Rediscovering Nursing

A guide for the returning nurse

Learning to nurse is a little like learning to swim, ride a bike or speak a foreign language. It takes a long time to become a skilled practitioner, confident in your ability and assured that you understand what you are doing and know that you are doing it competently and safely. But, as everyone knows, lack of practice leads to loss of confidence and ability. To be as good as ever you were isn't easy, but neither is it impossible. All you need is time to adjust and adapt to all the changes that have taken place. This book will give the once skilled, confident and competent nurse the knowledge needed to re-enter practice. It addresses the changes which have taken place in the delivery of care including the movement of care into the community, the growth in day-care and short-stay wards and, of course, changes in nursing practice. Such issues as nursing process, nursing models and primary nursing are described in detail, clearly helping you see how the profession has moved from the task allocation of my training into the individualized patient care of today. As ever, changes in medical and surgical practice affect nursing. The authors address these issues too, and explain such changes as U100 insulin, the use of scopes, fibre-optics and lasers to minimize invasive surgery and the tremendous growth in Health Education and Preventive Health Care. The book also suggests ways in which your new knowledge can be put to practical use.