Best critical care books according to redditors
We found 53 Reddit comments discussing the best critical care books. We ranked the 29 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 53 Reddit comments discussing the best critical care books. We ranked the 29 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Marino’s ICU Book - get the real deal and don’t buy pocket reference books.
Marino's The ICU Book: Print + Ebook with Updates (ICU Book (Marino)) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451121180/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_bWs0DbQ90QXY6
The ICU Book by Paul Marino is also a great resource. I’ve learned a lot and it’s made me question a lot of practices at my facility.
The previously mentioned icufaqs.org is definitely a good place to start and is free.
Marino's ICU Book is the ICU bible
Things I learned for studying.
I went through the whole Pass CCRN book, but in hindsight, that was a HUGE waste of time. If I did it all over again, I'd take test questions, then review specifics with the Pass CCRN book and do all of Vonfrolio's DVDs.
Good luck to any planning to take the CCRN. It's a bitch, but manageable.
Cheers!
Here's a few more links to things I also found on Amazon
Its a pay to join organization, I pay the longest option (3 years for $200) and the CE's are all on the website. They are articles and tests you can bang out in 20 min each honestly but some take longer. You can DL or print the PDF articles to keep if you want to.
Well the book is more expensive now but if you buy it from Amazon instead of AACN to save yourself $20 https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Reference-Critical-Nancy-Diepenbrock/dp/1451194269
https://www.aacn.org/store/quick-references
They changed the website and they changed the cards a bit, you could buy the new bundle for $20 and probably be set https://www.aacn.org/store/books/400900/aacn-pocket-reference-card-bundle
So basically join up and its $200 for 3 years and you dont have to pay a dime for CE's, you get access to tons of info that will keep you learning and up to date, they send you the AJCC and Critical Care Nurse every month at no extra cost, you get discounts on CCRN test prep and the test itself, there is probably more but that's enough..
The worst part for me when I was new was not being sure of myself. Luckily I did have a good orientation and preceptor that forced me to look everything up, I mean everything.
It was really annoying in the beginning because I was like, aren't you supposed to be showing me how to do stuff. Basically she said no I'm supposed to be showing you how to find answers to questions, because after your orientation is over, you're still going to have questions, years from now you will still have questions and you're going to approach a person and ask them but they may not know or they may be wrong. It's my job to show you how to critically think.
She never said any of that but she forced me to look up everything and showed me how to do that.
Know how to find information. Look up your polices and review all of them when you have time: you will not remember them all, but you will remember that they exist.
If I could reccomend two books to help you it would be the AACN procedure manual (your unit should have this reference available to you, if not talk to your admin team), and The ICU Book (you should buy a copy of it for yourself).
Nothing impresses me more than a nurse who has a question and at least tried to look up the answer, right or wrong, and is coming to me just to make sure they are correct or work through the problem.
The ventilator Book by Owens. It's a pamphlet sized book basically written for the "It's midnight and I need this machine to work... how do I do that?" standpoint. As an ICU fellow, it's definitely my go to recommendation for first time vent users.
Also, if you just want basic start up settings, peep 5, FiO2 100, rate: What ever they were before you intubated (i.e. don't intubate someone breathing at 40 because of metabolic acidosis and put them at a rate of 12), tidal volume: 5': 400, 5'5: 450 5'10: 500. Tidal volume is based on ideal body weight. If I lose 60 pounds (I'm, 265lbs), my lung volume doesn't change.
https://www.amazon.com/Ventilator-Book-William-Owens-MD/dp/0985296542/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?hvadid=174219579804&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9011853&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=18409127408486321080&hvtargid=kwd-54323771404&keywords=the+ventilator+book&qid=1554759609&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1
Marino's ICU Book. It was recommended to me for an ICU rotation I'm doing soon (I'm interested in the field). It's really an excellent book, does a great job explaining concepts that I always had trouble with (like shunt vs. dead space, a-A gradient, etc), and they added little snippets like this to keep things interesting.
Well, the good news is that you will get training. They're not just going to throw you to the wolves. So you'll have some time to work closely with a preceptor and ask a bunch of questions. And it's great that you're already brushing up on vent concepts.
Honestly, I think the only way to really gain confidence is to just go out there and do it. Once you have a couple of ICU shifts under your belt, it won't seem so scary anymore. And hopefully you have coworkers that you feel you can go to if you're stumped on a patient.
