It's time for the first post of my nursing school must-have series! In this post, I will go through the supplemental books I have that I use to study. I will not include the textbooks that were required for my program, as those requirements are different depending on where you go and how your program is set up.
Kaplan basics for nursing school (https://www.amazon.com/dp/150624548X/?ref=idea_lv_dp_ov_d)
This book is included in my tuition, as well as access to all of Kaplan's online resources. If I knew about this book and didn't have it, I would probably splurge and buy it. It gives an overview of just about everything you need to know in nursing school. I like to use it to familiarize myself with the content before actually learning it, but I also use it when I'm studying and add notes to it when I need to. It's great because it keeps the information concise and really helps you narrow it down to what you need to know.
My program uses a lot of questions similar to the ones in the Davis books, and I honestly wish they would've been required for the program. I use them for just about every test I take. When we have study groups, we talk through our notes and spend the rest of the time doing Davis questions. I have the fundamentals, med-surg, and maternal child nursing books. I wish I would've gotten the psychiatric and pediatric ones, and I might go back and buy them when I start studying for the NCLEX in 2021. They're a little pricey, but if you use pencils or erasable pens when you write in them, you can totally sell them back when you pass boards!
Davis drug guide (https://www.amazon.com/dp/171964005X/?ref=idea_lv_dp_ov_d)
This book is more for clinical, but it comes in great for pharmacology. It goes into great detail about nearly every medication that has ever been known to man. Since I use it more for clinical, I'll leave it at that here and explain it in greater detail in my clinical must-haves.
Davis lab and diagnostics (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0803674953/?ref=idea_lv_dp_ov_d)
Same as the drug guide, I use this more for clinical, but it's super helpful when learning about the different lab and diagnostic studies. For my program, they are integrated into the regular curriculum and you learn about them when learning about the disease process(es) that they pertain to. I'll explain more about why this is so valuable when I do my clinical must-have post.
Nursing made incredibly easy (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085G5H8VH?searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt)
These books are incredible. I have nothing bad to say about them. When I study, I like to read the content from these books that relates to what I don't fully understand for the upcoming test. These books break it down into detailed but simple information and include charts, pictures, graphs, and so many pretty things to help keep you focused while reading. I only have the maternal-newborn and the med-surg ones, but I plan on getting more as I progress through the next semesters and years left until I finish school. I wish I would have known about these earlier in the program.
That's all for now,
XOXO, Payton
Comments