Features

• Concise, streamlined content — written at a highly readable level.
• More balanced coverage of the core body of knowledge needed for medical-surgical nursing practice helps today’s busy students focus on “need-to-know” content.
• Increased emphasis on clinical decision-making prepares students to think critically and make sound patient care decisions.
• NEW & UNIQUE! Learning Outcomes organized by NCLEX Examination Client Needs Categories help students focus their limited study time on the content that matters most.
• NEW & UNIQUE! Human needs focus — with Human Needs Overviews and chapter-ending Human Needs Assessment Review and Human Needs Nursing Care Review features — helps students make the connection between the patient care concepts they previously learned in nursing fundamentals and the practical application of these concepts to the disorders covered in the medical-surgical nursing course.
• Evidence-Based Practice boxes provide synopses of recent nursing research articles and other scientific articles and demonstrate how research evidence is used to build an evidence-based practice.
• UNIQUE! Get Ready for the NCLEX Examination! sections provide students with comprehensive review and reinforcement of key chapter content, all organized by the Client Needs Categories.
• Special icons throughout the text direct students to interactive multimedia learning resources on the Companion CD and the student Evolve website.

• UNIQUE! Patient-Centered Collaborative Care sections approach medical, surgical, and other interventions from a nursing perspective.
• Considerations for Older Adults and Women's Health Considerations boxes highlight important information students should know about caring for specific patient populations.
• Streamlined Concept Maps visually walk students through the clinical decision-making process, emphasizing the links among pathophysiology, assessment, and intervention for effective clinical decision-making and patient rescue.
• NEW & UNIQUE! Decision-Making Challenges present real-life clinical scenarios and open-ended questions with answer guidelines that challenge your students to use their clinical decision-making skills.
• NEW & UNIQUE! NCLEX Examination Challenges throughout the chapters help students master content application and prepare them for the NCLEX Examination.
• Genetic Considerations boxes help students understand genetic links to various diseases and disorders.
• Expanded coverage of emergency and disaster preparedness equips students to handle common environmental emergencies, as well as the consequences of bioterrorism and mass-casualty events.
• Enhanced emphasis on patient safety reflects The Joint Commission’s National Patient Safety Goals initiative and prepares students to provide safe patient care.
• Additional guidance in prioritization, delegation, and assignment helps students develop and strengthen these vital skills.
• NEW! Glossary at the end of the book provides students with quick access to key terms and definitions.