Pediatric Nursing

Book excerpt: Part of the popular LPN Threads series, the new edition of this market-leading textbook presents a clear, well-organized exploration of pediatric nursing for LPN/LVN students. It integrates cutting edge information with updated content, offering useful learning tools to reinforce fundamental concepts. Organized according to developmental stages, the book covers pediatric nursing from infancy to adolescence, with a separate chapter on end-of-life care for children and their families. With its easy-to-read, clear writing style, it provides exactly the right depth and breadth of content for LPN/LVNs. Organization by developmental stages. UNIQUE! Pediatric psychophysiologic responses to bioterrorism and threats of bioterrorism are found in Chapter 1. UNIQUE! Nursing Briefs stress important content-related points and help you prioritize information. Communication Alert boxes identify key tips, specific to establishing successful nurse-patient-family communication. UNIQUE! Community Cues address home care and community-based care issues and tie in nursing care with larger community-based problems, such as nutrition, immunization, and health promotion. UNIQUE! Data Cues list assessment data to help you recognize possible pediatric disorders. Nursing Care Plans with Critical Thinking Questions reinforce the nursing process as applied to pediatric disorders. 13 Skills follow the nursing process and are clearly presented in an Action/Rationale format and teach basic procedures used by the LPN/LVN in pediatric nursing settings. UNIQUE! Chapter 3 includes a section on NIC/NOC, classification systems used in many clinical and hospital settings. Online Resources appear at the end of each chapter and provide an opportunity for further study. Perforated Self-Assessment Workbook included at the back of the book features a variety of matching, multiple-choice, study questions, case studies with critical thinking questions, and Internet activities. UNIQUE! Critical Thinking Snapshots of selected clinical situations with brief scenarios are located after the Critical Thinking Questions at the end of selected Nursing Care Plans and provide visual examples of specific disorders to help you apply critical thinking skills to clinical situations. UNIQUE! January 2007 Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule (Appendix A) for children, adolescents, and catch-up growth immunizations provide the most up-to-date information for nurses and families. UNIQUE! JCAHO's Lists of Dangerous Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Symbols provides guidelines for the prevention of medication administration error, especially serious in pediatric dosages. Health Promotion boxes highlight wellness and disease prevention in light of relevant Healthy People 2010 objectives. Content on evidence-based practice, increased cultural content added to Chapter 1: Child Health Evolution and new information on complementary and alternative therapies in Chapter 3: Care of the Hospitalized Child have been added. Home Care Tips related to specific disorders supplement the content on home care in Chapter 3.