The 5 Best Nursing Magazines and Journals Reviews & Guide 2020

Nursing journals and magazines have been a source of interesting and educational reading material for healthcare workers ever since their conception. However, their role is far more important than mere entertainment for nurses.

These publications present new research and relevant information which helps medical staff keep up-to-date with the latest findings, techniques, and technologies.

Reading of these materials is highly recommendable, but there is a problem of deciding which magazine or journal should one stick to? A busy nurse can hardly find time to read one entire publication, let alone dozens of them. With this in mind, I’ve created the list of the best nursing magazines from which you will hopefully be able to find one you like the most.

If this is something that interests you, please keep reading.

Types of nursing magazines and journals

The nurse’s profession encompasses many different sub-divisions or branches, and because of this, there are different kinds of magazines. Some of them are highly-specialized and deal with a particular branch only while others include many different topics which could be beneficial for any nurse. To give an example of what I mean, here are a few nursing subspecialties:

• Geriatric nursing
• Maternal and Child Nursing
• Critical and Emergency Care
• Orthopedic nursing
• Administrative nursing
• Surgical nursing
• Holistic nursing

How to decide which magazine/journal to read?

Pick your category

In the previous section you could see how many different subdivisions of nursing there are, so naturally, there are magazines catering to each and every one of these categories. If you are a critical care nurse, you’ll probably not be interested in geriatric nursing so much; therefore, you will want a journal which covers the topics important to you.

Online or paper

Most big nursing journals include both a paper and online publication, but some only come out in one form. Make sure to check this before subscribing to a journal. Also, certain titles even have their own apps which allow you to navigate through their content quickly. This is a big benefit for those who enjoy reading on their tablet.

The price

The yearly subscriptions to nursing magazines can go from as low as $30 to $170 and more. Be aware of how much money you are willing to spend on this. If you ask me, a couple of hundred dollars a year for quality information and updates is not too much to pay. Look at these journals as an investment in your knowledge and career.

Ask your peers

As always, the most valuable information about the quality of any product can be found within the community of users. In this case, ask your colleagues which journals are they reading and whether they find them useful or not. You can also ask if you can borrow a copy of the magazine and see if you like it.

Top 10 Nursing Magazines and Journals

1. The American Journal of Nursing – AJN

This publication probably needs no introduction in the medical community as it is an established name with a long history. The journal has its origins in early 1900s, a time when the nursing profession was on the brink of worldwide acceptance and recognition.

The best thing about AJN is that is peer-reviewed as well as evidence-based which means that it contains unbiased, relevant, and high-quality content. It is not uncommon for students to use this journal as their go-to source of information on all things nurse.

AJN covers a great variety of topics ranging from research on diseases, legal advice, politics, commentary, as well as self-study articles for nurses. Due to this richness of content, this journal is read not only by nurses, but doctors, patients, and even journalists.

This is a monthly publication, and it costs $33.90 per year. It also includes a monthly e-newsletter subscription so that you can always catch up with the latest news.

Bonus Read: Carrying prep books, magazines, scrubs, stethoscopes can get quite troublesome if you don’t get yourself a roomy backpack. Here’s how to get one.

2. The Journal of Professional Nursing – JPN

This publication is the ideal publication for serious readers as it focuses on educational aspects of nurses’ profession. The articles that can be found in this journal mainly deal with nurses’ education, educational research, as well as educational policies. The JPN is a must-read for all medical educators and those working in nursing administration.

The nurse is a profession that is in high demand these days, and the main reason for this is the lack of students willing to be nurses or too many of those unable to meet all the educational requirements for this job. This journal contains articles which can help such students learn new strategies or techniques that will help them achieve their goal and eventually become a nurse.

Why is this important? Well, if you haven’t studied to become a healthcare worker, then you probably don’t know how hard it can be, so any kind of assistance or practical advice is more than welcome. You can find more information about JPN on their website.

3. The American Journal of Critical Care – AJCC

The American Journal of Critical Care is a publication that comes to us from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. It comes out once every two months, and it costs $59 per year or $100 per two years.

What does this journal deal with? As the name implies, its primary focus is critical-care so nurses who work in this subdivision will benefit from its contents.

The main reason for keeping up with new information is that protocols and regulations in this field may often change due to new clinical findings. Besides this, the AJCC contains case reports, clinical studies, and various editorials on CC.

An example of what kind of articles you can find inside this journal is a survey on the use of mechanical ventilation and weaning in pediatric intensive care units which details about who makes the decisions on how to appropriately adjust the ventilators – doctors, nurses, or both

4. The Journal of Nursing Care Quality – JCNQ

The aim of the Journal of Nursing Care Quality is to educate nurses about proper quality standards in patient care. Also, the articles talk a great deal about safety when handling patients and providing them with adequate services.

As described on their website, this journal offers a forum for scholarly discussion of the real-world implementation of quality activities (healthcare work). Inside, you’ll find a great variety of peer-reviewed articles which are insightful and are written by those with hands-on experience in this field.

