This quick reference is your go-to guide for the precise yet comprehensive clinical information you need to care for adult patients safely and effectively. Completely revised and updated, you’ll find even more of what you need at a moment’s notice, including coverage of rebreathing masks, cardiac surgeries, traumatic brain and head injuries, MRSA prevention and treatment guidelines, and much more!
This best-selling resource provides a general overview and basic information for all adult intensive care units. The material is presented in a brief and quick-access format which allows for topic and exam review. It provides enough detailed and specific information to address most all questions and problems that arise in the ICU. Emphasis on fundamental principles in the text should prove useful for patient care outside the ICU as well. New chapters in this edition include hyperthermia and hypothermia syndromes; infection control in the ICU; and severe airflow obstruction. Sections have been reorganized and consolidated when appropriate to reinforce concepts.
Are you a starting work in critical care? Are you an experienced nurse but need to check guidelines and best practices? This is the indispensable guide to daily procedures and problems faced by nurses working in this specialty. This book will help you to - Organise your job and yourself - Assess patients and communicate with them - Get clinical information on a wide range of conditions - What to do in emergency This UPDATED edition: - Completely updated and revised content written by authors with extensive nursing experience in the field - Physiological, psychological and social areas, as well as legal issues, ethical and moral dilemmas that critical care nurses and health care practitioners may face on a daily basis - Boxes, tips and diagrams to help bridge the theory-practice gap while embarking on your critical care career. Part of the A Nurse's Survival Guide series Completely updated and revised content written by authors with extensive nursing experience in the field Physiological, psychological and social areas, as well as legal issues, ethical and moral dilemmas that critical care nurses and health care practitioners may face on a daily basis Boxes, tips and diagrams to help bridge the theory-practice gap while embarking on your critical care career.
This is a handy reference book in the award-winning Incredibly Easy! style--perfect for those entering or needing a refresher in critical care nursing. Critical care nursing is one of the most demanding and complex areas of nursing practice. The critical care nurse has to be "broadly specialized" with a fluency in a wide range of interconnected concepts, body system physiology, pathophysiology, and highly technical interventions, while processing data from multiple sources--all this in an environment where there is no room for error and seconds really do count.
Essential Data Critical Care Nurses Must Know Endorsed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, this go-anywhere handbook features tables and figures that encapsulate all the information required to give safe and effective care to critically ill patients. Contents include: Critical Care Drug Tables • Normal Values for Laboratory Tests and Physiologic Parameters • Lists of Assessment Components • Cardiac Rhythms: ECG Characteristics and Treatment Guides, Including Sample Rhythm Strips • 12-Lead ECG Changes in Acute Myocardial Ischemia and Infarct • Troubleshooting Guide for Hemodynamic Monitoring Equipment • Indications for Mechanical Ventilation • Weaning Assessment Tool • ACLS Algorithms.
This newly updated, quick-access guide for critical care nurses covers the most common admitting diagnoses and reviews their causes, signs and symptoms, and interventions. Critical care nursing requires astute assessment, adept communication, and the ability to multitask, as well as a high degree of adaptability. In the ICU, patient status and plan of care change constantly, presenting multifaceted problems for nurses and healthcare providers. This authoritative resource, with bulleted, bite-sized content, provides information to the busy ICU nurse in a heartbeat. Fast Facts for the Critical Care Nurse, Second Edition, has been updated with the most current evidence-based guidelines and standards. Now organized by body system, this reference presents the latest treatment modalities and provides quick access to lab values and hemodynamic parameters. Part I introduces the foundations of critical care. Part II progresses by body system to cover common procedures and interventions. Part III covers patient- and family-centered care, discussing palliative directives and organ donation. New to the Second Edition: Seven completely new chapters Chapter reorganization by body system Updated to include newest treatment modalities Speedy access to appendices with common lab values, hemodynamic parameters, IV medications, and EKG rhythm examples Key Features: Provides quick access to essential information needed on a daily basis Includes Fast Facts boxes to help guide the reader Authored by a respected nurse leader, educator, and AACN/Wharton Executive Leadership Fellow
Clinical nurse managers face myriad challenges, including administrative, clinical, and interpersonal issues. This concise, practical resource offers wise guidance for nurses working in this complex, fast-paced role. Addressing common complaints and anxieties, it offers quick access to insights, proven strategies, and tools for effectively coping with such situations as institutional change, a multigenerational and multicultural workforce, resistance to change, and toxic behaviors. Fully updated and revised, the second edition provides sound advice addressing the changing dynamics in health care that have amplified the challenges of clinical nurse management. It offers strategies for boosting staff morale during times of fear and anxiety, explains how to reclaim professional practice and focus on quality of care, advocates for nurses at senior levels, and discusses how to maintain one’s identity in an interdisciplinary setting. Designed to assist clinical nurse managers at all levels in developing new and effective ways of leading in a rapidly changing health care environment, this resource helps foster a better quality of work life and professional practice. It features concise chapters and bulleted information for quick access and at-a-glance “Fast Facts in a Nutshell” boxes. Also included are helpful tools and worksheets for managing a variety of challenges, along with the “Top 10 Fast Facts for Thriving in a Changing Workplace.” New to the Second Edition: Completely updated and revised New chapter, “Who Stole the Art of Nursing?” New content on fostering and nurturing therapeutic relationships More information on rewards and recognition to keep staff motivated Key Features: Presents timely content ready to be applied in a professional setting Presents information in an easy-to-access format with concise chapters, bulleted lists, and Fast Facts in a Nutshell boxes Advocates a back-to-basics approach to clinical care Packed with current, useful, and accessible information that fits in a pocket Written by a noted author, keynote speaker, and facilitator highly experienced in helping nurses in leadership roles
Dedicated and competent nurse preceptors are vital to the success of health care organizations and to the retention of nurses in the profession. Yet clinical teaching and supervision is a skill that must be developed; a knowledgeable and experienced practitioner does not automatically become a successful nurse preceptor. This pithy reference guide for nurses in the preceptor role is brimming with information about how to successfully educate, protect, socialize, and evaluate nurses transitioning into a new environment. In an easy-access, bulleted format, this resource helps preceptors to establish clinical objectives, execute evaluation and feedback techniques, identify role responsibilities, develop positive communication skills, and develop effective teaching/learning strategies. The guide addresses the qualities of a good preceptor, communication and delegation skills, and the importance of evidence-based practice for the preceptor role. It discusses how to prepare new nurses for the reality shock of entering a new arena, and how to recognize and help the preceptee who is struggling. Nurse preceptors will gain insight into how to assist preceptees in organizing their clinical day and prioritizing their responsibilities. From suggestions in conflict resolution and bullying to aids in developing critical thinking skills to advice on completing relevant documentation, this guide helps new nurse preceptors to provide a well-orchestrated orientation that will ensure a positive experience for novice nurses and the subsequent delivery of quality, patient-centered care. Sample competency forms and clinical tools add to the bookís utility, as well. Key Features: Delivers vital information on all aspects of successful nurse preceptorship in a concise, easy-access format Includes evidence-based content throughout Provides guidance on identifying and developing successful nurse preceptors Addresses organization, prioritization, delegation, effective communication, conflict resolution, and the development of critical thinking skills Offers key information on competency assessment and evaluations A special ìPreceptorís Problem Solverî chapter addresses clinical issues unique to the nurse preceptorís role