Compact Clinical Guide to Mechanical Ventilation: Foundations of Practice for Critical Care Nurses

Abstract

T he only book written about mechanical ventilation by nurses for nurses, this text fills a void in addressing high-level patient care and management specific to critical care nurses. Designed for use by practicing nurses, nursing students, nursing educators, and those preparing for national certification in critical care, it provides a detailed, step-by-step approach to developing expertise in this challenging area of practice. The guide is grounded in evidence-based research and explains complex concepts in a user-friendly format along with useful tips for daily practice. It is based on the authors' many years of teaching students at all levels of critical care as well as their experience in mentoring both novice and experienced nurses in the critical care arena. Emphasizing the nurse's role in mechanical ventilation, the book offers many features that facilitate in-depth learning. These include bulleted points to simplify complex ideas, key points summarized for speedy reference, plentiful case studies with questions for reflection, clinical "pearls," illustrations and tables, references for additional study, and a glossary. Specific topics include oxygen therapy, modes of ventilation, mechanical ventilation, weaning from the ventilator, implications for long-term mechanical ventilation, and relevant pharmacology. A chapter on international perspectives examines the similarities and differences in critical care throughout the globe. The book addresses the needs of both adult and geriatric critical care patients. Key Features: • Written by nurses for nurses • Provides theoretical and practical, step-by-step information about mechanical ventilation for practicing nurses, students, and educators • Comprises a valuable resource for the orientation of nurses new to critical care • Contains chapters on international perspectives in critical care and pharmacology protocols for the mechanically ventilated patient