Main description:

The new edition of this highly popular book is an indispensable guide to daily procedures and problems for nurses starting work on the ward or returning to practice. It provides guidance in a variety of areas including:

How to organise your job and yourself
How to assess patients
Clinical information on a wide range of conditions
Important principles, procedures and investigations
How to administer drugs safely
What to do in an emergency

As well as information on how to do the job, the importance of communication and nursing care issues is emphasised. Background information is also given on underlying legal, health and safety issues.

Contents:

SECTION 1 Your job and its organization: Organizing yourself; Emergency situations

SECTION 2 Assessing and investigating: Identification of patient problems; Assessment; Observations and measurements; Procedures and investigations; Nursing care issues

SECTION 3 Procedures: General principles and procedures; Infection and its control; Fluid and electrolyte balance; Nutritional support

SECTION 4 A systems approach: The cardiovascular system; The respiratory system; The blood; The gastrointestinal system; The renal system; The nervous system; The endocrine system; Diseases of bones and joints; The immune system; Cancer; Surgery

SECTION 5 Pharmacology; Drugs and the law: Administration of drugs; Nurse prescribing; Pharmacology in practice; Classification of drugs; Poisoning

References; Further reading and useful websites;

Appendix 1 Units of measurement; Appendix 2 Normal values; Appendix 3 Drug measurement and calculations

Glossary; Index