Kozier & Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing (9th Edition)

Book Preface

The practice of nursing continues to evolve … the practice of caring is timeless.

Nurses today must grow and evolve to meet the demands of a dramatically changing health care system. They need skills in science, technology, communication, and interpersonal relations to be effective members of the collaborative health care team. They need to think critically and be creative in implementing nursing strategies to provide safe and competent nursing care for clients of diverse cultural backgrounds in increasingly varied settings. They need skills in teaching, leading, managing, and the process of change. They need to be prepared to provide home- and community-based nursing care to clients across the life span—especially to the increasing numbers of older adults. They need to understand legal and ethical principles, holistic healing modalities, and complementary therapies. And, they need to continue their unique client advocacy role that demands a blend of nurturance, sensitivity, caring, empathy, commitment, and skill founded on a broad base of knowledge.

Kozier & Erb’s Fundamentals of Nursing, ninth edition, addresses the concepts of contemporary professional nursing. These concepts include but are not limited to caring, wellness, health promotion, disease prevention, holistic care, multiculturalism, nursing theories, information technology, nursing research, ethics, and advocacy. In this edition, every chapter has been reviewed and revised. The content has been updated to reflect the latest nursing evidence and the increasing emphasis on aging, wellness, safety, and home- and community-based care. We developed this text so that it can be used with a variety of nursing theories and conceptual frameworks.

ORGANIZATION

The detailed table of contents at the beginning of the book makes its clear organization easy to follow. Continuing with a strong focus on nursing care, the ninth edition of this book is divided into 10 units.

Unit 1, The Nature of Nursing, clusters five chapters that provide comprehensive coverage of introductory concepts of nursing.

In Unit 2, Contemporary Health Care, four chapters cover contemporary health care topics such as health care delivery systems, community- based care, home care, and information technology.

In Unit 3, The Nursing Process, six chapters introduce students to this important framework with each chapter dedicated to a specific step of the nursing process. Chapter 10 applies critical thinking and the nursing process. ANursing in Action case study is used as the frame of reference for applying content in all phases of the nursing process in Chapter 11, Assessing; Chapter 12, Diagnosing; Chapter 13, Planning; and Chapter 14, Implementing and Evaluating. Chapter 15 covers documenting and reporting. Starting in this unit and incorporated throughout the book, we refer to the NANDA 2009-2011 diagnoses.

In Unit 4, Health Beliefs and Practices, four chapters cover healthrelated beliefs and practices for individuals and families from a variety of different cultural backgrounds.

Unit 5, Life Span Development, consists of five chapters that discuss life span and development from conception to older adults.

Unit 6, Integrated Aspects of Nursing, discusses topics such as caring; communicating; teaching; and leading, managing, and delegating. These topics are all crucial elements for providing safe, competent nursing care.

Unit 7, Assessing Health, addresses vital signs and health assessment skills in two separate chapters, so beginning students can understand normal assessment techniques and findings. Chapter 29, Vital Signs, begins to introduce students to the clinical procedures that they need to learn to perform.

In Unit 8, Integral Components of Client Care, the focus shifts to those components of client care that are universal to all clients, including asepsis, safety, hygiene, diagnostic testing, medications, wound care, and perioperative care.

Unit 9, Promoting Psychosocial Health, includes six chapters that cover a wide range of areas that affect one’s health. Sensory perception, self-concept, sexuality, spirituality, stress, and loss are all things that a nurse needs to consider to properly care for a client.

Unit 10, Promoting Physiologic Health, discusses a variety of physiologic concepts that provide the foundations for nursing care. These include activity and exercise; sleep; pain; nutrition; elimination; oxygenation; circulation; and fluid, electrolyte, and acid–base balance.