This book offers insight into the diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) and liver disease. The abdominal assessment is an essential tool for providers to diagnose and treat GI illnesses appropriately. CT scan is a useful and frequently ordered test when trying to determine cause of acute abdominal pain. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) is a procedure performed by a gastroenterologist to evaluate the upper structures of the GI tract. Colonoscopy is a procedure performed by a gastroenterologist to evaluate the large intestine and rectum. The book reviews common GI symptoms and disorders from irritable bowel disorders (including key differences between Crohn’s disease and ulcerativecolitis) to gallstones and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). It also includes comprehensive review of the liver, abnormal liver function tests (LFTs), and transplantation. The LFT is a combination of serum testing, including alkaline phosphate, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and bilirubin levels. The book provides up-to date information on the latest treatment guidelines for gastrointestinal and liver disease. Liver disease discussed in the book include viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver disease, acute liver failure, cirrhosis, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), and hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

This book teaches readers about becoming an nurse practitioner (NP) and invites them to consider topics of importance to both NP students and engaged NPs. The role of the NP is a hot topic in today’s ever- changing, ever- challenging, and economically driven health care system. This book explores reasons to become an NP, provides insight on issues related to NP education, clarifies hot topics related to NP practice, and proposes how the role of the NP is continuing to evolve. It guides the reader through the entire process of becoming an NP, from the initial decision to the selection of the right educational program to licensure. It discusses the contractual relationship with institutions and related health providers, along with legal and administrative issues. Currently practicing NPs offer words of wisdom on how to survive the first year of practice, and stories from the author and her colleagues provide an intimate look at everyday realities. The book is the all-in-one reference for potential or current NP students as well as newly practicing NPs. Its chapters contain learning objectives, checklists to facilitate important decision making, charts and tables highlighting hot topics or key elements, and testimonials from currently practicing NPs, as well as the author’s own poignant moments as a new and experienced NP that will be helpful to any new or soon-to-be- new practitioner. Significant points are set in boldface type throughout, and pertinent information is summarized in boxes that offer “Fast Facts in a Nutshell”.

Nurses in clinical settings and nonclinical support roles face pressing clinical and operational issues in practice. With the face of health also changing rapidly, the unforeseen problem rears its head every day. To meet new and unexpected challenges requires explicit knowledge about emerging technologies—innovative, smart technologies developed to function intelligently, with more efficiency and accuracy. For this reason, the finer points of these technologies need understanding by practicing nurses, nursing leaders, and nurses teaching health information technology (IT), and informatics courses. This book serves to do that. It provides information about exciting areas of technology that has great potential to improve patient care. Subjects include Big Data, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented realities, Internet of Things, precision health, and the future of emerging technologies in nursing practice. There is also discussion of the shift of healthcare delivery into the community, with an outlook on improving outcomes and enhancing practice. What makes this book unique is the examination of healthcare as a technology industry, critical divergent collaborations, and the impetus of healthcare innovation. Also, Big Data is thoughtfully utilized to provide nurse value and act as the source of all emerging technologies. The book includes details about how each emerging technology drives decision making in tandem with the nursing process and critical thinking and how the novel technologies will move care delivery into the community and become a catalyst in health consumerism and the sharing economy. The book is a blueprint for a new direction for nurses in health IT, and what it will become in the next decade and the 21st century.

The ability to reduce the burden of illness among older adults is necessary as individuals are living longer and experiencing lower rates of disability. Advanced practice nurses are skilled to relieve the burden of illness among older adults through specialized training and providing treatment in a variety of clinical settings. While geriatric-focused content exists, advanced practice nurses can benefit from clinical pearls specific for the advanced practice nurse providing holistic mental health care. This handbook offers advanced practice nurses, nurse educators, and graduate nursing students a reference that is intended to be supplemental to uniquely providing care for older adults which includes an overview of the aging process as well as assessing and developing treatment plans for older adults with mental health disorders. As older adults often work collaboratively with family, friends, caregivers, and health care providers, approaches to such relationships are explored and intended to serve as a resource for providing mental health care that can contribute to the overall success of treatment. The text provides an interprofessional box that encourages and assists the advanced practice nurse navigating through interdisciplinary collaborative practice. Such interprofessional partnerships can enhance care—particularly in cases of complexity. Advanced practice nurses can utilize the provided case studies to identify and modify service delivery that promotes evidence based practice.

