NursingLink

NANDA, the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, has an approved list of nursing diagnoses. The 2008-2009 list of approved nursing diagnoses is featured on the following pages. Choose a letter below to go to that section, or browse the list of nursing diagnoses. A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J K  L  M  N  O  P  Q R  ...

You can find some lively debates on the value of writing care plans and using nursing diagnoses. Some argue that they are a waste of time and not very useful. Others argue that they are absolutely essential to advance the field of nursing. The bottom line is that if you are a nursing student, you need to know how to write ...

h4. Chapter 8: Neurological System The nervous system consists of the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral nervous system, and the autonomic nervous system. Together these three components integrate all physical, emotional, and intellectual activities. The CNS includes the brain and spinal cord. These two structures collect and interpret voluntary and involuntary sensory and motor signals. A brief overview of the ...

h4. Introduction Performing an accurate physical assessment and being able to differentiate normal from abnormal findings is one of the most important roles for today's health care practitioner. If an accurate physical assessment cannot be performed, whether for baseline data or when the patient's condition changes, then the patient is not receiving the level of competent care that should be given. ...

Patients’ elevated LFT results can indicate hepatocyte injury, cholestasis, or both. Tonya L. Fancher, MD, MPH Assistant professor, Department of internal medicine Amit Kamboj, MD Medicine resident, Department of internal medicine John Onate, MD Assistant professor, Department of psychiatry and human behavior University of California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento Mrs. W, age 53, is referred by her primary provider for ...

h4. Chapter 2: Integumentary System The skin is the largest organ in the body. The normal adult has over 20 square feet of skin so it is easy to understand how something can go wrong with this much area to cover. As a membranous barrier between a person's outer and inner surroundings, the skin responds to external changes and also reflects ...

h4. Introduction This course covers the history, required skills, and proper techniques of accessing and maintaining an implantable port in a clinical setting. The pros and cons of implantable ports versus other central lines are described and troubleshooting techniques are detailed. The importance of patient education is emphasized. The course work is intended for nurses, medical technicians, and physician assistants who ...

h4. Background h4. Overview Altered states of consciousness include a spectrum of conditions of a normal, paranormal or abnormal nature. This course will present information on the alterations in levels of consciousness that are produced as a result of definitive and usually demonstrable structural abnormalities of the brain. Normal alterations in consciousness such as sleep and dreams will not be discussed ...

At the end of a long day of caring for patients, it’s time to give the end-of-shift report to the oncoming nurses. Although it may be tempting to rush through this routine duty, patient safety hinges on a complete and correct exchange of information. “We underestimate its importance,” says Elizabeth Henneman, RN, PhD, CCNS, an assistant professor in the School of ...

h4. Chapter 9: Gastrointestinal System The gastrointestinal (GI) system performs the functions of ingestion, digestion, and elimination. Interruptions of any of these functions can quickly affect the patient nutritionally and cause acid-base imbalances. When performing the GI assessment, it must be remembered that much of the population has preexisting problems and that these problems can be exacerbated or new conditions can ...

The human body contains many different organs, such as the heart, lung, and kidney, with each organ performing a different function. Cells also have a set of "little organs", called organelles, that are adapted and/or specialized for carrying out one or more vital functions. Organelles are found only in eukaryotes and are always surrounded by a protective membrane. It is important ...

Vol. 5, No. 9 / September 2006 Postpartum depression or medical problem? • Case: ‘I can’t sleep’ • Is it postpartum depression? • Is it another mental illness? • Case continued: A postpartum headache • Is it a medical problem? • Determining a medical cause • Case: will the tumor resolve? Watch for fatigue, weight change, other physical signs. Andreea L. ...

Stevens-Johnsons Syndrome, or Erythema multiforme, is a skin disorder resulting from an allergic reaction. h4. Causes, Incidence, and Risk Factors Erythema multiforme is a type of hypersensitivity (allergic) reaction that occurs in response to medications, infections, or illness. Medications associated with erythema multiforme include sulfonamides, penicillins, barbiturates, and phenytoin. Associated infections include herpes simplex and mycoplasma infections. The exact cause is ...

At the end of a long day of caring for patients, it’s time to give the end-of-shift report to the oncoming nurses. Although it may be tempting to rush through this routine duty, patient safety hinges on a complete and correct exchange of information. “We underestimate its importance,” says Elizabeth Henneman, RN, PhD, CCNS, an assistant professor in the School of ...

h4. Background h4. Overview The malignant lymphomas, Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), comprise a group of clinically and pathologically diverse malignant lymphomas of largely unknown cause. Their successful management involves a multidisciplinary approach, proceeding from an accurate diagnosis to a comprehensive staging evaluation and appropriate therapeutic recommendation and regimen. h4. Etiology / Pathogenesis In 1832, Thomas Hodgkin presented a ...

h4. Introduction Low back pain is a universal phenomenon. The economic cost in the United States, in terms of lost time and medical expense, amounts to 1.9 billion dollars annually. Over 200,000 patients have surgery for ruptured lumbar discs yearly in the United States. While laminectomy for disc removal is the standard, it is not without its' well-known morbidity. Because of ...

h4. Introduction Physicians are at the center of the health care process. In this central role, they use their knowledge, skills, and defined processes to provide or coordinate health care for patients. The success of the patient-physician relationship is determined by the way this relationship is valued, developed, nurtured, and maintained. Changes in the health care process bring changes in stakeholders, ...

There are two types of cell division: mitosis and meiosis. Most of the time when people refer to “cell division,” they mean mitosis, the process of making new body cells. Meiosis is the type of cell division that creates egg and sperm cells. Mitosis is a fundamental process for life. During mitosis, a cell duplicates all of its contents, including its ...

h4. Background The role of patient advocacy is not new for nurses. Historically, patient advocacy has been a moral obligation for nurses. During recent years, nursing literature has been focused on the advocacy role and nursing professions has adopted the term 'patient advocacy' to denote an ideal of the practice. Nurses assume that they have an ethical obligation to advocate for ...

For purposes of this paper, the term “nursing practice model” refers to operational models for redesigning nursing practice for the provision of patient care in organizational settings, primarily hospitals and longterm care facilities. Though the models may be implemented organization-wide, they typically redesign nursing practice at the point of patient care delivery, that is, at the nursing unit level. Thus the ...