As a nurse, you’re expected to know how to perform or assist with literally hundreds of procedures. From the most basic patient care, to complex treatments, to assisting with the most intricate surgical procedures, you need to be able to carry out nursing procedures with skill and confidence. But mastering so many procedures is a tall order.
Newly updated with the latest evidence-based research, this eighth edition of Lippincott Nursing Procedures provides step-by-step guidance on the most commonly performed nursing procedures you need to know, making it the ideal resource for providing the professional, hands-on care your patients deserve.
The A to Zs of organization
With over 400 procedures covered in detail, the current edition of Lippincott Nursing Procedures presents this wealth of information in the most efficient way possible. Many procedures books use such categories as fundamental procedures, body systems, and other types of procedures (such as psychiatric care) to organize the material. But with the proliferation in the number and types of procedures you need to understand, such an organization can become difficult to manage.
To address this, Lippincott Nursing Procedures organizes all procedures into an A-to-Z listing, making the book fast and easy to use. When you need to find a particular procedure quickly, you can simply look it up by name. No need to scan through the table of contents. No time lost turning to the index, looking for the name of the procedure you want, and then finding the right page in the book.
Once you’ve found the entry for a particular procedure in the alphabetical listing, you’ll find that each entry uses the same clear, straightforward structure. An introductory section appears first. After that, most or all of the following sections appear, depending on the particular procedure:
■ The Equipment section lists all the equipment you’ll need, including all the variations in equipment that might be needed. For instance, in the “endotracheal intubation” entry, you’ll see a general equipment list, which is followed by separate lists of the additional equipment you’ll need for direct visualization intubation and blind nasotracheal intubation.
■ As the name implies, the Preparation of equipment section guides you through preparing the equipment for the procedure.
■ In the Implementation section the heart of each entry you’ll find the step-by-step guide to performing the particular procedure.
■ Special considerations alerts you to factors to keep in mind that can affect the procedure.
■ Patient teaching covers procedure-related and home care information you need to teach to the patient and family.
■ Complications details procedure-related complications to watch for.
■ The Documentation section helps you keep track of everything you need to document related to the procedure.
■ The expanded References section includes numbered citations keyed to the main text of each entry. These numbered citations serve as the clinical evidence that underpins the information and step-by-step procedures presented in the entry. (There’ll be more on this in the next section of this “how to” guide.)
The continued use of the A-to-Z organization in the eighth edition and the clear structure of each entry make this book a powerful tool for finding and understanding the procedures you need to know.
Evidently speaking…
Lippincott Nursing Procedures strengthens its evidence-based approach to nursing care with an expanded numbered References section that appears in each entry. As mentioned earlier, the numbered citations are keyed to information that appears throughout each procedure.
As you read through an entry and come across a bullet describing a
particular step in a procedure, you’ll notice one or more red superscript numbers following the bullet. These numbers are citations for studies listed in the References section; the studies supply clinical evidence or detail “best practices” related to that bulleted step in the procedure. This is what is meant by evidence-based practice: a particular practice say, performing hand hygiene is supported by the clinical evidence. This evidence-based approach means the procedures you’ll read about in Lippincott Nursing Procedures are best-practice procedures that rely on solid, authoritative evidence.
As you look at the numbered references in each entry, you may notice that many of them are followed by a level number. This level number appears in parentheses after the reference as the word “Level” followed by a Roman numeral that ranges from I to VII. These level numbers give you an indication of the strength of the particular reference, with Level I being the strongest and Level VII the weakest.
Here’s how the rating system for this hierarchy of evidence works:
■ Level I: Evidence comes from a systematic review or meta-analysis of all relevant randomized, controlled trials.
■ Level II: Evidence comes from at least one well-designed randomized, controlled trial.
■ Level III: Evidence comes from well-designed, controlled trials without randomization.
■ Level IV: Evidence comes from well-designed case-control and cohort studies.
■ Level V: Evidence comes from systematic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies.
■ Level VI: Evidence comes from a single descriptive or qualitative study.
■ Level VII: Evidence comes from the opinion of authorities, reports of expert committees, or both.
In this book, the majority of cited references followed by a level are rated “Level I.” These Level I references provide the strongest level of evidence to support a particular practice. You can use these levels to gauge the strength of supporting evidence for any particular practice or procedure.
Another important way Lippincott Nursing Procedures provides a more evidence-based approach is by offering rationales for many procedure steps. These rationales are set off from the main text in italics. For instance, you
AABDOMINAL PARACENTESIS, ASSISTING
As a bedside procedure, abdominal paracentesis involves the aspiration of fluid from the peritoneal space through a needle, trocar, or angiocatheter1 inserted in the abdominal wall. Used to diagnose and treat massive ascites resistant to other therapies, the procedure helps to determine the cause of ascites while relieving the resulting pressure.
Abdominal paracentesis may also precede other procedures, including radiography, peritoneal dialysis, and surgery; detect intra-abdominal bleeding after a traumatic injury; and be used to obtain a peritoneal fluid specimen for laboratory analysis. The procedure must be performed cautiously in pregnant patients as well as in patients with bleeding tendencies, severely distended bowel, or infection at the intended insertion site.
Equipment
Stethoscope ▪ blood pressure monitor ▪ pulse oximeter ▪ thermometer ▪ scale ▪ tape measure ▪ sterile gloves ▪ mask ▪ gloves ▪ gown ▪ goggles ▪ fluidimpermeable pads ▪ four laboratory tubes ▪ drainage bag ▪ laboratory biohazard transport bag ▪ laboratory request forms ▪ antiseptic cleaning solution (povidone-iodine, chlorhexidine) ▪ local anesthetic (multidose vial of 1% or 2% lidocaine with epinephrine) ▪ sterile 4″ × 4″ (10-cm × 10-cm) gauze pads ▪ tape ▪ sterile paracentesis tray ▪ sterile drapes ▪ marking pen ▪ 5mL syringe with 21G or 25G needle ▪ disinfectant pad ▪ Optional: alcohol sponge, 50-mL syringe, suture materials, IV albumin, IV insertion kit, indwelling urinary catheter insertion equipment.
If a preassembled tray isn’t available, gather the following sterile supplies: trocar with stylet, 16G to 20G needle, or angiocatheter; 25G or 27G 1½″ (3.8 cm) needle; 20G or 22G spinal needle; scalpel; #11 knife blade; three-way stopcock.
Preparation of equipment
Check the expiration date on each sterile package, inspect each for tears, and
