2021 Lippincott Pocket Drug Guide for Nurses

by Rebecca Tucker

Overview

The 2021 Lippincott Pocket Drug Guide for Nurses provides current, vital drug information “in a nutshell.” This handy pocket guide by Rebecca Tucker gives essential information on over 4,200 medications, including 38 generic drugs newly approved by the FDA, in an easy-access A-to-Z format.

The “mini” drug monographs include: 

• Generic and trade names 
• Drug classes
• Pregnancy risk category and nursing considerations
• Controlled substance schedule 
• “Black Box” warnings
• Indications & dosages
• Dose adjustments
• Adverse effects
• Drug interactions
• Patient teaching

A special section following the A-to-Z drugs provides essential Patient Safety information. Appendices cover topical and ophthalmic medications, laxatives, combination products, contraceptives, biological agents (vaccines), and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781975158897
Publisher:	LWW
Publication date:	10/01/2020
Edition description:	Ninth, North American Edition
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	296,890
Product dimensions:	3.00(w) x 5.10(h) x 0.90(d)

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Carol E Agana, MNSc, RNP, APRN (University of Arkansas)
Description: This book is a handbook for nurses to carry in their pocket to look up medications prior to administering them. It is a quick resource for the nurse to review the name of the drug, any possible adverse effects, usual dosages, interactions, contraindications, and what to monitor and teach the patient about the drug. It is similar to the larger nurse drug handbooks, but pocket size.
Purpose: This handbook provides current and safe information about drugs for nurses. It is small enough to fit in a nurse's pocket so it can be readily accessed in the busy work environment. These are worthy objectives that are achieved by the book. My only question is: will the book be used since nurses already have access to drug information on computers at work and also on their phones?
Audience: This book, according to the author, is for nurses. I would add that students could also benefit from it and, since there are updates to the information, it would remain current. This book, like other drug handbooks, meets the needs of the nurses and nursing students who use it. The author's credentials indicate a terminal degree, an education degree, and a nursing degree.
Features: This handbook for nurses contains 4,200 generic and brand name drugs that nurses may administer in a clinical setting. Since drug dosages are included, an advanced practice nurse with prescriptive privilege might also use it. The book uses and lists common abbreviations that nurses should know. The unique feature of the book is its size. It is very small so older nurses may have difficulty, even with glasses, reading it. The drug monographs are complete and alphabetized for ease of locating with black box warnings and any new information from the FDA available.
Assessment: I would personally carry this book because it is small. I see little difference between this handbook and larger handbooks except the amount of nursing interventions, labs to monitor, and patient education, which it could include more of. However, the size of the book does not really allow for too much of that information.

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