San Antonio College Library

This landmark text is the key resource for nurses working in the field of palliative care. Edited by renowned nursing experts, and written by a dynamic team of internationally known authorities in nursing and palliative medicine, the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing covers the gamut of principles of care from the time of initial diagnosis of a terminal disease to the end of a patient's life and beyond. The text is distinctively developed to highlight...

All through medical school, internship, and residency, doctors are trained to be healers. What can they contribute to the care of patients whose illnesses are beyond their help? This ABC News program examines the crusading efforts of oncologist Dr. Michael Carducci, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, to create an exemplary program of palliative care for people with terminal conditions. The importance of supporting patients and their families in the making...

"This groundbreaking reference for palliative care nurses is the first to provide realistic and achievable evidence-based methods for incorporating compassionate and humanistic care of the dying into current standards of practice. It builds on the author's research-based CARES Tool, a reference that synthesizes five key elements demonstrated to enable a peaceful death as free from suffering as possible: Comfort, Airway Management, Management of Restlessness...

"This work moves beyond the traditional and singular view of the nurse as patient and family teacher, to embrace more complex communication challenges present in palliative care - namely, providing care and comfort through communication at a time when patients, families, and nurses themselves are suffering. In addition to collaborating with physicians, the nurse's role involves speaking with patients and families after they have received bad news...

"As the population in western cultures ages, more people suffer chronic, ultimately life-limiting diseases and medical professionals need to be equipped to cope with the ever growing pressure of palliative care. This book gives guidance on how to approach patients with life limiting illness. While the problems most people present to the doctor appear relatively straightforward, a whole person approach to understanding the complex interaction between...

The aim of rehabilitative nursing is to assist the patient with overcoming disability and chronic illness in the restoration and maintenance of maximum health. That means the goal is not just care-taking, but teaching and reinforcing positive self-awareness so that the resident can live as independently as possible. Exploring the reasons why optimal wellness is critical regardless of disability or illness, this program examines the importance of self-care...

A patient's ability to manage and mitigate pain is one of the most important indicators of his or her quality of life. Adopting the American Pain Society's view that pain is a vital sign much like pulse or blood pressure, this program provides nurses and health care assistants with an overview of recent developments in the field of pain management and an improved understanding of the anatomy and physiology of pain. Viewers learn about the physiology...

Will the use of alternative birthing and pregnancy therapies one day become the norm? No one can say for sure, but more and more young mothers are attracted to birthing methods that avoid medication and traditional procedures. This program focuses on a couple that are about to have their fifth child and third home birth. Their desire is to have a water birth and the mother plans to use the hypnobirthing technique during labor. Also profiled is a pregnant...

Everyone feels physical discomfort at some point in their lives. But for 50 million Americans, pain is an agonizing part of each day. Described by experts as a silent epidemic, chronic pain is the leading cause of adult disability in the United States. It has numerous causes and can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, or race. However, with the help of caring specialists, patients can learn to manage their pain and regain control of their lives....

At any given time, thirty-one million Americans will experience back pain. Now, a minimally-invasive technique provides quick relief, and gets patients on their feet faster than ever.