Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-PN 7th edition

Book Preface

Sincere appreciation and warmest thanks are extended to the many individuals who in their own ways have contributed to the publication of this book. First, we want to thank all of our nursing students who we have assisted to prepare to take the NCLEX examination. Their enthusiasm and inspiration led to the commencement of our professional endeavors in conducting review courses for the NCLEX exam for nursing students. We also thank the numerous nursing students who have attended our review courses for their willingness to share their needs and ideas. Their input has certainly added a special uniqueness to this publication.

We wish to acknowledge all the nursing faculty who taught in our NCLEX review courses. Their commitment, dedication, and expertise have certainly helped nursing students achieve success with the NCLEX exam. Additionally, we want to acknowledge and sincerely thank our husbands: Laurent (Larry) and Brent. We thank Laurent W. Valliere, or Larry, for his contribution to this publication, for teaching in our NCLEX review courses, and for his commitment and dedication in helping our nursing students prepare for the NCLEX from a nonacademic point of view. From Linda: Larry has supported my many professional endeavors and was so loyal and loving to me each and every moment as I worked to achieve my professional goals. Larry, thank you so much! From Angela: Brent has always been there to support me through anything and everything. He is generous and caring, and knows how to make me laugh when I need it most. Brent, thank you and I love you!

A special thank you also goes to Keara Cobbs, PN, for writing a chapter for this book about her experiences preparing for and taking the NCLEX-PN examination.

We sincerely acknowledge and thank many very important individuals from Elsevier who are so dedicated to our work in creating NCLEX products for nursing students. We thank Senior Content Strategist Jamie Blum for her continuous assistance, enthusiasm, support, and expert professional guidance as we prepared this publication, and Laurie Gower, Director, Content Development, for her expert ideas as we planned the project and for her continuous support through its production process.

And a special and sincere thank you to Laura Goodrich, Senior Content Development Specialist, for her tremendous amount of support and assistance, her consistent prioritizing to keep us on track, her ideas for the product, and her professional and expert skills in organizing and maintaining an enormous amount of manuscript for production. Without a doubt, we could not have completed this project without Laura—thank you, Laura!

A very special thank you to Mary Dowell, our associate editor, who so expertly managed the editing of the entire book and Evolve site. We thank Elodia Dianne Fiorentino for researching content and preparing references for each practice question; Nicholas Silvestri for editing, formatting, and organizing manuscript files for us; and James Guilbault for researching and updating medications. A special thank you to all of you for providing continuous support and dedication to our work in preparing this publication and maintaining its excellent quality.

We also thank our team of helpers who assist us with the many tasks needed to bring this project to fruition. We thank Gabby Machnacz, Brianna Machnacz, Karen Machnacz, Katie Silvestri, Mary Silvestri, and Larry Silvestri. Their assistance and willingness to complete so many tasks for us and their loyalty and dedication to our success will never be forgotten. A big thank you to all of you.We want to acknowledge all of the staff at Elsevier for their tremendous assistance throughout the preparation and production of this publication and all of the Elsevier staff involved in the publication of previous editions of this outstanding NCLEX review product. A special thank you to all of them. I thank all the important people in the Production department, including Bill Drone, Book Production Specialist; Jeff Patterson, Publishing Services Manager; Megan Atencio, Marketing Manager; and Amy Buxton, Designer, who all played such significant roles in finalizing this publication. We sincerely thank those in the marketing department who helped with the promotion of this book. And a special thank you to Kristin Geen and Loren Wilson for their years of expert guidance and continuous support for all the products in the Pyramid to Success. From Linda, I want to acknowledge my parents, who opened my door of opportunity in education. I thank my mother, Frances Mary, for all of her love, support, and assistance as I continuously worked to achieve my professional
goals. I thank my father, Arnold Lawrence, who always provided insightful words of encouragement. My memories of their love and support will always remain in my heart. I am certain that they are very proud of my professional accomplishments. I also want to acknowledge my husband, Larry, for being there each and every moment supporting and encouraging me as I faced the many challenges in life that came my way.

From Angela: I want to acknowledge my parents, Mary Elizabeth and Lawrence Peter, for their advice and support throughout the years. I would also like to acknowledge my husband and children, and my brother, Nicholas Lawrence, and sister, Katherine Silvestri. Their support has been monumental in my success.

We also thank all our family for being continuously supportive, giving, and helpful during our research and preparation of this publication. We want to especially acknowledge each and every individual who contributed to this publication—our associate editor Mary Dowell, our contributors, item writers, and updaters—for their expert input and ideas. We also thank the many faculty and student reviewers of the manuscript for their thoughts and ideas. A very special thank you to all of you!

Finally, we extend a very special thank you to all our nursing students, past, present, and future. All of you light up our lives! Your love and dedication to the profession of nursing and your commitment to provide health care willbring never-ending rewards!

Linda Anne Silvestri
Angela E. Silvestri