Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing 6th Edition

Book Preface

The future of nursing in Canada in a globalized world is dynamic and everchanging. It is imperative that our student nurses are prepared to have the necessary foundational knowledge of nursing and skills relevant to professional nursing practice. The nurses of tomorrow will continue to need to provide evidence-informed nursing practice in order to address the myriad of global health challenges to maintain and improve the health of Canadians. Professional nursing practice requires (a) critical thinking and critical reasoning, (b) the ability to collaborate and communicate with diverse clients and the interprofessional team, (c) patient/client advocacy, (d) excellence in clinical decision making, and (e) client/patient/community teaching within a broad spectrum of health services. Moreover, nursing practice will involve engaging in knowledge translation and leadership development and advocating for health policy change at the local, national, and global levels. Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing is specifically designed for students at all levels of undergraduate nursing programs. The text provides comprehensive coverage of fundamental nursing concepts, knowledge, research, and skills that are essential to informing nursing practice.

The sixth edition of Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing has been extensively revised, updated, and thoroughly edited to include the most current evidence, issues, and future directions for nursing in Canada. All chapters have been written or revised so that they reflect Canadian standards, traditions, research, and practice. Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing includes content covering the entire scope of primary, secondary, tertiary, rehabilitation, and end-of-life care. The focus is on the central role of primary health care in all areas of nursing practice. Emphasis is also placed on evidence-informed practice in skills and care plans to foster understanding of how research findings should guide clinical decision making. First-person accounts, in the form of case studies, of issues that have arisen in nursing practice are designed to engage the nursing student’s attention and encourage more detailed reading and understanding.

This textbook is the result of the combined efforts of many expert nursing scholars who are committed to excellence. As in our previous editions, we have continued to use expert contributors from across Canada to provide a national perspective. All of these contributors approached the revisions with enthusiasm and worked hard to ensure that the content is current and reflects the Canadian health care system, Canadian health and social organizations, and uniquely Canadian health care issues in a globalized world. Reviewers scrutinized the chapters and made many helpful suggestions. We appreciate the conscientiousness and commitment of all these dedicated scholars

Classic Features
• Comprehensive coverage and readability of all fundamental nursing content are provided.
• Full-colour text is used to enhance visual appeal and instructional value, with many of the images updated.
• Primary health care and health promotion issues are discussed throughout the text.
• Chronic Illness boxes pertain uniquely to the Canadian health care system.
• Research Highlight boxes are integrated throughout the text to provide current and applicable nursing research studies and explain the implications for daily nursing practice.
• Patient/client education is highlighted in boxes that list teaching objectives, strategies, and evaluation for clinical topics throughout the text.
• Evidence-informed practice is discussed throughout the text.
• Evidence-Informed Practice boxes provide examples of recent state-of-the-science guidelines for nursing practice.
• Nursing principles specific to older persons are addressed throughout the text.
• Case Study boxes present first-person accounts of issues in relation to chapter content.
• Nursing Care Plans guide students in how to conduct an assessment and analyze the defining characteristics that indicate nursing diagnoses. The plans include Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) and Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC) labels to familiarize students with this important nomenclature. The evaluation sections of the plans show students how to determine the expected outcomes and evaluate the results of care.
• Concept Maps demonstrate the relationships among nursing assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation.
• Procedural Guideline boxes provide step-by-step instructions and photos about how to perform basic skills.
• Video icons indicate video clips associated with specific skills that are available in the Evolve Student Learning Resources.
• End-of-chapter NCLEX review questions assist students in critically reviewing what they have learned. Answers and rationales are provided at the end of this textbook.
• The annotated Recommended Websites section at the end of each chapter directs the student to current resources.
• A fully updated Practical Nursing in Canada appendix (Appendix A) provides important information on this nursing role in Canada.
• The Laboratory Values appendix (Appendix B) is a concise, up-to-date source of current laboratory values for use in clinical practice.
• Media Resources listed at the beginning of each chapter detail the available Evolve resources.
• Expert contributors and reviewers from across Canada have provided a national perspective