Your most valuable book

We used Lewis' Medical Surgical Nursing in nursing school. I love it! It was very easy to read and understand! It also has a small pocket guide, clinical companion, with many very common illnesses and includes diagnostic tests, complications and interventions.

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Surgical-Nursing-Excursions-Assessment-Management/dp/0323052274/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266368244&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Companion-Medical-Surgical-Nursing-Elsevier/dp/0323036899/ref=pd_sim_b_2

I am in school right now, and Black & Hawks is the one we use:

http://www.amazon.com/Medical-Surgical-Nursing-Clinical-Management-Positive/dp/1416036415/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266516896&sr=8-1

I really like it so far. It has been really handy for me as it includes a few nursing diagnoses for each condition, perfect when I need to do care plans!

It's two hardcover books, and running under $100 right now from the looks of it. A steal, I'd say.

Handbook of Neonatal Intensive Car Nursing by Merenstein and Gardner. Not a "nursing text book" so to say, but I did buy it for a clinical when I was in nursing school.

We also use Lewis' Medical-Surgical Nursing-- it's a GREAT book; and the accompanying study guide is good as well. BUT it is very focused on RN roles and interventions; and it may be a little bit out of your scope of practice as an LPN. In that case, try something like Medical Surgical Nursing Made Incredibly Easy-- it gives basic, to the point (but VERY catchy, interesting) information about different diseases. I use it as a supplement to my required med-surg book, because it is a way for me to re-read the information in a different format-- and it also explains things in a really "oh that makes sense!" kinda way. Good luck!