly useful are the medical surgical textbooks and pharmacology textbooks from what I've seen. Also you can register for drug cards there (such as Mosby) and you can search up drugs (though not especially newer drugs) in the Mosby Drug Card database and you can print them out in card form.

Sometimes what the school recommends can either be good or bad depending on the program. For overall usage, this Ackley textbook does the job. Your best bet is to compare the sources for yourself.

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