Concise yet thorough guidance on how to safely and competently care for adult, critically ill patients and their families Endorsed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) and written by top clinical experts in critical care nursing, this textbook covers all the must-know details on the care of adult, critically ill patients and their families. Supported by helpful tables and algorithms, the book s practical, building-block organization starts with the basics before proceeding to more complex concepts. AACN Essentials of Critical Care Nursing includes essential content found in ECCO (Essentials of Critical Care Orientation, an online program offered by AACN), key information necessary to successfully prepare for CCRN certification in critical care nursing, and much more. AACN Essentials of Critical Care Nursing is divided into four sections: THE ESSENTIALS -- presents core information that new clinicians must understand to provide safe, competent nursing care to all critically ill patients, regardless of their underlying medical diagnoses PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS -- covers pathologic conditions and management strategies commonly encountered among adult critical care patients ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CARING FOR THE CRITICALLY ILL PATIENT -- moves beyond the essentials and presents advanced critical care concepts or pathologic conditions that are less common or more specialized than expected in critical care practice KEY REFERENCE INFORMATION -- features normal laboratory and diagnostic values, algorithms for advanced cardiac life support, troubleshooting guides for hemodynamic monitoring, summary tables of critical care drugs, and cardiac rhythms and treatment guides Learning aids include Knowledge Competencies that can be used to gauge progress and "Essential Content" case studies with questions and answers to further reinforce your knowledge.