This is a wonderful book. It is compact in size but crammed full with information. I was looking for a portable nursing diagnoses reference and this book fulfills my needs. Additionally, the pull-out card in the backflap of the book is very useful. A reference tool any nursing student or seasoned nurse (myself) would be smart to obtain.

Everything I needed in a book on diagnoses, interventions and rationales. This is a great must-have for all new nursing students.

I used this book constantly throughout the first year of school. It is an essential for the firsty year.

but not to be used solely for writing care plans and here's the main reason why: there are very few rationales. Too few. In the care plans I was required to write, I had to have scientific rationales for each and every intervention. This book includes some rationales but not one for each intervention. I did use this book some but it will not be enough alone for those whose teacher, like mine, requires quoted rationales for each intervention of your care plan. Furthermore, the new NANDA approved Nursing Diagnoses for 2005-2006 aren't included which I was expected to know and start using when applicable this school year. So I had to go out and buy a new care plan book. I think this guide is intended, as the title suggests, for Nurses already working as a pocket guide, and not specifically for nursing students. It is a bit too tall and heavy to keep in your pocket working in the hospital but you could leave it at your station.

This book does have its merits. What I like most is that the diagnoses are alphabetized for quick reference, which is useful after client interviews to double check my potential ideas of a diagnosis before I'd go home to stay up into the wee hours of the night preparing my client's diagnoses and plans of care for next day's clinical. Also I found very helpful the laminated card in the back of the book of all the diagnoses and their catagories (which can be comfortably carried in my pocket btw) because my teacher only wanted for the first semester care plans, two physiological and one psychosocial diagnosis per client. One has to have a clear understanding of each type of diagnosis as the critical ones should be done and listed first. Remember your ABC's (A=airway, B=breathing C=circulation. )
Bottom line, this book is good but not as your primary nursing care plan guide book, in my opinion. Good luck to all future nurses!
Soar!

This is the pocket guide of choice for our nursing school, and it does not take long to find out why. It contains the NANDA nursing diagnoses, as well as medical diagnoses. Very nice layout; it'll take you step by step through the nursing process. One of our instructors told us it's not the best one that's out there, but I think that has more to do with personal preferences and needs.