Understanding the Essentials of Critical Care Nursing, Second Edition

For all baccalaureate-level courses in critical care and advanced adult or medical surgical nursing; and for hospital orientation programs for beginning critical care nurses.

UNDERSTANDING THE ESSENTIALS OF CRITICAL CARE NURSING, 2/e introduces all foundational elements of critical care nursing that are essential to delivering safe, effective care, and provide the basis for the eventual delivery of sophisticated, expert care. It focuses on the techniques and concepts most important for novice critical care nurses to understand, and the care of patients with the most common critical illnesses, establishing the groundwork students need to become increasingly effective and capable of offering increasingly advanced care. Key topics include: nursing assessment of critically ill patients; evidence based practices; safety initiatives; commonly used medications; and leading technologies for providing better care. This edition contains extensive new coverage ranging from 2010 AHA Guidelines to safety and evidence-based practice; and calls greater attention to nursing actions associated with collaborative care.