Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam Prep, 6th Edition

The Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam Prep, Sixth Edition is the most widely used all-in-one study resource for both the ANCC Family Nurse Practitioner and the AANPCB certification exams. It covers the full breadth of content tested — health promotion and disease prevention, clinical management of acute and chronic conditions, professional role, and health policy — with practice questions, rationales, and a comprehensive review format designed to mirror the actual exam experience.

What sets this book apart is its dual-exam approach: it prepares you for both major NP certification boards simultaneously, so you don’t have to worry about which exam you’re taking. It also includes special populations content — pediatrics, geriatrics, and women’s health — that frequently appears on both exams. For any NP student in the final stretch before their boards, this is the essential desk companion.

Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Review and Resource Manual, 4th Edition

For NP students and practitioners pursuing the PMHNP-BC certification from the ANCC, the Psychiatric-Mental Health NP Review and Resource Manual, 4th Edition is the specialty-specific prep resource you need. This manual covers the full scope of psychiatric-mental health nursing practice — from psychopathology and psychopharmacology to therapeutic modalities and mental health legislation.

Psychiatric nurse practitioner roles are among the fastest-growing NP specialties in the US, driven by a nationwide mental health professional shortage. This book prepares you not only for the certification exam but for the realities of independent practice in psychiatric and behavioral health settings.

Nurse Executive Review and Resource Manual, 3rd Edition

For experienced RNs pursuing the Nurse Executive (NE-BC) or Nurse Executive Advanced (NEA-BC) certification from the ANCC, the Nurse Executive Review and Resource Manual, 3rd Edition is the authoritative board prep resource. It covers nursing leadership, organizational management, healthcare finance, human resources, and strategic planning — the full domain of executive nursing practice.

As nursing leadership becomes increasingly central to healthcare quality and safety, the NE-BC and NEA-BC credentials are becoming more valuable than ever. This manual gives you both the content knowledge and the exam strategies to earn those credentials.

Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide, 8th Edition

The Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide, 8th Edition is the definitive legal and business reference for nurse practitioners in the United States. It covers the full spectrum of NP business practice — from understanding scope of practice laws by state and obtaining prescriptive authority, to setting up your own practice, negotiating employment contracts, navigating malpractice insurance, and understanding billing and coding requirements for reimbursement.

As full practice authority (FPA) for NPs continues to expand across more US states, this book is more relevant than ever. NPs who understand the legal and business environment they operate in are better positioned to advocate for themselves, protect their licenses, and build thriving practices. This 8th edition is fully updated to reflect current scope of practice regulations and telehealth law developments.

Nurse Practitioner’s Business Practice and Legal Guide, 7th Edition

Read N Write Books also carries the 7th Edition of the NP Business Practice and Legal Guide for students and practitioners whose programs or employers reference this edition. The core content on scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and practice management remains highly valuable, and this edition may be the assigned text in some NP programs. Both editions are available at significantly discounted prices.

Role Development for the Nurse Practitioner, 3rd Edition

The Role Development for the Nurse Practitioner, 3rd Edition is a core academic text used in NP programs across the United States. It addresses the transition from RN to NP — a shift that is far more complex than most students anticipate. The book explores the conceptual and theoretical foundations of advanced practice nursing, the NP competencies framework, professional socialization, and the unique challenges of role development across different practice settings.

For NP students in their first year of graduate study, this book provides essential context for understanding what it means to practice at an advanced level — not just clinically, but professionally, legally, and ethically.

Advanced Health Assessment & Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care, 7th Edition

The Advanced Health Assessment & Clinical Diagnosis in Primary Care, 7th Edition by Dains, Baumann, and Scheibel is a landmark text for NP students and primary care practitioners. It takes a symptom-based approach — starting with the patient’s chief complaint and guiding the clinician through focused history-taking, physical examination findings, and the development of a differential diagnosis.

Unlike standard physical exam texts that teach body system by system, this book teaches you to think the way patients present — with a symptom, not a diagnosis. That shift in clinical thinking is one of the most important intellectual transitions NP students make, and this book facilitates it better than almost any other resource available.

