2011 AJN Book of the Year Winner in Critical Care--Emergency Nursing!

[This book is] a lavishly detailed guide to the essence of becoming an expert nurse...I believe this book will secure a place on most educators' and expert clinicians' bookshelves. Every once in a while a better book comes along; this is one of those times.

From the foreword by Joan E. Lynaugh, PhD, RN, FAAN
Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing


A classic research-based text in nursing practice and education, this newly revised second edition explains, through first-hand accounts of the hard-earned experiential wisdom of expert nurses, the clinical reasoning skills necessary for top-tier nursing in acute and critical settings. It provides not only the most current knowledge and practice innovations, but also reflects the authors' vast experience using the first edition in practice and educational settings.

This updated edition includes new interviews from acute care, critical care, perioperative nurses, and more. Attention is paid to current IOM and nursing guidelines for systems approaches to patient safety, with education and leadership implications described throughout. It is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate nursing educators, students, administrators, and managers seeking to improve systems of care and leadership in clinical practice.

Key Features



Articulates major areas of knowledge and skill in acute, critical care, and perioperative nursing practice Provides vivid, first-hand accounts of hard-earned wisdom that facilitate clinical imagination, reflection, and lifelong learning Assists faculty, educators, APNs, and mentors in teaching nurses how to recognize recurring clinical syndromes and patterns Bridges the gap from theory to practice in dynamic patient care situations Embraces the complexity of caring for the critically ill and their families