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The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health is a medical reference product designed to inform and educate readers about a wide variety of diseases, treatments, tests and procedures, health issues, human biology, and nursing and allied health professions. The Gale Group believes the product to be comprehensive, but not necessarily definitive. While the Gale Group has made substantial efforts to provide information that is accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date, the Gale Group makes no representations or warranties of any kind, including without limitation, warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, nor does it guarantee the accuracy, comprehensiveness, or timeliness of the information contained in this product. Readers should be aware that the universe of medical knowledge is constantly growing and changing, and that differences of medical opinion exist among authorities.

Nutritional Issues Highlighted in Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation The following are all areas highlighted by the Government in their recent strategy document. Salt The Government has begun a series of meetings with the food industry to explore ways of reducing the salt content of processed foods. A number of major retailers have already taken action to reduce the salt content of their own-brand products. Around 90% of the salt we eat is derived from processed foods. Looking for lower salt options in the supermarket, avoidance of adding salt during cooking and use of alternative seasonings at the table can help to reduce salt intake. It is important, however, to ensure that nutritional messages are placed in context. It is recognised in the report that salt is not the only factor that affects blood pressure. Reducing excess alcohol intake and increasing physical activity are also highlighted as being important. Practical advice for those with high blood pressure sho

This book is centrally concerned with the formal management of preoperative anxiety. The vast majority of patients experience varying degrees of anxiety when entering hospital for surgery and yet little formal intervention is commonly provided. This is the first book of its kind to be written for nurses exclusively concerning the complete formal pre- and postoperative management of anxiety in relation to modern, elective, adult day surgery. During the early 1970s classic nursing studies suggested information provision to be crucial for effective inpatient preoperative anxiety management. However, following such early recommendations no other formal aspects of psychoeducational care have impacted on mainstream surgical nursing intervention. Physical aspects of care have dominated proceedings for the last three decades or more, whereas psychoeducational aspects have largely remained informal, marginal issues. Both surgery and anaesthesia have changed dramatically during thi

As in the first edition, we have included relevant information about Gender and Life Span Considerations, and have enhanced this section with information about racial and ethnic differences in health and disease. As our society has an ever-increasing diversity, we have developed this section so that practitioners have a basis from which to develop culturally competent care. Each entry begins with the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) category. DRGs were initiated by the Health Care Financing Administration to serve as an organizing framework to grouprelated conditions and to stabilize reimbursements. Because they provide a convenient standard to evaluate hospital care, DRGs are used by institutions and disciplines to measure utilization and to allocate resources. We have included DRGs to indicate the expected norms in average length of stay for each entry. Each entry follows the nursing process, with assessment information incorporated in the History and Physical Assessment sections, the

Unit I, Nursing’s Perspective: Past, Present and Future, explores many aspects that are essential to nursing. A historical overview of early leaders and social forces that have influenced the development of nursing practice is provided. The theoretical frameworks for guiding professional practice and the significance of incorporating research into nursing practice are emphasized. The evolution of our current health care delivery system is discussed with attention given to proposals for change. Unit II, Nursing Process, The Standard of Care, explains each component of the nursing process. The nursing process is the framework for delivering holistic care in an organized scientific manner. A chapter on critical thinking leads the unit discussion of the five phases of the nursing process. Unit III, The Therapeutic Nature of Nursing, discusses the caring nature of nursing as demonstrated through therapeutic communication and actions. Nursing, by definition and purpose, is a therapeutic pr

Vascular disease is a pathological state of large and medium sized muscular arteries and is triggered by endothelial cell dysfunction. Because of factors like pathogens, oxidized LDL particles and other inflammatory stimuli endothelial cells become activated. This leads to change in their characteristics: endothelial cells start to excrete cytokines and chemokinesand express adhesion molecules on their surface. This in turn results in recruitment of white blood cells (monocytes and lymphocytes), which can infiltrate the blood vessel wall. Stimulation of smooth muscle cell layer with cytokines produced by endothelial cells and recruited white blood cells causes smooth muscle cells to proliferate and migrate towards the blood vessel lumen. The process causes thickening of the vessel wall, forming a plaque consisting of proliferating smooth muscle cells, macrophages and various types oflymphocytes. This plaque result in obstructed blood flow leading to diminished amounts of oxygen and nu

