Fast Facts for the Medical- Surgical Nurse: Clinical Orientation in a Nutshell

Written for registered nurses in orientation, this concise, user-friendly resource provides a complete picture of all components of excellent patient care on a busy medical-surgical nursing unit. It covers assessment, key clinical skills/procedures, and documentation of care in an easily digestible, bulleted format. Time-tested guidance about new nurse orientation to professional practice includes ìproven pearls for success.î Content is current and evidence-based, and reinforces previously mastered skills in ìkey points to rememberî sections. The theme of ìthe big pictureî of patient care is a consistent thread throughout.

Clinical chaptersóorganized by body system for easy reference--present common conditions seen in medical-surgical nursing and unit emergencies, along with focused assessments, lab work overview, related procedures and skills, a documentation guide, and common medications including those for pain management. Chapters also cover pre-operative and post-operative care for all conditions. Several ìmust-have sectionsî include an orientation guide describing what new nurses can expect as they embrace their new role. This section addresses co-workers and supervisors, finding a mentor, hourly rounding, HIPAA reminders, and telephone skills/customer relations. Another section is devoted to all aspects of infection control, and an appendix provides a wealth of resources and supporting information of particular value to the new nurse.

• Provides concise, user-friendly, evidence-based guidance about the ìwhole pictureî of nursing on a medical-surgical or sub-acute unit
• Presents a unique orientation section offering ìproven pearls for successî
• Contains focused assessment guides, skills overview, documentation tips, and medications for common medical-surgical conditions and emergencies
• Addresses pre- and post-operative care and pain control
• Covers important protocols regarding infection control