A Nurse's Survival Guide to the Ward - Updated Edition / Edition 3

by Ann Richards BA(Hons), MSc DipN(Lon), RGN,RNT, Sharon L. Edwards EdD SFHEA NTF MSc PGCEA DipN(Lon) RN

Overview

Further to the success of the previous editions, A Nurse's Survival Guide to the Ward continues to be the indispensable guide to all the procedures and problems faced by nurses and healthcare professionals every day.

Whether you are a clinical practicing student or a qualified nurse, this book is the perfect straightforward reference for every doubt you might have about emergency situations, as well as assessments, clinical procedures and much more.

What will you find in this updated edition:

• Completely updated and revised content written by well-known authors with extensive experience in the field;

• Up-to-date legal issues, health and safety, professional practice issues and ethics in nursing;
• Expansions of areas such as oxygen administration, fluid and electrolyte balance and nutrition

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780702078316
Publisher:	Elsevier Health Sciences
Publication date:	01/10/2019
Series:	A Nurse's Survival Guide
Edition description:	Updated
Pages:	480
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

1 Your job and its organization

2 Principles of adult nursing

3 Identification of patient problems

4 Fundamental procedures

5 A systems approach

6 Pharmacology

References

Further Reading

Appendix 1 Units of measurement

Appendix 2 Normal values

Appendix 3 Drug measurement and calculations

Glossary

Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Linda Connelly, PhD, DNP, MSH, CNS, APRN, CNOR (University of Houston)
Description: This book covers evidence-based care for practicing nurses in the hospital. It was originally intended for newly graduated nurses but has been updated for use throughout a nurse's career. The book starts with ward management then covers emergencies. It continues with evidence-based information to enhance the professional practice of nursing at the bedside, including legal and ethical issues and health and safety issues. This update is needed because the only constant in nursing/healthcare is change. Changes in patient care delivery follow technological advances and increased patient expectations, so books covering the healthcare environment and evidence-based care need to stay current.
Purpose: The purpose, according to the authors, is to provide a pocket-sized factual guide to the provision of holistic care. I agree with the authors that this is a good basic guide with concise, evidence-based knowledge on many facets of nursing care. Books that place evidence-based information at the fingertips of practicing nurses is invaluable. I would recommend this book as ward resource, and even include references to it in policies and procedures.
Audience: According to the authors, the audience is student nurses and clinical nurses. They note that the book could be helpful for other healthcare personnel but is not meant to replace all nursing textbooks. I somewhat agree with the author about clinical nursing, but perioperative nursing is only briefly covered. Each system describes specific surgical procedures for disease processes and, in some cases, briefly lists complications for the surgical procedure.
Features: This is a guide to daily procedures and problems for student nurses, nurses starting work on the ward, or nurses returning to practice. It provides guidance in a variety of areas including how to organize your job and yourself, how to do the job, the importance of communication, and nursing care issues. It has a section on emergency situations followed by how to assess patients and clinical information on a wide range of conditions. The sections include important principles, procedures, and investigations in a system format. The last chapter is how to administer drugs safely. The chapters are presented in a somewhat outline format that allows nurses to zero in on the information they are seeking. Boxes highlight important information. It would help to expand the perioperative section and add a pregnancy section, especially with a section such as diabetes and HTN, which show up in pregnancy on a regular basis.
Assessment: Because this is a U.K. publication, at times the terminology may be confusing, but this does not limit the use of the book. The format is similar to other medical-surgical references from NCLEX review organizations, such as Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, 8th edition, Silvestri (Elsevier, 2019), but the focus of that one is more on being successful on the exam. This is more of an evidence-based reference for individuals and teams on medical-surgical units.

Doody's Review Service