The Ultimate List of Nursing School Resources & Must-Haves

In my book, Nursing School Thrive Guide, I share all my best tips and advice for thriving in nursing school. If you've read the book (and even if you haven't yet), you can use this list to easily stock up on the nursing school supplies and must-haves you need to be successful.

If you're looking for the Thrive Guide checklist, you can download it here!

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Decluttering

I cannot tell you all how vitally important it is to declutter your space before school starts. Not only does this make your study space more efficient, it seems to clears the clutter from your mind as well. I highly recommend this book if you'd like to get serious about making your space (whether it's just your study area or your entire home) a tranquil haven that fills you with joy.

Wake Up Calls

Yes, I know it sounds so "old-school" but the peace of mind that I obtained from setting five alarms really helped me get a good night's sleep. When I knew I absolutely positively had to get up extra early, I used this one!

Straight A Nursing Podcast

If you haven't started listening to the Straight A Nursing podcast now is the perfect time to start! In this top-rated nursing podcast, I teach nursing concepts and share tips so you can thrive in nursing school and at the bedside.

Nursing School Must-Haves

  • Mini stapler: I can't count how many times I whipped this little guy out to quickly bind some papers together in class (and plenty of my classmates were happy to borrow it as well!)
  • Mini hole-punch (you'll be surprised how much you use this!) #ad
  • Mechanical pencil with extra lead and erasers.
  • Calculator Though you can use the one on your phone, I found it was easier to use a separate calculator (and save my phone battery) #ad
  • Planner
  • Highlighters in various colors.
  • Page tabs and flags.
  • One MEGA BINDER (4-5 inches). You'll need one for each semester most likely.
  • Two 2-inch binders (make sure you get different colors, one is for classwork and one is for clinical).
  • Page dividers with pockets. Get double the number of classes you have, plus a packet for your clinical binder.
  • Colored paper (one pack is MORE than enough...share with a friend!)
  • A bookstand might seem antiquated, but it saved my neck! This one is really high quality and is great to use after you graduate as a cookbook holder. Seriously!
  • A rolling backpack. You will be lugging around a lot of stuff...save your back and get a nice rolling backpack that can double as an overnight bag once you graduate and start taking little weekend getaways. #ad
  • Delicious pens. I love love love these.

Clinical Must-Haves

  • Scissors. I like distinctive ones like these, so they're less likely to get picked up by someone else. Or,  you could go with something timeless and classic...just be sure to put your name on them.
  • Hemostats with teeth. These are great for wrenching IV tubing apart! If you need to actually clamp tubing, be sure to put some gauze between the tubing and the teeth or you'll make a giant mess.
  • Comfy shoes. I love Danskos, Alegria and Klogs. For my nursing school white shoes, I wore New Balance sneakers, which were pretty comfy (but hideous!).
  • A clinical bag, something not too large but big enough to carry your clinical binder and a snack or two. Maybe something simple like this.
  • A decent stethoscope. I still use my tried-and-true Littmann today!
  • Compression socks. Here's some for the ladies, and some for the fellas here, too.
  • A small notebook to keep track of all the useful little pearls of wisdom you learn along the way. My practice notebook is a Moleskine these days, but I started out with something different when I was new...same concept, so if you want to see a sample, check it out here!

Nursing Library Must-Haves

Pharmacology reference book: I love this reference book and still use it 12 years later. However, if you want to go digital, check out the link below.👇

Pharmacology online reference: If you're looking for a digital pharmacology resource, I highly recommend Davis' Drug Guide online.

Lab reference book: This is another nursing reference book I continue to use regularly even though I graduated nursing school many years ago. Of all my nursing school resources, this is definitely in the top five!

Lippencott's Manual of Nursing Practice: To this day, still one of my favorites reference books!

A medical dictionary: I loved this one and used it almost non-stop in nursing school.

A nursing care plan book: I would have married this one, if it had been socially acceptable...I loved it so much!

Fluid and electrolytes reference: You will reference this regularly! There are lots of options out there, and this is a great one.

Med-Surg handbook: Another book I found to be invaluable is the Handbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing. Plus, it's compact size makes it easy to toss in your clinical bag!

Test-Taking Resources for Nursing School

  • NCLEX books. It is NEVER too early to start studying for your licensing exam. Plus, it's helpful to get used to NCLEX-style questions, because this is essentially how all your nursing school exams are going to be structured. I really liked this one by Saunders and this one by Mosby. Of all the nursing school resources, this is one of the most important!
  • Test-taking strategies are also really useful to learn. If you're scared of NCLEX-style questions or just do not understand their unique diabolical structure, then this book can be hugely helpful.
  • This book on nursing fundamentals is also fabulous...you'd be surprised how many test questions you can answer based on simple, basic, fundamental knowledge.