Every CE requirement verified against official state nursing board sources. How RenewRN verifies the data →
Every CE requirement verified against official state nursing board sources. How RenewRN verifies the data →
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
FlagshipThe most widely owned nurse drug guide (Vallerand); print includes online access. The category flagship.
RNotes: Nurse's Clinical Pocket Guide
Pocket pickWaterproof, scrub-pocket-sized, tabbed — the best-selling true clinical pocket guide.
Calculate with Confidence
The current dosage-calculation standard (Morris) — all three methods, Next-Gen NCLEX cases. (Skip the long-outdated Pickar.)
Physical Examination & Health Assessment
The gold-standard assessment text (Jarvis) — best for students and new grads.
Ackley & Ladwig's Nursing Diagnosis Handbook
The care-plan and diagnosis standard — 1,450+ symptoms with NIC/NOC linkages.
Davis's Comprehensive Manual of Lab & Diagnostic Tests
Normal values plus what abnormal results mean and the nursing care around each test.
Nurse brain-sheet / SBAR report notebook
Under $15Cheap, high-utility shift-report pads — pick one and stop handing off blind.
Buying tip: Drug guides and brain sheets re-release every year — 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 — check the current listing on Amazon.