Pocket Guide to Psychiatric Nursing

Pocket Guide to Psychiatric Nursing, fifth edition, is a practical clinical reference for both psychiatric nurses and nursing students. It presents key clinical information in a concise format, with many tables, boxes, and illustrations. The Pocket Guide is divided into two parts. Part I, Principles of Psychiatric Nursing Care, consists of 8 chapters and is designed to focus on the basic concepts of psychiatric nursing regardless of the patient care need or the practice setting. Part II, Applying Principles in Nursing Practice, comprises the major content of the book. These 13 chapters consider nursing approaches to patients with specific nursing care problems and discuss psychopharmacology and somatic therapies. As with the previous editions, the fifth edition is derived from the textbook Principles and Practice of Psychiatric Nursing by Stuart and Laraia.

Focuses on the essentials of psychiatric nursing and is organized around the nursing process, thus providing assistance with conceptualizing, planning, and documenting nursing care

Nursing treatment plan summaries are featured throughout Part II Applying Principles in Nursing Practice, to provide for the clinical application of the nursing process to specific nursing care problems

Psychiatric nursing care organized according to the Stuart Stress Adaptation Model of health and wellness, which is based on the stress-adaptation model

Features unique Nurse Alert boxes that offer practical guidance and advice

Includes valuable tools for the biological and sociocultural assessment of the psychiatric patient

A Patient or Family Education Plan is included in each clinical chapter

Offers the latest information on psychotropic drugs

Both DSM-IV-TR medical and NANDA nursing diagnoses are provided, enabling the nurse to maintain a nursing focus while understanding the relationship with a medical approach "Your Internet Connection" listing web sites related to the focus of the chapters

Gail W. Stuart, PhD, RN, CS, FAAN, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC