Best Nursing Reference Books

These live in a nurse's bag and on the unit shelf: a drug guide, a pocket reference, the dosage book, and the care-plan handbook. Students are required to buy most of them; working nurses replace and upgrade them. If you buy one thing, make it the drug guide.

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Davis's Drug Guide for Nurses
Flagship
The most widely owned nurse drug guide (Vallerand); print includes online access. Re-released annually, so this links to the current year's edition. The category flagship.
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RNotes: Nurse's Clinical Pocket Guide
Pocket pick
Waterproof, scrub-pocket-sized, tabbed: the best-selling true clinical pocket guide.
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Calculate with Confidence
The current dosage-calculation standard (Morris, 9th ed.): all three methods, Next-Gen NCLEX cases. (Skip the long-outdated Pickar.)
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Physical Examination & Health Assessment
The gold-standard assessment text (Jarvis); best for students and new grads.
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Ackley & Ladwig's Nursing Diagnosis Handbook
The care-plan and diagnosis standard: 1,450+ symptoms with NIC/NOC linkages.
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Davis's Comprehensive Manual of Lab & Diagnostic Tests
Normal values plus what abnormal results mean and the nursing care around each test.
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Nurse brain-sheet / SBAR report notebook
Under $15
Cheap, high-utility shift-report pads; pick one and stop handing off blind.
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Buying tip: Drug guides and brain sheets re-release every year, so these links point at the title so you land on the current edition. Textbooks (Jarvis, Ackley) swing in price between new, used, and rental.

Prices and availability change, so check the current listing on Amazon.

Frequently asked questions

What reference books should a new nurse own?: A current drug guide (Davis's is the standard), a clinical pocket guide like RNotes, a dosage-calculation book, and a lab-and-diagnostic reference cover most day-to-day questions on the floor.
Are nursing drug guides worth buying if I have an app?: Many nurses keep both: the app for speed and a print guide that does not need a signal or a charged phone. Whichever you use, make sure it is the current year's edition, since drug information changes.

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Best Nursing Reference Books

As an Amazon Associate, RenewRN earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Picks are editorial and aren't influenced by commissions.

Frequently asked questions

What reference books should a new nurse own?

A current drug guide (Davis's is the standard), a clinical pocket guide like RNotes, a dosage-calculation book, and a lab-and-diagnostic reference cover most day-to-day questions on the floor.

Are nursing drug guides worth buying if I have an app?

Many nurses keep both: the app for speed and a print guide that does not need a signal or a charged phone. Whichever you use, make sure it is the current year's edition, since drug information changes.