For mechanical ventilation concepts, I'd suggest this book: http://www.amazon.com/Ventilator-Book-William-Owens-MD/dp/098529650X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1462453163&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ventilator+book. It has very short chapters and is very easy to understand. Chapter 2 or 3 covers exactly what you're worried about: knowing when/why to make vent changes and what to do to solve "x" problem.
I always tell myself that I can ALWAYS bag the patient. If the vent is going crazy and the patient is in some kind of distress and I don't know what to do, I know that I can always bag the patient and call for help. And I have had to do that a few times. In my experience, most RT's are pretty good to each other as far as helping each other out. I hope you will be working with a good team.
Top Knife is a little above your level but is absolute gold if you will be performing any kind of trauma surgery in the future. The Ventilator Book is appropriate for absolutely anyone who will step foot in an ICU for more than fifteen minutes and will take about that long to read.
My flight program requires that our medics obtain these certifications - so I have had to help out many of them getting through these exams.
What I can recommend is a multi-angled approach.
First, consider a review book - this will just provide an outline of what material is testable. Of the ones I've looked at, the The Resource and Study Guide for Critical Care Clinicians is the best one of the ones I've seen. Expensive though.
Next you'll need an actual text to help fill in the blanks. Critical Care Transport 2ed is a solid text - and this edition is brand new. Honestly though, if you can get an older edition for cheap, I'd just do that.
Critical Care Transport Core Cirriculum is an intriguing book - joint project between ASTNA and the IAFCCP. I haven't seen it personally, but I've heard good things, and it's also quite pricy.
Next I would consider a mechanical ventilation text - the vent section of most CCT textbooks is pretty scant. I enjoy the FlightBridge vent text - Ventilator Management: A Pre-Hospital Perspective.
Next you'll want something with lots of practice questions. For this I like the IAFCCP practice text: IAFCCP Critical Care Exam Review. There are other ones, like the well known Will Wingfield book which are also worthwhile. You can't go wrong with lots of practice questions.
Don't forget the riveting CAMTS 10th Edition Guidelines. Read those. Try not to fall asleep.
Finally, podcasts - consider podcasts specifically from FlightBridge as you mentioned, but also Meducation Specialists. They both provide lots of great info and each have a series speaking specifically to exams.
Hopefully this gives you a good start.
Good luck!
Our school lent us the NMS Clinical Manual of Anesthesiology for 4th year anesthesia rotations. It was helpful and of an appropriate level. Review as much pharmacology as you can stand; a lot of anesthesia is picking and choosing meds based on their side effect profile. Know anesthetics and pressors especially.
Other things to think about during the rotation: if your working in an OR/procedure room, go meet the patient and introduce yourself before they came back. Always introduce yourself and your role to everyone in the room- scrub nurse, circulator, tech, surgical attending. Basically the standard etiquette for a surgical rotation (in case you haven't had that yet)- know where to stand, what not to touch, if in doubt ask, etc.
Quick Reference to Critical Care
I haven't gotten a chance to do more than skim, but I like what I've read of this book so far.
Marino ICU book.
If you're looking for a good book, I recommend Marino's The ICU Book 4th Edition. It's geared towards medical students and residents, but I think it would be useful for anyone who is somewhat new to critical care. And the price seems high at first glance, but compared to other recently published texts containing the same info, it's pretty reasonable.
It reads quite smoothly and was published this past October. You certainly won't retain everything you read in the book, but from the start you'll recall where in the book you read something and can refer back.
Also, if you're looking for something cheaper that involves less reading. The Society of Critical Care Medicine offers a self-paced online introductory course called Resident ICU. It is a collection of lectures/ power points which discuss the fundamental principles of critical care. Again, it is designed for physicians/ new residents, but having a solid understanding of your patient's condition is important for critical care nurses and this will only help. Oh, and the course only costs $25.
I know more than just these two, but I can't think of anything else at the moment. Hope this helps!
I would avoid test-prep books then-- those tend to skim the surface of things like pathophys and always seem to be more focused on important facts and associations, etc., and not on the science.
