Reviewer: Anne Turner-Henson, PhD, RN, FAAN (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
Description: This book for pre-licensure (undergraduate BSN) students is designed to allow students to apply pediatric concepts and critically analyze complex scenarios. The textbook and online resources use a case-based approach to facilitate the application of nursing concepts in a variety of pediatric settings.
Purpose: The book is designed with a case-based approach, covering foundational pediatric nursing practice concepts, including nursing interventions, family education, and safety, in each case study. The objectives are worthy and clearly met. The online materials add great value to the book and clearly meet the objectives as well.
Audience: This book is primarily designed for pre-licensure (undergraduate) nursing students. It covers pediatric nursing content, focusing on a lifespan approach and a variety of settings. The authors as credible experts in pediatric nursing. Dr. Tagher is an associate professor at Northern Kentucky University and has used innovative teaching methods (e.g., flipped classroom, case study, and storytelling approaches). Dr. Knapp, an experienced registered nurse in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital, is a leader in pediatric nursing and member of a hospital-wide shared governance committee and started a clinical coaching program in the PICU. The book's contributors are experienced clinical and academic pediatric nurses.
Features: Pre-licensure nursing programs are leaning toward concept-based and case-based curricula designs. This textbook uses a case-based approach to facilitate an active learning process by building upon the general medical-surgical knowledge base to differentiate the care of children/adolescents from that of adults. The book is organized into three different units. In unit 1, case-based scenarios are organized by disease conditions designed to prepare students for clinical care (acute, ambulatory). Each case scenario focuses on a child at a specific age with a common medical diagnosis. Developmental, disease-specific concepts and nursing interventions including pharmacologic interventions, safety, health promotion, and family education are discussed. The case scenarios can be used as a standalone entity or in conjunction with body system content in the third unit. Unit 2 focuses on growth and development, from newborn/infant to adolescence. The concepts of growth, development, and health promotion are discussed, along with nursing concepts related to primary care and common health problems for the developmental stage. A body systems approach used in unit 3 discusses pediatric assessment and conditions commonly found in pediatric populations. Condition-specific information includes a discussion of pathophysiology, clinical presentation, assessment/diagnosis, nursing interventions and discharge planning, and family education. Linkages to the case scenarios are used to reinforce priority nursing care and enhance clinical judgement. Questions at the end of each chapter may be used to promote critical thinking. Unique features of the textbook include the "Nurse's Point of View" to focus on the nursing role, "Growth and Development Check," "Whose Job is it Anyway?" to highlight interdisciplinary roles, and "Analyze the Evidence" to emphasize the role of evidence-based practice.
Assessment: This book is designed with a case-based approach to introduce pediatric nursing concepts. The case-based scenarios, along with content on growth and development and a body systems approach to common pediatric conditions, make this a useful textbook for pre-licensure (undergraduate) students. The online resources, both for students and instructors, supplement the textbook materials and can be used to enhance learning/instruction.