I used this book for two years, and I've really grown to love it. It's not perfect (tends to ramble, gives too much anatomy and physiology when we have already had that class) but it's better than any other med surg text I've looked at (and I've looked at a few). This book has nursing care plans at the end of each subject. This is nice because that's what your instructors usually test on.

A book that helped me out A LOT!!! This takes all your major diseases and gives you an explanation of the disease/disorder, what to look for, your interventions as a nurse (AKA what your tested on), and what to assess for (also what your tested on), and it usually does it in less than 5 pages. I used this book every term I was in nursing school.

This book gives a lot and will save you a lot of time for the thirty to forty dollars you will spend on it. Great companion to Diseases and Disorders by Marilyn Sawyer Sommers. No book can do everything and this one does what Sommers book couldn't. My wife found this book after I graduated. I wish I had in school.

I have to be honest that I haven't looked at a lot of fundamentals text. However, I used Fundamentals of Nursing by Kozier & Erb for two years. I hated it! A friend of mine had this book and it is much better in my opinion. It gets to the point more quickly. Kozier and Erb tend to ramble a lot.

I bought the text book without this handbook, and I was really SORRY I did that afterward. This handbook would have allowed me to get what I needed in a quick and precise manner. This would have saved me HOURS of time and energy. Do yourself a favor, get this.

The best mental health nursing text I've seen. To the point and understandable. I used this book to learn about concepts some of my other texts made way too hard.

Probably the best drug book to start with for new student nurses entering school. Check with your school before you purchase. Some schools have every a standard drug book they have all their students buy.

More in depth explanations than Tabers. However, if your new to the profession that might be too much for you right now. Tabers is an excellent alternative if you need to latch onto one or two sentence definitions. There's no shame in that. I use both Tabers and Mosby's to this day. They both have their strengths.

This series is very good if you have the extra cash. It has a simple picture with major s/sx and interventions with it. For example, a drawing of a COPD patient with an acronym with it to help you remember what to look for, and what to do. Trust me these are cool!

Memory notebook series. This is the one I own and it has saved me countless times. you can buy it cheaper by just getting the book. Look on Amazon.