This book is for the busy clinician working in pediatric primary care, family medicine, and urgent care. It is developed to be a quick reference to help providers navigate through some of the most common presenting complaints and symptoms encountered during the pediatric office visit. It is not a “textbook” to help write a dissertation. It is a book designed for, and by, busy clinicians in the trenches of ambulatory practice. The book is easy to use and gives quick practical guidance. It serves to be useful for an experienced clinician, or a newbie Nurse Practitioner (NP), or a Physician Assistant (PA) student going into their pediatric rotation. This book is unique in that it has been written by both NPs and PAs who work in and teach pediatrics to advanced practicing clinicians. It provides an overview of how to approach the history and physical exam of a pediatric patient based on their age and in the context of the parent/caregiver–child relationship during the pediatric healthcare encounters and discusses the concepts of pediatric growth and development. The book has been organized by common presenting symptoms and made to be a concise and focused review of the most common presenting symptoms within a system. It encompasses all key diagnostic and management essentials needed for safe and effective pediatric practice. By incorporating the most current literature and evidence-based practice, the book explains how to best assess, diagnose, and treat common pediatric disorders in an ambulatory care setting. Chapters consistently include focused assessment and diagnosis of the most common clinical problems and treatment options. The book discusses important developmental milestones, and illness prevention and management sections provide practitioners with important content to educate patients and families easily and thoroughly.

Every nurse cares for patients facing end-of-life issues at some point in their career. For some nurses, working with terminally ill patients is an infrequent, yet important experience. For others, it is part of their daily nursing work. Fast Facts for the Hospice Nurse: A Concise Guide to End-of-Life Care, Second edition, like the first edition, is a valuable, up-to-date resource for all nurses whether they work with terminally ill patients on a daily basis or only occasionally. This book is for nurses who are seeking to specialize in hospice, those who work in long-term care settings, postacute care settings, acute care setting, and those who are seeking to enhance their knowledge of end-of-life care within other specialties. This second edition has been thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded. New information has been added on the role of the hospice nurse as case manager, cultural issues, such as working with members of the LGBTQ+ community, and special communication considerations, such as working with deaf and hard of hearing patients and those who have limited English proficiency. In terms of symptom management at the end of life, new chapters have been added on the use of cannabis, nonpharmacological pain management interventions, wound care, care of the dying patient, and postmortem care. Each section of the second edition of this book focuses on nursing care at the end of life and offers concise, yet thorough, coverage of important topics. Throughout the book, numerous resources are provided and ‘Fast Facts’ boxes are used to highlight important pieces of information. Treatment options are also included in tables and figures throughout the book. Screening tools for depression, anxiety, and risk for wounds are included as well as scales that are important in hospice care, such as the Palliative Performance Scale and the Karnofsky Performance Scale.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a global health problem that can have lasting health effects. Nurses working with all populations need to have knowledge of the different STIs to develop an awareness of how the different STIs are transmitted as well as the different signs and symptoms and long-term health sequelae. In order to address STIs as a public health problem, nurses need to have a foundational knowledge of the different STIs so that early identification, treatment, and prevention can be addressed in a comprehensive manner. This book describes the different STIs, new and emerging health trends that are occurring, treatment options, and prevention efforts. A key issue addressed in the book is reviewing at-risk populations, who often are underserved and at the highest risk for long-term health consequences that can occur with STIs. This book brings an awareness of the impact of STIs and how nurses working with all populations can increase their knowledge of STIs and be instrumental in addressing a serious global health problem. It reviews common sexually transmitted infections in depth, providing epidemiology, risk factors, signs and symptoms, long-term sequelae, disease transmission, diagnosis, and recommended treatments. It also focuses on nursing-specific interventions that include conducting a sensitive and appropriate patient history, interpreting a holistic consideration of patient lifestyle, and linking population-specific patient education and counseling. The book provides expert guidance from an accomplished forensic nurse/nurse midwife. It addresses the most common STIs to facilitate accurate differential diagnosis and management. The book considers the needs of special populations to provide individualized, culturally sensitive care and offers evidence-based patient information, prevention, and counseling guidance to maximize positive public health outcomes.

