Fundamentals of Nursing, 7e [Hardcover]

I would give this book a zero if I could. The textbook, its accompanying CD ROM, and the related web materials are FILLED with errors. The several NCLEX-style quizzes at the end of the chapters, online, and on the CD ROM regularly contain errors of substance, and not just typos. I had heard the previous issue (prior to this Dec. 2008 printing was rife with errors), but unfortunately found the SAME errors in the new printing. --Check the other editions for other readers' descriptions of the errors.
Shame on these authors and the publishers.

Wow, what an awful book. I agree with most of what has been written about this book. I'm a 1st semester nursing student with a background in English and I'm more than a little disgusted by Elsevier's resources so far. I thought the HESI review book was bad, and this book is equally bad. Not only does it have grammar and spelling errors, but there are more substantive errors, too, that really take their toll on your confidence (and patience) while you're reading. There is a ton of filler information so it is nearly impossible to sift and sort out what might be important for each chapter. We're also using an Assessment book by the author Jarvis, and it is way, way ahead of this book in terms of quality control.

And there are still errors in the answer key and the review questions are terribly written.

The latest error I found tonight has me shaking my head:
Page 1046, chapter 42 on Sleep:
Bedtime Snacks
"A dairy product snack such as warm milk or COCOA that contains L-tryptophan is often helpful in promoting sleep..."

Next paragraph: "Encourage clients not to drink or ingest caffeine before bed time. Coffee, tea, cola, and CHOCOLATE act as stimulants, causing a person to stay awake or awaken throughout the night."

Faculty, please please please think twice about adopting this book as part of your curriculum. Don't listen to the publisher's sales people. The online resources that accompany this book are EVEN WORSE, and are filled with mistakes. You'll spend so much time correcting mistakes from this series that you won't have time to teach Fundamentals.

All the tables and vignettes and pull-outs that go on for pages and pages interrupt my reading ... it's impossible to stay focused without being distracted with all the "stimuli" (for lack of a better word) going on on each page. Students don't read it (maybe 1 in 20 in my class read it) -- I did read it, and couldn't follow it and I have a BA in English. The writing isn't dense at all. It's just disorganized and lacks editing and focus, which makes it impossible to follow systematically. This book needs a complete overhaul -- there must be something better than this out there.

(Edit: I'm almost done with nursing school now, and my fundamentals skills continue to be a giant "gap" in my knowledge -- spent the last month reviewing an old LPN fundamentals book to learn basics because I learned nothing from this book, though I'm doing excellent with med surg class and clinicals and with the subsequent textbooks. This book is awful, no way around it. I wish I could count the number of times I've been embarrassed in clinicals because of something that is "Nursing 101" that I DIDN'T learn from this book.)

Was not too pleased from the false info given when I purchased. Vender stated new and never used as the discription however, the book had hand writing and highlighted pages not many but a good 20 pages. This book has many pages though. I was extremely disappointed when I noticed this because I have a hard time studing over someone elses highlights and markings it doesn't help!! Word of the wise venders check your products prior to selling just because you never used doesn't make it new, espeacially if you bought it used somewhere else! If I did not need this book for nursing I would have asked for my money back because I was livid!!!

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