DSM-5-TR® Made Easy: The Clinician’s Guide to Diagnosis

For NPs in any specialty — not just psychiatric — DSM-5-TR Made Easy: The Clinician’s Guide to Diagnosis is an accessible companion to the full DSM-5-TR. It translates the complex diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual into plain clinical language, with case-based illustrations and practical guidance for applying diagnostic criteria in real patient encounters.

Primary care NPs encounter mental health conditions every day — depression, anxiety, ADHD, substance use disorders — and need to diagnose and manage them accurately. This book makes DSM-5-TR criteria approachable and clinically actionable for practitioners at all levels.

Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge, 5th Edition

The Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge, 5th Edition by McGonigle and Mastrian is the leading textbook in nursing informatics education. It provides a comprehensive foundation in how nurses use data, information, knowledge, and wisdom to support clinical decision-making, patient safety, and healthcare quality. The 5th edition covers electronic health records (EHRs), clinical decision support systems, telehealth, health data analytics, and the ethical dimensions of healthcare technology.

For NP students in informatics courses, this is the required text. For practicing nurses and NPs who want to understand how to work smarter with the digital tools in their practice environment, it is an indispensable reference.

Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals, 6th Edition

The Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals, 6th Edition by Hebda, Hunter, and Czar is a practical, accessible reference for nurses who need to understand and use healthcare information technology in their daily practice. Where the McGonigle textbook provides the theoretical foundation, this handbook provides the practical how-to — covering everything from how EHR systems work to how nurses interact with information systems, use patient portals, and apply informatics thinking to care quality improvement.

This handbook is particularly valuable for bedside nurses and nurse leaders who are implementing new technology systems in their units or hospitals, and for NP students who want a readable introduction to the field before taking a formal informatics course.

Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 8th Edition

The Policy & Politics in Nursing and Health Care, 8th Edition by Mason, Gardner, Outlaw, and O’Grady is the most comprehensive nursing health policy textbook available. It covers the full spectrum of health policy — from the legislative and regulatory process at federal and state levels, to workplace policy, community health policy, and international perspectives on nursing and healthcare systems.

This 8th edition addresses contemporary issues including the Affordable Care Act, the opioid crisis, telehealth policy, healthcare disparities, and the policy implications of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce. For NP programs, MSN and DNP students, and nursing leaders engaged in advocacy, this book is a required reference.

Milstead’s Health Policy & Politics: A Nurse’s Guide, 7th Edition

The Milstead’s Health Policy & Politics: A Nurse’s Guide, 7th Edition by Nancy Short is specifically written for nurses who are new to health policy engagement. It is more accessible and introductory than the Mason text, making it ideal for RN-to-BSN students, early MSN students, and nurses who are just beginning to understand how healthcare policy affects their practice.

The book walks through the policy process step by step — agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation — with nursing-specific examples and practical guidance for how individual nurses can become effective policy advocates at the local, state, and national levels.

Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP), 8th Edition

The Textbook of Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP), 8th Edition published by the American Academy of Pediatrics is the official reference for the Neonatal Resuscitation Program — the training program that prepares healthcare providers to respond to newborns who require resuscitation at birth. Every nurse, NP, physician, and respiratory therapist who works in labor and delivery, the NICU, or any setting where newborns may be born must be NRP-certified, and this textbook is the foundation of that training.

The 8th edition reflects the latest evidence-based updates to neonatal resuscitation guidelines, including changes to initial assessment, temperature management, and the use of oxygen during resuscitation. For NICU nurses, labor and delivery nurses, and NNPs (Neonatal Nurse Practitioners), this book is a mandatory reference that belongs on every unit.

Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice, 4th Edition

The Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice, 4th Edition by Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt is the gold-standard textbook for evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing. It teaches nurses and NPs how to ask clinical questions using the PICOT format, search the literature, critically appraise evidence, implement findings in practice, and evaluate outcomes — the full EBP cycle.

Evidence-based practice is now a core competency requirement for virtually every nursing program and healthcare organization in the United States. DNP programs in particular place heavy emphasis on EBP, and this book is the most widely assigned EBP text in doctoral nursing education. It is equally valuable for bedside nurses leading quality improvement projects and NPs who want to base their clinical decisions on the strongest available evidence.