Critical Care Nursing: Diagnosis & Management (with Quick Critical Care Reference)

Rating:
Summary: A bookshelf necessity!
Review: Ably covers spectrum of critical care, and is especially useful for it's case histories. No text will be perfect or forever current but this one is an explicable text.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellant Resource
Review: After attending several classes taught by one of the authors, Mary Lough, I purchased this book and have found it to be an excellent resource. I am new to critical care nursing, and I consult this textbook an average of twice a week. Some consider the language overly technical, but I find it to be crisp and concise.

As to Ms. Wisniewski's criticism in her 10/4/00 review, I believe that the text she sites is referring to the African-American patient, and that it is the patient who might avoid pain medication for fear of addiction. She has instead interpreted it as instructions to the nurse. If she were to interpret the passage she quotes in the context of chapter 8, Pain and Sedation, she would also read that, "pain is what the patient states it is," and that "addiction rates for patients in acute pain who receive opiod analgesics are less than 1%." It is clear to me that Ms. Winskiewski has misinterpreted the intent of the writer. I have observed that many of my patients fear addiction and if we as nurses forget this possiblilty, we run the risk of undermedicating. It is our job to educate our patients so that they get adequate pain treatment.

In conclusion, I have found Critical Care Nursing Diagnosis and Management to be the best text on the subject that I have seen yet, and I recommend it frequently to my collegues.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellant Resource
Review: After attending several classes taught by one of the authors, Mary Lough, I purchased this book and have found it to be an excellent resource. I am new to critical care nursing, and I consult this textbook an average of twice a week. Some consider the language overly technical, but I find it to be crisp and concise.

As to Ms. Wisniewski's criticism in her 10/4/00 review, I believe that the text she sites is referring to the African-American patient, and that it is the patient who might avoid pain medication for fear of addiction. She has instead interpreted it as instructions to the nurse. If she were to interpret the passage she quotes in the context of chapter 8, Pain and Sedation, she would also read that, "pain is what the patient states it is," and that "addiction rates for patients in acute pain who receive opiod analgesics are less than 1%." It is clear to me that Ms. Winskiewski has misinterpreted the intent of the writer. I have observed that many of my patients fear addiction and if we as nurses forget this possiblilty, we run the risk of undermedicating. It is our job to educate our patients so that they get adequate pain treatment.

In conclusion, I have found Critical Care Nursing Diagnosis and Management to be the best text on the subject that I have seen yet, and I recommend it frequently to my collegues.

Rating:
Summary: African american's aren't all drug addicts!
Review: Just when I was begining to think this was a well written book I came to chapter 37 page 954 and read a very BIASED, STEREOTYPICAL, opinion. It said under pain for african americans, "aviod pain medication for fear of addiction". I am very angry for such a statement. When I was 18 I was in a bad MVA and broke my arm. I was in a hospital for 2 weeks in agony and complained constantly but no one would listen OR medicate me until 3 months later when an x ray was taken and the "healed" brake was diagnosed. It was because of opionions like this that I was allowed to suffer. Listen next time your black patient says he/she is in pain, medicate them! I don't agree with the authors view and they shall not make a profit off of me. I am returning this book ASAP, since these authors don't understand that black people are human too.... by an African American RN

Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: Too broad and generalized. Not enough detail and descriptions regarding pathophysiology on a cellular level. Good diagrams and the price is right.