This text has been written as a resource for those who provide health care for children and their families. Contributors to the book are experts from a range of backgrounds – both in practice and academia. The contributors firmly believe, that the child comes first and foremost; they believe that each child is a unique person with individual needs and aspirations – this stance is clearly reflected in each chapter of the book. Children deserve the best possible care, and this cannot be provided unless there is an understanding of the context of children’s lives, both in the community at large and within healthcare settings. The concept of partnership focuses upon the need to deliver paediatric care in collaboration with the child and the family.This text encourages the reader to apply this approach to care delivery in any situation in which they may be working. Chapter 2 emphasises the importance of this, looking beyond a disease-orientated approach to one where the child

With information overload a challenge in all of our lives, why should anyone read this book? The answer is simple—this book is not only informative, covering the major issues facing advanced practices nurses (APNs), but it is also vital to understanding the past, present, and future of advanced practice. This effort weaves together historical views of APNs with present-day issues and trends. The contributors have masterfully analyzed the issues so that the reader will come to know both the larger policy issues facing APNs and how these issues translate into day-to-day care of patients. The critical examination of financing, values, politics, and intraprofessional education and practice as well as interprofessional relationships combines to bring APNs into sharp focus. The evolution of APNs has been a major event in the history of nursing. While each of the four APN disciplines—clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, certified nurse midwife, and nurse anesthetist—has a unique

It is important to appreciate that assessment is fundamental to all procedures that a patient may undergo. It does not happen just once but is an ongoing process repeated at regular intervals depending on the patient’s condition. The most usual time for a thorough assessment to occur is when a patient is admitted to acute or continuing care, but there may be other times when further detailed assessment is necessary. Assessing a patient involves both formal and informal assessment. Formal assessment includes the gathering of objective information about the patient’s condition by interviewing him or her and obtaining answers to questions. Informal assessment includes the things that you notice about a patient while you are talking to them, and may include physical signs and subjective information such as their mood or behaviour. The structure of these assessments will be discussed in more detail in this chapter. Assessment of physical vital signs is also undertaken and these are desc

Nurses need every resource possible to keep their patients safe from untoward drug effects. In the wake of rising public controversy about drug safety and two drug-focused Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports released in 2006, Nursing Spectrum Drug Handbook 2008 is an especially timely publication. The first report, “Preventing Drug Errors,” found that adverse drug events harm at least 1.5 million Americans each year and that the average hospital patient is subject to at least one medication error per day. The second report, “The Future of Drug Safety: Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public,” continues the national debate over drug safety that intensified after the 2004 withdrawal of Vioxx, the popular arthritis drug associated with double the risk of myocardial infarction. This report found that problems at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), such as lack of clear regulatory authority, chronic underfunding, and organizational issues, have led to the agency’s failure to

Nurses lead and manage nursing care for patients, families, aggregates, and communities in a variety of settings, ranging from ambulatory to community to inpatient. Nurses also lead and manage care across the health-care continuum, including primary health promotion and prevention; secondary skilled, long term, and rehabilitative; and tertiary: emergent, urgent, and acute care. Strategies are drawn from both leadership and management theories. Leadership involves both the leader and the follower. In this text, we have defined Leadership as the process of envisioning a new and better world, communicating that vision to others, motivating others and enticing them to join in efforts to realize the vision, thinking in a different way, challenging the status quo, taking risks, and facilitating change (Valiga and Grossman). Effective Followers are individuals who work with and support leaders in their efforts to realize a vision by being engaged rather than alienated, suggesting new ideas a

Welcome to the second edition of Lecture Notes: Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Professor Geoffrey Chamberlain asked me to assist him with the combining of the original well-established separate Lecture Notes on Obstetrics and Lecture Notes on Gynaecology by joining him as editor of this textbook aimed at undergraduate medical, midwifery and nursing students, junior doctors, nurses and midwives. He told me then that he intended to retire from the editorship for the second edition. I owe him an enormous debt as a teacher, mentor and guide through my career and into the complex area of editing a book with an illustrious list of eminent obstetricians and gynaecologists as its previous editors. He graciously agreed to proof read this edition and I thank him for his helpful contribution to the final version. He continues to work as the Emeritus Professor of History of Medicine at the University of Wales. In this edition I have asked two of my colleagues at Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’s Medi