An annual subscription to JNCQ costs $154, which is a bit higher than the previous journals I placed in this list. With this subscription, you will get four print issues as well as online access to current and past publications. Another neat thing that will interest online readers is the journal’s iPad app.

5. The Online Journal of Issues In Nursing – OJIN

OJIN is an internationally recognized nursing journal that writes about a broad spectrum of topics. It is a scholarly publication that comes from the American Nurses Association (ANA).
I’d recommend this journal mainly to people who like to read on the web because their online format is well-organized and simple to navigate.

For example, say that you are looking for a particular topic in the nursing field. Instead of spending loads of time browsing through the journal’s database, you can just search for this specific topic on the site, and you will get access to plenty of articles that write about it.

No matter whether you are a student our a practicing nurse (in any nursing specialty), OJIN offers a lot of useful content which is peer-reviewed and will help you stay up-to-date with the latest knowledge and practices.

6. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy – NMIE

I don’t want to say that Nursing Made Incredibly Easy is a nursing magazine for dummies, but it wouldn’t be entirely wrong to think about it in this way. This journal comes from the Incredibly Easy series created by Lippincott, Williams, and Wilkins, which you might have heard about before.

The idea behind NMIE is breaking down complex topics and concepts to ensure easy learning. You probably know how tricky it can be to read and learn about specific topics in the nursing field, so this journal tries to take those texts, simplify them, and make them more fun and engaging.

Even though its content resembles a children’s book, this is far more serious stuff. Once you open it, you will clinical artwork illustrations which depict certain nursing concept in a funny way. Humor is a common occurrence in this journal, as well as cheat sheets, memory aids, and so on. NMIE costs $58 per year and is published once every two months.

If you’re searching for a fun way to learn difficult concepts, then definitely check out this publication.

7. Nursing 2018

The first thing that caught my attention is the simple name of this journal, not containing four or five words as most others do. Nursing 2018 is all about practical information to nurses of all fields and specialties.

Some of the topics it covers include updates about drugs, up-and-coming diseases, ethical issues, care techniques, and some legal considerations that nurses should know. To put it simply, no matter if you work in a hospital, a private clinic or any other care facility, this journal will definitely help you advance your career and stay on top of your game.

What is so good about Nursing 2018 is that it presents significant news such as new FDA drug approvals, new laws, and guidelines in the medical profession.

Besides this, in this journal, you can also find research, as well as administrative nursing topics. Nursing 2018 comes at a price of $29.90 per year, and the subscription will allow you to access online archives as well as exclusive, online-only articles.

8. Clinical Nurse Specialist – CNS

The job of a clinical nurse specialist encompasses many different occupations including clinician, researcher, consultant, and executive, so to work in this position means that you have to know a lot of information from different fields.

Clinical Nurse Specialist journal covers all the topics relevant to the position mentioned earlier and helps workers keep up with all the relevant knowledge.

Some of the topics that CNS covers are drug updates, development of nursing programs, quality assurance, new management strategies, and more. This is far from “light reading” and is mainly aimed at advanced nursing professionals.

So, how much does the journal cost? The price of Clinical Nurse Specialist amounts to $152 a year. For this, you will get six prints annually along with access to online news as well as the archive. There is also a CNS app if that’s something you are interested in.

9. Holistic Nursing Practice – HNP

This journal, as the name implies, focuses on a holistic approach to nursing, and it is an excellent alternative to all the narrow, specialized nursing magazines that medical professionals often read. Besides clinical concerns, psychological aspects of quality care are often discussed in this publication.

These articles offer information which can be applied across different fields in nursing. Of course, holistic nursing is a subject of slight controversy among many working in healthcare. If you wish to gain more understanding about this approach, I advise you to read the works of experts in this field.

Nurses who are interested in earning CE units will have the opportunity to do so by doing the activities contained in each issue of the magazine. Holistic Nursing Practice is published six times a year (twice a month, if you will) and comes at a price of $134. There is also an online version which you can access if you subscribe.

10. Advances in Nursing Science –ANS

And last, but not least, is a highly-scientific, research-based, intellectual reading material published under the title of Advanced Nursing Science. Yes, the articles contained inside of this magazine are scholarly, but they are written in a very readable manner so I’d say that it is accessible to everyone.

The topics usually include emerging theories as well as updates and development of the nursing practice. ANS is cherished among medical professionals, but also students who often use the articles from the journal as educational material. As a matter of fact, this is one of the most read publications in doctoral programs in nursing.

Advances in Nursing Science come out four times a year, and its annual cost is $168. The subscription also buys you access to the online version of the journal, as well as the ANS iPad app, for tech-savvy readers.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many different titles with varied styles of content that go by the name of “nursing magazines.” In the end, my best tip for you is to choose the one that is relevant for your particular branch of nursing as this information will help you advance your skills and always keep up with the latest discoveries and practices.

If the price of the yearly subscription is too high for you, do not worry, there are plenty other magazines and journals that deal with the same topics, and if they are cheaper, it doesn’t mean that their quality is significantly lower.

Regardless whether you are a student or an experienced nurse, remember that you must never stop learning and acquiring new knowledge because things move fast in the nursing world.