Critical Care Nursing: Diagnosis and Management 8th edition

Abstract

Critical Care Nursing: Diagnosis and Management 8th editionUrden LD, Stacy KM, Lough ME. St Louis, MO: Mosby; 2017. Paperback; 1112 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0323447522The textbook Critical Care Nursing: Diagnosis and Management is an excellent resource for any nurse on the continuum of novice to expert. The book is comprehensive, easy to read, and perfect as a fast reference tool. The level of detail about the how and why of disorders and their medical and nursing management makes complex concepts easy to understand.The book is set up in units that discuss topics in acute, progressive, and critical care nursing. Unit I, Foundations of Critical Care Nursing, takes a comprehensive look at concepts needed by all critical care nurses for practice. Topics include acute and critical care nursing practice; ethical, legal, and genetic issues; patient and family education; management of alterations in psychosocial and nutrition; pain and pain management; sedation, agitation, and delirium management; and end-of-life care.Units II to VII cover body system–specific issues such as cardiac, pulmonary, neurologic, kidney, gastrointestinal, and endocrine. Unit VIII covers multi-system alterations including trauma; shock, sepsis, and multiple organ dysfunction; burns; organ donation and transplantation; and hematologic and oncologic emergencies. Unit IX discusses the management of disorders that occur in patient populations such as obstetric, pediatric, older adult, and perianesthesia patients.These units include information on the epidemiology and etiology, pathophysiology, assessment and diagnosis, laboratory studies, and the medical, nursing, and collaborative management for each disorder. This concise, consistent organization makes the process of finding an answer to a specific question simple and quick. The units also have case studies with open-ended questions to stimulate critical thinking.Appendices provide nursing plans of care for implementing the interventions described. The appendices also provide the formulas for commonly encountered hemodynamic, pulmonary, neurologic, endocrine, and renal calculations for critical care. Critical care nurses manage a large amount of data; this comprehensive resource helps nurses understand how all those numbers are derived.Throughout the book there are tables and charts with detailed information on laboratory results, pharmacologic interventions, and assessments, providing an in-depth understanding of the concepts presented. The index makes finding topics easy. In addition, quality and safety issues for patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics are called out and easily identified by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses icon.Purchase of this book also provides access to the Elsevier’s Evolve study resources, including study questions for CCRN, PCCN, and NCLEX; videos and animations; procedures from Elsevier Clinical Skills; and TEACH for Nurses lesson plans, with answers to the case studies in the book, a bank of test questions, and PowerPoint slides for classroom instruction.Critical Care Nursing: Diagnosis and Management is an excellent companion for any acute or critical care nurse who needs a great reference text or who is studying for licensing boards or specialty certification.