How to Match Your Nursing Textbook Edition Before You Buy Study Materials

Nursing programs usually assign a specific edition of a textbook, and many popular titles are revised every few years. A new edition can renumber chapters, add new ones, merge topics or move content between sections. If your study materials follow a different edition from your course, chapter 12 in your notes may not be chapter 12 in your reading, and that costs time when you’re reviewing for an exam.

This guide shows you how to confirm exactly which textbook you have. It takes about two minutes.

Step 1: Find the edition number in the right place

Don’t rely on the cover design or an old reading list. Check:

• The title page. The edition is usually printed under the title (“Twelfth Edition” or “12e”).
• The copyright page (the back of the title page). It lists the edition history and the copyright year of the current edition.
• Your syllabus or campus bookstore listing. It should give an edition number and an ISBN. If either one disagrees with your copy, ask your instructor which edition the course follows.

Tip: a new printing of the same edition doesn’t change the chapter structure. A new edition usually does.

Step 2: Use the ISBN, the most reliable identifier

An ISBN identifies one specific edition and format of a book. You’ll find it on the copyright page and above the barcode on the back cover.

• Current ISBNs have 13 digits and start with 978 or 979.
• Hyphens and spaces don’t matter: 978-0-323-77671-4 and 9780323776714 are the same number.
• The print book, e-book and loose-leaf versions often have different ISBNs, even for the same edition. If you find two ISBNs for “the same book”, compare the edition number and copyright year.
• Older books may show a 10-digit ISBN. It refers to the same edition as its 13-digit equivalent.

You can paste an ISBN, with or without hyphens, into the search box on our site. If we carry a test bank for that edition, you’ll go straight to its product page. If not, search by title and edition instead.

Step 3: Check US vs. Canadian editions

Several widely used nursing textbooks have separate Canadian editions. A Canadian edition has its own edition number and ISBN, often with different or additional authors, so it is a different book from the US edition, not a reprint. Examples from our catalogue:

• Lewis’s Medical-Surgical Nursing: US 12th edition and 13th edition, and Lewis’s Medical-Surgical Nursing in Canada, 5th edition
• Physical Examination and Health Assessment by Jarvis: US 9th edition and 4th Canadian edition
• Pharmacology and the Nursing Process, 11th edition (Lilley, US) and Lilley’s Pharmacology for Canadian Health Care Practice, 5th edition
• Maternal Child Nursing Care, 7th edition (Perry, US) and Perry’s Maternal Child Nursing Care in Canada, 3rd edition

Title conventions vary. Some Canadian editions have “in Canada” or “Canadian Edition” in the title; others are worded differently, such as Lilley’s Pharmacology for Canadian Health Care Practice. Check the full title on the cover and the copyright page of your copy, and compare the edition number and ISBN.

Step 4: Watch for renamed and similar-sounding titles

• Lead authors change. The 9th edition of Introduction to Maternity and Pediatric Nursing was written by Gloria Leifer. The 10th edition, titled Leifer’s Introduction to Maternity and Pediatric Nursing, is by Cooper and Gosnell.
• “Essentials” and “Foundations” titles. Varcarolis’ Essentials of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing and Varcarolis’ Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing are different books, and each has its own edition numbering. The same applies to Townsend’s Essentials of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and Davis Advantage for Townsend’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, 11th edition.
• Series names. “Davis Advantage for …” is a series name F.A. Davis uses for some of its textbooks, and the same textbook may be listed with or without it. On our site, for example, the Townsend’s Essentials 10th edition test bank is listed under the shorter title, while its “Check your edition” box gives the full textbook name: Davis Advantage for Townsend’s Essentials of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, 10th Edition. Ignore the prefix and match the rest of the title and the edition number.

Step 5: Know what you’re buying

A textbook is the full book your course assigns. A test bank is a separate study aid organized by that textbook’s chapters. Test banks contain practice questions, with answers and rationales where included. Check the individual product description for the specific contents. A test bank is not a replacement for the reading.

NursingQuizBank sells licensed instructor test banks as digital downloads. We don’t sell textbooks, and our licences don’t mean that any publisher or author endorses NursingQuizBank. Each product page has a “Check your edition” box showing the textbook title and edition, plus the authors and ISBN where available, so you can compare it with your copy before you buy.

Quick checklist

• Edition number, from the title page or copyright page
• 13-digit ISBN (starts 978 or 979)
• US or Canadian edition?
• Exact title, including words like “Essentials”, “Foundations”, “Canada” or “Canadian”
• Matches your syllabus? If not, ask your instructor.

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Medical-Surgical Nursing · Fundamentals of Nursing · Pharmacology · Psychiatric / Mental Health · Maternal-Child · Pediatric · Health Assessment · Pathophysiology