Critical care nursing requires a specific skill set. Patient management in the critical
care setting is complex by nature, and usually requires frequent changes to prescribed
therapeutic interventions based on the nurse's assessment. When a patient
is at risk for physiologic instability, a critical care nurse must provide ongoing surveillance,
continuous diagnostic and data collection, enhanced nursing judgment
and critical thinking, and collaboration with health care team members. As such, a
critical care nurse must possess an understanding of current research and complex
conditions.
I believe that knowledge—acquired through practice and education—is information
in motion. That's why Critical Care Nursing Made Incredibly Easy, Third
Edition, is such a valuable textbook and reference guide to clinical practice. You'll
find that the information in this text is presented logically and is based on the pathophysiology
of disease, significance of evidence, and avoidance of harmful effects
inherent at the critical care level of nursing practice.
Chapters include critical care basics, holistic care issues, body system-based conditions,
and hematologic, immune, and multisystem disorders. The updated content
is expansive, and it includes applications to such specialized critical care arenas as
rapid response teams and advanced life support measures. The spectrum of new
information is timely and includes moderate sedation, drug overdose, pressure ulcer
management, and treating patients with specialized needs, such as elderly, pediatric,
and bariatric patients.
The most important and necessary variable when transforming information to
knowledge is comprehension. The signature of Critical Care Nursing Made Incredibly
Easy, Third Edition, is the way in which the information is presented: clearly,
directly, and simply. The unique writing style, color illustrations, witty characters,
and clever icons—most notably Memory joggers, which offer simple tricks to
remember key points—create a reference that helps you to translate critical care
nursing information into practice.
In addition, icons draw your attention to important issues:
Advice from the experts—offers tips and tricks for nurses and key troubleshooting
techniques
Take charge!—focuses on potentially lethal situations and steps to take when they
occur