Editors: Susan C. deWit and Patricia O’Neill
Contributors: Carol Dallred, Candice Kumagai, Trena L. Rich, and Diana Whittiker
Publisher: Elsevier Saunders – 933 pages

Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

Access to the student resources for this book is available by registering on http://evolve.elsevier.com/deWit/Fundamental These are the online resources available:

To prepare for class, clinical or lab: animations depicting anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology; audio clips of heart and lung sounds; audio glossary with pronunciations in English and Spanish; calculators for determining BMI, body surface area, fluid deficit, Glasgow coma score, IV dosages and unit conversions; clinical references including forms, checklists, tools, and Healthy People 2020 goals for specific patient goals; and video clips of patient assessment.

To prepare for exams: answer guidelines for critical thinking questions and think critically boxes; answers and rationales for in-text review questions for the NCLEX Examination; interactive review questions for this exam for each chapter.

Additional resources: bibliography and suggested readings for each chapter; body spectrum A&P coloring book; bonus content including skills, skill performance checklists, patient teaching guidelines, nursing care plans, and more; fluids and electrolytes tutorial; helpful phrases for communicating in Spanish; mathematics review; and supplemental image collection.

This is a comprehensive and detailed textbook on the basic concepts of nursing and the skills required for success in this profession.

The material in its nine Units and 41 chapters is very well laid out, which makes for ease of learning and practice.

This valuable book contains two sections that are must-reads to gain maximum value from it: To the Instructor and To the Student. The section for instructors contain topics on the organization of the text and graphics in this book, special features, LPN threads, the contents of the teaching and learning package in the book, and a helpful For The Student subsection

The second section – meant for students – has reading and review tools, and a detailed list of features in the chapters, consisting of Skills and Steps, with icons. These guide the student to perform the basic functions applicable to the practice of nursing.

In the Skills list are tasks that the student nurse has to learn: check orders, gather necessary equipment and supplies, introduce yourself, check patient’s identification, provide privacy, explain the procedure/intervention, perform hand hygiene, and don gloves (if applicable).

In the Steps list, all with icons also, the aspiring nurse learns: assignment considerations, critical thinking, home care considerations, elder care points, focused assessment, clinical clues, nursing care plans, safety alerts, health promotion, cultural considerations, patient teaching, communication, legal and ethical considerations, complementary and alternative therapies, clinical references, animations, video clips, and evidence-based practice.

This textbook, with 41 chapters, encompasses many areas of nursing. To give you an overview of its coverage, these are the titles of its nine Units:

• Introduction to Nursing and the Health Care System
• The Nursing Process
• Communication in Nursing
• Developmental, Psychosocial, and Cultural Considerations
• Basic Nursing Skills
• Meeting Basic Physiologic Needs
• Medication Administration
• Care of the Surgical and Immobile Patient
• Caring for the Elderly

There are helpful Appendices in this book. Some of them relate to standards in nursing practice including those of some nurse associations; standard precautions in nursing; and useful lists and tables such as lab test values and therapeutic diets; medical terminology; and answers to NCLEX examination-style review questions. Reader references, a glossary and an index provide additional value to this book.

This is an outstanding book on nursing, with comprehensive and detailed coverage of the concepts and skills required in this noble profession.

Four contributors (named above), three reviewers, and five student reviewers assisted the editors named below in producing this valuable book.

Susan C. deWit, MSN, RN, CNS, PHN, is formerly Instructor of Nursing at El Centro College in Dallas, Texas

Patricia O’Neill, MSN, RN, CCRN, is Nursing Instructor at DeAnza College in Cupertino, California.