The Nutrition and Health™ series of books has, an overriding mission to provide health professionals with texts that are considered essential because each includes: (1) a synthesis of the state of the science; (2) timely, in-depth reviews by the leading researchers in their respective fields; (3) extensive, up-to-date, fully annotated reference lists; (4) a detailed index; (5) relevant tables and figures; (6) identification of paradigm shifts and the consequences; (7) virtually no overlap of information between chapters, but targeted, inter-chapter referrals; (8) suggestions of areas for future research; and (9) balanced, data-driven answers to patient–health professionals’ questions, which are based on the totality of evidence rather than the findings of any single study. The series volumes are not the outcome of a symposium. Rather, each editor has the potential to examine a chosen area with a broad perspective, both in subject matter as well as in the choice of chapter authors. Th

The purpose of this book remains what it was in the first seven editions: to present the fundamental principles and facts of human physiology in a format that is suitable for undergraduate students, regardless of academic backgrounds or fields of study: liberal arts,biology, nursing, pharmacy, or other allied health professions. The book is also suitable for dental students,and many medical students have also used previous editions to lay the foundation for the more detailed coverage they receive in their courses. The most significant feature of this book is its clear,up-to-date, accurate explanations of mechanisms,rather than the mere description of facts and events. Because there are no limits to what can be covered in an introductory text, it is essential to reinforce over and over, through clear explanations, that physiology can be understood in terms of basic themes and principles. As evidenced by the very large number of flow diagrams employed, the book emphasizes underst

The Certified Nursing Assistant Examination, referred to as the Exam, consists of both a written examination (the WE) and the clinical skills test (the CST). You must successfully pass both the WE and the CST to pass the certification examination. Specific details on both the WE and the CST, as well as tips on preparing for each portion, follow. The written examination (WE) is a computerized exam with a time limit, usually two hours. Test sites are regional or local, depending on the state jurisdiction. We recommend you follow the instructions given by the testing center without exception and arrive at least 30 minutes early or, if you’re traveling a long distance, arrive a day early to locate the testing center and the most judicious travel route to avoid delays. Two forms of identification are often required, one of which is a picture ID. Because the testing environment is often kept cool, bring a sweater or light jacket for comfort. Remember to leave personal items (purses, cell

This book emphasizes the linkages among the three standardized nursing languages — NANDA, NIC, and NOC. It discusses the need for these linkages as more clinical information systems are developed and used. This edition updates the original, published in 2001. The purpose is to explain and demonstrate the linkages among the standardized nursing languages. It provides examples of how these linkages can be used in nursing education and practice settings. These worthy objectives are met. The intended audience includes practicing and student nurses. The authors are well known nurse educators. The book begins by presenting how to use the linkage book in practice and education. The newest edition shifts the emphasis from just the application of the three standard languages to how they are linked for a strong unified care plan. The book also points outs scientific gaps in need of nursing research. These features are unique to this book and are updates from the previous edition. This is the onl

The area of treatment of sexual disorders has undergone an enormous expansion during the last few decades. The introduction of pharmacological treatment of these disorders (e.g., sildenafil for erectile dysfunction or antidepressants for paraphilias) rekindled the interest of physicians from different disciplines (psychiatrists, urologists, gynecologists) in sexual dysfunctions. Physicians are finding these disorders amenable to pharmacotherapy. However, the new developments in the area of “sexual pharmacology” have unfortunately also led to a biological reductionism in the field. In the past, most physicians viewed the etiology of sexual dysfunctions/disorders as mainly psychological, rooted in internal conflicts, deep-seated anxiety, and so on. In the present time, physicians in many disciplines view sexual dysfunctions as mostly, if not purely, of biological origin and discard any notion of psychological factors in the etiology of sexual problems. The initial hype about the su

This book provides an introduction to public health and epidemiology. We hope that  by working through all, or sections, of the book the reader will not only increase their  knowledge of public health practice but also develop a critical, questioning approach  to the application of that knowledge. Before starting to work on this second edition we asked for feedback from  users of the fi rst edition. Based on the feedback received we added two new chapters  (1 and 11) and made several other substantial revisions. The fi rst new chapter is on the history of epidemiology and public health, while Chapter 11 considers what  actually changes the public health. Chapters 2 and 7 (on information sources and  determinants of health respectively) have been largely rewritten. All the chapters have  been brought up to date. However, the basic study guide format remains the same. Each chapter begins with a list of questions and learning objectives, uses exercises to  help illustrate and d