Vaughans - Nursing Fundamentals Demystified

Nursing Fundamentals Demystified

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Bennita W. Vaughans, MSN, RN

Patient Safety Manager
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System
Montgomery, Alabama

Formerly Nursing Instructor and Allied Health Program Coordinator
H. Councill Trenholm State Technical College
Montgomery, Alabama

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To God for His everlasting love and the gifts He has given me. To my husband, Charles, and my children, Kedrick and Kendra, for their unyielding support, especially my daughter Kendra who is my number one cheerleader and assistant. To my mother-in-law, Gertie Mae Vaughans, and my father-in-law, Charles Vaughans, Sr., who have been loving surrogate parents in the absence of both my parents, who are deceased. In memory of my parents, Benjamin and Juanita Witherspoon, who gave me life and love and made it possible for me to even have this experience. To my sisters, Brenda and Priscilla Witherspoon, for their belief in me and the countless encouragement they provided. To my past students, who continue to inspire me as they now are serving in roles as my professional peers, and to my peers in Performance Improvement at Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System for their support and encouragement.

Peggy Hall, MSN, CRNP
Women Veteran Program Coordinator
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System
Montgomery, Alabama

Joyce Y. Johnson, PhD, RN, CCRN
Dean and Professor, Department of Nursing
College of Sciences and Health Professions
Albany State University
Albany, Georgia

Nursing students usually have their first formal introduction to nursing concepts in Fundamentals of Nursing courses. As the course name implies, the intent of the course is to provide students with foundational information that will be used throughout the remainder of the nursing curriculum. Assimilating the information presented in the course can be quite an overwhelming task. Students are challenged not only to learn a new body of knowledge but also to begin to analyze, synthesize, and apply this information in clinical situations.

The intent of Nursing Fundamentals Demystified is to facilitate students understanding of this new and uncharted territory of information. This book is not intended to replace core fundamentals of nursing textbooks; instead, it emphasizes the most critical concepts. This book can be used as a supplemental resource for both novice students and nurses who need a quick and simple reference resource.

Key features included in this premiere edition of Nursing Fundamentals Demystified include the following: