Clinical Wisdom and Interventions in Acute and Critical Care, Second Edition: A Thinking-in-Action Approach

"[This book is] a lavishly detailed guide to the essence of becoming an expert nurse...I believe this book will secure a place on most educators' and expert clinicians' bookshelves. Every once in a while a better book comes along; this is one of those times."

Joan E. Lynaugh, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

(From the Foreword)

A classic research-based text in nursing practice and education, this newly revised second edition explains, through first-hand accounts of the hard-earned experiential wisdom of expert nurses, the clinical reasoning skills necessary for top-tier nursing in acute and critical settings. It provides not only the most current knowledge and practice innovations, but also reflects the authors' vast experience using the first edition in practice and educational settings.

This updated edition includes new interviews from acute care, critical care, perioperative nurses, and more. Attention is paid to current IOM and nursing guidelines for systems approaches to patient safety, with education and leadership implications described throughout. It is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate nursing educators, students, administrators, and managers seeking to improve systems of care and leadership in clinical practice.

Key Features

• Articulates major areas of knowledge and skill in acute, critical care, and perioperative nursing practice
  
• Provides vivid, first-hand accounts of hard-earned wisdom that facilitate clinical imagination, reflection, and lifelong learning
  
• Assists faculty, educators, APNs, and mentors in teaching nurses how to recognize recurring clinical syndromes and patterns
  
• Bridges the gap from theory to practice in dynamic patient care situations
  
• Embraces the complexity of caring for the critically ill and their families
  

;

"[This book is] a lavishly detailed guide to the essence of becoming an expert nurse...I believe this book will secure a place on most educators' and expert clinicians' bookshelves. Every once in a while a better book comes along; this is one of those times."

Joan E. Lynaugh, PhD, RN, FAAN

Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

(From the Foreword)

A classic research-based text in nursing practice and education, this newly revised second edition explains, through first-hand accounts of the hard-earned experiential wisdom of expert nurses, the clinical reasoning skills necessary for top-tier nursing in acute and critical settings. It provides not only the most current knowledge and practice innovations, but also reflects the authors' vast experience using the first edition in practice and educational settings.

This updated edition includes new interviews from acute care, critical care, perioperative nurses, and more. Attention is paid to current IOM and nursing guidelines for systems approaches to patient safety, with education and leadership implications described throughout. It is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate nursing educators, students, administrators, and managers seeking to improve systems of care and leadership in clinical practice.

Key Features

• Articulates major areas of knowledge and skill in acute, critical care, and perioperative nursing practice
  
• Provides vivid, first-hand accounts of hard-earned wisdom that facilitate clinical imagination, reflection, and lifelong learning
  
• Assists faculty, educators, APNs, and mentors in teaching nurses how to recognize recurring clinical syndromes and patterns
  
• Bridges the gap from theory to practice in dynamic patient care situations
  
• Embraces the complexity of caring for the critically ill and their families
  

;

Contents

Foreword

Foreword II

Preface

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

1. Thinking-in-Action and Reasoning-in-Transition: An Overview

2. Clinical Grasp and Clinical Inquiry: Problem Identifi cation and
Clinical Problem Solving

3. Clinical Imagination and Clinical Forethought: Anticipating and
Preventing Potential Problems

4. Diagnosing and Managing Life-Sustaining Physiologic Functions in
Acutely Ill and Unstable Patients

5. The Skilled Know-How of Managing a Crisis

6. Providing Comfort Measures for the Critically and Acutely Ill

7. Caring for Patients' Families

8. Preventing Hazards in a Technological Environment

9. Facing Death: End-of-Life Care and Decision Making

10. Making a Case: Communicating Clinical Assessment and
Improving Teamwork

11. Patient Safety: Monitoring Quality, Preventing, and
Managing Practice Breakdown

12. The Skilled Know-How of Clinical and Moral Leadership and the
Coaching and Mentoring of Others

13. Educational Strategies and Implications

Appendix

Glossary

Index