Top 10 Best-Selling Nursing Test Banks of All Time
With hundreds of nursing test banks on the market, choosing the right one can feel overwhelming. To help you cut through the noise, we've compiled the definitive list of the 10 best-selling nursing test banks of all time, based on adoption rates across US nursing programs, student reviews, and sales data from major publishers.
#1 — Potter & Perry's Fundamentals of Nursing (Elsevier)
The undisputed king of first-year nursing education. Potter & Perry's Fundamentals of Nursing has been the most-adopted nursing fundamentals textbook in the United States for decades, and its companion test bank reflects that dominance. With thousands of questions covering everything from patient hygiene and vital signs to medication administration and clinical documentation, this test bank is a must-have for any student beginning their nursing journey.
#2 — Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing (Elsevier)
When nursing students and professors talk about med-surg, they almost always mean Lewis. Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing: Assessment and Management of Clinical Problems is the most widely used medical-surgical nursing textbook globally, and its test bank is correspondingly comprehensive. Covering every major body system — cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, neurological, and more — Lewis's test bank prepares students for both their course exams and the med-surg heavy section of the NCLEX.
#3 — Saunders Comprehensive Review for NCLEX-RN (Elsevier)
If there's one test bank every nursing student knows by name, it's Saunders. Written by Linda Anne Silvestri, the Saunders Comprehensive Review for NCLEX-RN is specifically designed around the NCLEX-RN test plan and contains thousands of questions organized by content area. It also includes Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) items, making it fully up to date with the current exam format.
#4 — Brunner & Suddarth's Medical-Surgical Nursing (Wolters Kluwer)
Brunner & Suddarth is the Wolters Kluwer answer to Lewis — and for many programs, it's the preferred choice. Its test bank is known for particularly strong clinical reasoning questions, making it excellent for programs that emphasize case-based learning. If your school uses Brunner & Suddarth as the primary med-surg text, this test bank is essential.
#5 — Lehne's Pharmacology for Nursing Care (Elsevier)
Pharmacology is the subject that breaks nursing students — and Lehne's test bank is the resource that puts them back together. With detailed questions on drug classes, mechanisms of action, nursing implications, and patient education, the Lehne's pharmacology test bank covers the drug content that appears heavily on the NCLEX. Questions include dosage calculations, contraindications, and priority nursing assessments.
#6 — Wong's Nursing Care of Infants and Children (Elsevier)
The pediatric nursing standard for over 40 years. Wong's test bank covers growth and development, pediatric health conditions, family-centered care, and child safety with hundreds of application-level questions. Its focus on developmental milestones and child-specific pharmacology makes it indispensable for pediatric nursing courses.
#7 — Townsend's Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing (F.A. Davis)
Mental health nursing has a unique question style that trips up many students — and Townsend's test bank is specifically designed to address that. Questions cover therapeutic communication, psychotropic medications, DSM-5 disorders, milieu management, and crisis intervention. It's the most adopted psychiatric nursing test bank in North America.
#8 — Jarvis's Physical Examination & Health Assessment (Elsevier)
Health assessment is a core nursing competency, and Jarvis is the gold standard textbook for this subject. The accompanying test bank features detailed questions on subjective and objective assessment, physical examination techniques, abnormal findings, and documentation — all at the analysis and application levels.
#9 — Lowdermilk's Maternity & Women's Health Care (Elsevier)
Maternity nursing involves a distinct body of knowledge — antepartum, intrapartum, postpartum, and neonatal care — and Lowdermilk's test bank covers it all comprehensively. Questions feature priority-setting scenarios (e.g., which patient to assess first), medication questions for obstetric drugs, and complication recognition questions.
#10 — Ignatavicius's Medical-Surgical Nursing: Clinical Judgment (Elsevier)
Ignatavicius has rebranded around clinical judgment — the skill at the heart of the Next Generation NCLEX — making it one of the most forward-looking med-surg test banks available. Questions are designed to develop higher-order thinking skills rather than simple recall, preparing students for both their coursework and the evolved NCLEX format.
| Test Bank | Publisher | Best For | NGN Ready |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potter & Perry Fundamentals | Elsevier | 1st–2nd semester | ✓ |
| Lewis Med-Surg | Elsevier | 3rd–4th semester | ✓ |
| Saunders NCLEX-RN | Elsevier | NCLEX prep | ✓ |
| Brunner & Suddarth | Wolters Kluwer | Med-Surg alt. | ✓ |
| Lehne's Pharmacology | Elsevier | Pharm courses | ✓ |
| Wong's Pediatrics | Elsevier | Peds nursing | ✓ |
| Townsend Psychiatric | F.A. Davis | Mental health | ~ |
| Jarvis Assessment | Elsevier | Health assessment | ✓ |
| Lowdermilk Maternity | Elsevier | OB/maternity | ✓ |
| Ignatavicius Med-Surg | Elsevier | Clinical judgment | ✓ |