Pain managementAssessing pain and using medications Differentiating acute and chronic pain Acute pain may cause certain physiologic and behavioral changes that you won’t observe in a patient with chronic pain….
Surgical patient careReviewing the techniques Preoperative care Assessing the preoperative patient A thorough preoperative assessment is the foundation of good surgical care, providing a baseline for comparison throughout a patient’s…
ECGsInterpreting them with ease and accuracy Components of an ECG waveform This illustration shows the components of a normal ECG waveform. Normal ECG Analyzing the ECG waveform An electrocardiogram (ECG)…
AssessmentReviewing the techniques Reviewing assessment techniques Performing a 10-minute assessment You won’t always want or need to assess a patient in 10 minutes. However, rapid assessment is crucial when you…
Common disordersTreating and preventing diseases Alzheimer’s disease Overview ♦ Degenerative disorder of the cerebral cortex (especially the frontal lobe). Alzheimer’s disease accounts for more than 50% of all cases of…
Common laboratory testsGiving care and interpreting results Alanine aminotransferase The alanine aminotransferase (ALT) test is used to measure serum levels of ALT, one of two enzymes that catalyze a reversible…
Assessment findingsDistinguishing health from disease Normal findings To distinguish between health and disease, you must be able to recognize normal assessment findings in each part of the body. When you…
Documentation Legal and ethical implications of documentation ♦ Accurately and completely documenting the nature and quality of your nursing care helps the other members of the health care team confirm…
Dosage calculation Reviewing ratios and proportions ♦ A ratio is a mathematical expression of the relationship between two things. ♦ A ratio may be expressed with a fraction, such as…
End-of-life care The experience of dying is unique for each patient and family. Nurses must discover what each dying patient and his family need. What are they afraid of? What…
