Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part 1: The concept of holism applied to critical care nursing practice. Critical care nursing practice: promoting excellence through caring, collaboration, and evidence -- The patient's experience with critical illness -- The family's experience with critical illness -- Patient and family education in critical care -- Relieving pain and providing comfort -- Palliative care and end-of-life issues in critical care -- Part 2: Professional practice issues in critical care. Ethical issues in critical care nursing -- Legal issues in critical care nursing -- Building a professional practice model for excellence in critical care nursing -- Part 3: Special populations in critical care. The critically ill pediatric patient -- The critically ill pregnant woman -- The critically ill older patient -- The postanesthesia patient -- Part 4: Special situations in critical care. Rapid response teams and transport of the critically ill patient -- Disaster management: implications for the critical care nurse -- Part 5: Cardiovascular system. Anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system -- Patient assessment: cardiovascular system -- Patient management: cardiovascular system -- Common cardiovascular disorders -- Heart failure -- Acute myocardial infarction -- Cardiac surgery -- Part 6: Respiratory System. Anatomy and Physiology of the Respiratory System -- Patient Assessment: Respiratory System -- Patient Management: Respiratory System -- Common Respiratory Disorders -- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome -- Part 7: Renal system. Anatomy and physiology of the renal system -- Patient assessment: renal system -- Patient management: renal system -- Acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease -- Part 8: Nervous system. Anatomy and physiology of the nervous system -- Patient assessment: nervous system -- Patient management: nervous system -- Common neurosurgical and neurological disorders -- Traumatic brain injury -- Spinal cord injury -- Part 9: Gastrointestinal system. Anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal system -- Patient assessment: gastrointestinal system -- Patient management: gastrointestinal system -- Common gastrointestinal disorders -- Part 10: Endocrine system. Anatomy and physiology of the endocrine system -- Patient assessment: endocrine system -- Common endocrine disorders -- Part 11: Hematological and immune systems. Anatomy and physiology of the hematological and immune systems -- Patient assessment: hematological and immune systems -- Organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation -- Common immunological disorders -- Common hematological disorders -- Part 12: Integumentary system. Anatomy and physiology of the integumentary system -- Patient assessment: integumentary system -- Patient management: integumentary system -- Burns and common integumentary disorders -- Part 13: Multisystem dysfunction. Shock, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome -- Trauma -- Drug overdose and poisoning.