Compact Clinical Guide to Mechanical Ventilation

The 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, and nursing educators, 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 has been written based on the authors' many years of teaching students at all levels of critical care as well as their experience in mentoring 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, learning objectives, key points summarized for speedy reference, learning activities, a case study in each chapter with questions for reflection, clinical "pearls," references for additional study, and a glossary. A digital companion includes cue cards summarizing challenging practice concepts and how-to procedural videos. The book addresses the needs of both adult critical care patients and geriatric critical care patients. A chapter on International Perspectives addresses the similarities and differences in critical care throughout the globe. Also covered are pharmacology protocols for the mechanically ventilated patient. Additionally, the book serves as a valuable resource for nurses preparing for national certification in critical care.