Sadly there is no quick answer for getting better at pathophys (it takes 2 years to cover the basics in med school). Working in an ED you don't have massive amounts of time to read either. As a resident I find myself wanting to review stuff all the time but am pretty busy too, so with that in mind, my recommendations would be:
-UpToDate/Dynamed/Medscape/etc. usually have nice sections in their articles on the pathophysiology of various conditions. The temptation is to skip to the "diagnosis" or "management" sections but there is usually some good stuff in those articles that you can read on the fly
-For critical illness and general physiology, The ICU Book is great and not too dry a read. If you want much more in depth stuff on medical conditions, Harrison's Internal Medicine is a great resource but reads like a phonebook sometimes. If you care about the microscopic level, Robbins & Cotran is basically all the pathology for the non-pathologist you will ever need- can also be a bit dry at times too.
-Look up the mechanism of action of meds you don't know about (Micromedex smart phone app is great for that)
-When you consult someone because you are unsure about something, ask them about what is going on (subspecialists are usually not shy about dropping knowledge if you ask for it); it may also help prevent future un-needed consults which they appreciate
Hope this helps.
I like this little flip book:
http://www.amazon.com/Critical-Care-Notes-Clinical-Pocket/dp/0803620845/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367938830&sr=8-1&keywords=critical+care+notes
I'm not in critical care (yet?) but it's a great resource for telemetry nurses as well.
Your NCLEX should not cover much of the more advanced critical care questions. The NCLEX trains you to be a generalist. I used this book and chugged through all the computerized practice questions and did just fine!
If you are just looking to further your own knowledge, I'd recommend CCRN study books. Many, like this one that I used for my CCRN exam have online or computerized question banks that are very helpful. However, the vast majority of these questions are going to be much higher-level than those that will be on the NCLEX.
I got Critical Care Nursing Made Incredibly Easy when I started my preceptorship in the ICU and I found it really helpful. And not too pricey or too massive.
Critical Care Transport
Critical Care Nursing: Diagnosis and Management
Air & Surface Patient Transport: Principles & Practice
Also the BCCTPC's handbook has a decent outline for FP-C and CCP-C if you're interested in getting those certs.
You should absolutely NOT read Marino's ICU book. For starters it is not a real textbook, it's more like a protocols and procedures manual. The best ICU book if you're starting out is this one:
https://www.amazon.ca/Acute-Resuscitation-Crisis-Management-Simulation/dp/0776605976
It's a short format, easy to read book that will cover all of the ICU basics.
Ultimately though you've asked for resources covering 3 different disciplines. General Surgery, Surgical Oncology, and ICU are all their own fields with their own exams and their own training. You won't really find a book that covers all of this. You should read around cases for ICU and Onc and use the standard surgery prep material. In ICU you need to have a differential for types of shock and how to recognize them, an understanding of how pressors and inotropes work (there are only 5 common drugs, it's not a lot to study), and a basic understanding of how the vent works.
NMS Clinical Manual of Anesthesia https://www.amazon.com/dp/0781737389/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_WeW7Cb2S1038W
It’s an introduction to anesthesia and covers the basics and it’s actually small enough that you’ll read it.
I read it in med school before my anesthesia rotation and thought it was perfect.
ask a local hospital if you can shadow an ICU RT for a day or two, i work with RT's all the time and have learned loads about vents.
Also this book is really helpful at least for basics "https://www.amazon.com/Ventilator-Book-William-Owens-MD/dp/098529650X"
The Ventilator Book is a solid introduction and is readily accessible to 3rd and 4th year med students.
I used AACN's Core Curriculum Review and nothing else. I figured what better resource than the one written by the administrators of the exam. I found it comprehensive and concise and highly recommend it. You can find it on amazon here. Good luck!
I'd like to second that opinion!
Mass Gen Clinical Procedures [link] (http://www.amazon.com/Clinical-Anesthesia-Procedures-Massachusetts-Hospital/dp/1605474606/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419967368&sr=8-1&keywords=mass+gen+clinical+procedures+anesthesia) is an EXCELLENT handbook that I read extensively as a MS3/MS4 on rotations. I also read Baby Miller during that time as well but I found that it was inferior to Mass Gen.
Lange is also an excellent suggestion. I didn't discover that textbook until part way through MS4. Didn't realize how great it is and wished I knew about it earlier!
Im not a med student (respiratory student) so I'm not sure if this is quite what you are looking for - but I bought this book during my vent class and found it to be quite useful.