This third edition, has been written as a reference and certification test review guide for registered nurse (RNs) preparing for gerontological certification. It is also a useful text for students who are studying gerontology, teachers preparing gerontology classes, and RNs working with older adults. The book presents information about preparing for the certification exam, a comprehensive compilation of content specific to gerontology, and a test bank of questions specifically developed for the RN preparing for certification in gerontology. It focuses on topics specific to the aging population, such as demographics, myths about aging, theories of aging and nursing, communication skills geared for the older adult, teaching–learning principles that work well with older adults, and the history of gerontological nursing. The book identifies the health promotion needs of elders, such as nutrition, exercise, primary and secondary prevention strategies, and alternative and complementary healthcare practices used with older adults. It describes the environment, including safety and security, relocation, transportation, the importance of space, community-based resources, and residential facilities. It discusses spirituality and dying with special attention to advance directives, hospice and palliative care, and the grieving process. The book describes the acute and chronic physical illnesses most frequently experienced by older adults and discusses the cognitive and psychological disorders experienced by elders, including dementia, delirium, and depression. It covers common medications used by older adults, as well as discussions about polypharmacy, issues related to pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, noncompliance, and adverse drug effects. It also discusses special topics such as pain, sexuality, and elder neglect and abuse, and covers descriptions of health policy issues and organizations that advocate for older adults. The book finally discusses the scope and standards of geriatric nursing practice relating to leadership and management, research, ethical and legal issues, and professional competency.

Psychotherapy is regarded as an essential competency for the advanced practice psychiatric nurse. This book is a long-awaited companion to the foremost nursing psychotherapy book, Psychotherapy for the Advanced Practice Psychiatric Nurse. With many educational programs today providing only survey courses and in-class role-play experiences, graduates often report feeling intimidated at the thought of conducting formal psychotherapy. This book fills an important gap as it provides a practical, yet invaluably rich guide to a more thorough understanding of the major psychotherapies. The unique chapter format delivers a straightforward description of the psychotherapy school, followed by a synopsis of the leaders and developers of the school/approach to therapy and a summary of the philosophy and key concepts. The reader then steps into and experiences excerpts from real psychotherapy sessions presented in a longitudinal manner that progress from the initial session to termination. The sessions are drawn from the files of the chapter authors replete with the development of goals, interventions, and techniques, what worked, and what didn't work. The case studies in this book have a range of diverse theoretical approaches and varied client problems and psychiatric diagnoses. The book is organized into 15 chapters, with each chapter presenting a case study using a different theoretical approach. Each chapter follows a similar format, allowing for comparison among the psychotherapy approaches. The format begins with the author's personal experience, providing the reader with the understanding of how various theoretical orientations were chosen by the authors. This is followed by a background on the founders and leaders and the philosophy and key concepts of the approach. Next illuminated is how the approach describes mental health and psychopathology, therapeutic goals, assessment perspectives, and therapeutic interventions.

This book for neonatal nurse practitioner/clinical nurse specialist students, in both academic and clinical settings, uses complex case studies to reinforce the best practices in treating vulnerable neonatal patients. Based on applications and outcomes, the case study approach develops critical thinking and clinical decision making and fosters effective role transition in practice-based disciplines. The case studies address and synthesize the most important content covered throughout the neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) curriculum. Additional audiences for the book include interprofessional staff working in Level II and Level III nursery settings. Beginning with case studies for identifying maternal risk factors and the influence on fetal risk, and culminating in case studies for communicating with parents, the book shows a holistic view of caring for neonatal patients. The book also discusses the factors influencing neonatal transition and the normal and abnormal intrauterine (IU) growth patterns. Chapters organized by body system address diseases and disorders and prompt the reader for diagnosis and treatment. They cover, among others, respiratory distress, congestive heart failure (CHF), disorders in head, ear, eyes, nose, and throat (HEENT), hematologic disorders, and skin lesions. Progressing from basic to complex, the case studies include objectives, clinical pearls, and critical thinking questions. A robust instructor’s toolkit contains pedagogical strategies for facilitating online discussion, chapter conclusion quizzes, a variety of simulation experiences, and a downloadable image bank.