And if you are interested in critical care, start learning your pharmacology, start learning how to monitor patients and recognize their pathophysiology. Learn about shock states and interventions. Take ACLS and really absorb the material, learn the drugs (and maybe your hospital will pay for the class). Use your resources.
https://litfl.com/
https://www.aacn.org/education/publications/ajcc
https://www.aacn.org/education/publications/ccn
https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Care-Nursing-Made-Incredibly/dp/1496306937/ref=zg_bs_689795011_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0607QMDKFN47CT1WW80V
https://www.amazon.com/Hemodynamic-Monitoring-Made-Incredibly-Visual/dp/1496306996/ref=zg_bs_689795011_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0607QMDKFN47CT1WW80V
https://www.aacn.org/store/books/400820/aacn-commonly-used-iv-cardiac-medications-for-adults-pocket-reference-card
Not really any books to read, but learn the instruments and be focused. Anticipate the needs of the team.
Be super familiar with running a balloon pump. Try to be the expert of that machine.
Learn from the anesthesiologists about vasoactive drips, purpose, normal dose ranges.
Know what the invasive line numbers mean and where they are.
Be interested in more than just positioning, prepping, counting, and closing.
I work as a CVICU RN and scrubbed CV for several years. Its a super fun area to work in. You can be the best on the team with a strong knowledge base. When you gain that knowledge share it!!! See one, do one, teach one. Dont be a know it all, just look for opportunities to learn and opportunities to share knowledge.
I can recommend one book to you. Its intended to learn critical care basics, but it touches nicely on balloon pump, hemodynamics, invasive monitoring, and Swan Ganz. It will help you understand what you are dealing with. The surgeons and anesthesiologists will eventually be impressed by your interest in learning and you will be very successful. Plus you will be the BOMB at giving report to the ICU nurse!
Critical Care Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! (Incredibly Easy! Series®) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1496306937/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_6y.CDbC649HT3
https://www.amazon.com/Curriculum-Pediatric-Critical-Nursing-Slota/dp/1416001573/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1495508369&sr=8-4&keywords=pediatric+critical+care+nursing
This one is fairly decent, has a good overview of many different areas and can be used to study for CCRN when the time comes. The unit might have a copy as well but it's nice to have your own
https://www.amazon.com/Marinos-ICU-Book-Updates-Marino/dp/1451121180/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483792693&sr=8-1&keywords=marino+icu
I found this book very easy to read. It helped me out the most.
Marino’s ICU Book is great. The latest edition from Amazon comes with an Inkling copy which is convenient on the go. The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics and Critical Care are both good quick references, though they have less explanation than Marino’s.
For Anesthesia, Miller’s Anesthesia is the standard Harrison’s-style specialty text. At the medical student level a lot of places recommend “Baby Miller” aka Basics of Anesthesia. I personally preferred Morgan & Mikhail’s Clinical Anesthesiology, but both are good introductory texts. FWIW, my school had both available online so it was easy to pick and choose.
Marino ICU Book is my favorite for concepts and rationale. Useless for 3am patient management, however. It's a textbook.
Wash U manual of critical care is what you'll want when you just want to know what to do. It's an on-the-job reference.
Washington Manual of CC
This one? https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Care-Nursing-Diagnosis-Management/dp/0323091784
I like the “Faust”, if that is what you’re looking for... it has chapter of 2 pages per subject.
https://www.amazon.com/Fausts-Anesthesiology-Review-Michael-Murray/dp/1437713696
Edit: didn’t see you were looking for rural emergencies, sorry. You might want to check any military handbooks though.
I have a USMC anesthesia field manual which is very handy, I got it from a colleague, so I don’t know where to buy it.
There are lots of rural/mountain/military anesthesia manuals which aren’t large like ‘de lange’
Do you think that the book you recommended for me:
https://www.amazon.com/Cardiac-Surgery-Essentials-Critical-Nursing/dp/0763757624
would be outdated because it was published almost 8 years ago? Or do you think it would be still relevant?
What kind of ICU are you looking to get into? When I first started, I got into a cvicu and got this as my first reference book. I really liked their chapter on cardiac meds and hemodynamics.
https://www.amazon.com/Cardiac-Surgery-Essentials-Critical-Nursing/dp/0763757624
I did get a separate hemodynamics book though. That's still one of my weaknesses.