Critical-Care Books

As the wife of a young man dying of cancer, this book was an incredible aid to getting through each day and learning what to expect. That was 15 years ago. My sister-in-law faced the same situation recently when her husband was diagnosed, and I bought the book for her. She said she couldn't put it down until she read every page. We need to have that helping hand when we're hurting. This book is it!

I found this book days after leaving the hospital with a two year prognosis for a misdiagnosed illness. My head was spinning. I was making lists of questions and to do lists for leaving my 2 young children. Finding this book was a wonderful gift. It answered my questions and provided a realistic outlook for what to expect of a terminal condition. The book provides sample statements for calling your relatives and helps you to prepare for your doctor appointments. I visited a doctor today and I led the session and all of my questions were addressed before the exam occurred. This book should be recommended to all diagnosed with a terminal illness. Highly recommended book!

I wish I had picked up this book earlier in my step-father's illness. Very useful for those who are facing illness or who love someone who is very ill, telling you the kinds of things to expect and ways of dealing them.

This is a must have resource for all of us. It is a practical book that helps you with End of Life concerns and how to plan for them. Far too many people wait until a crisis to make desperate choices that could be avoided. It is difficult to live with the choices that we make in crisis. Many times a crisis situation does not give you the opportunity to discuss critical issues with your family before the crisis occurs. This book will give you the necessary tools to discuss your wants and wishes for the living of your years.

I have owned this book for several years and decided to use it as an adjunct teaching tool for those training to become hospice volunteers. Every person in the group gave a high rating to this book. I will continue to use this book in future volunteer training classes. Eileen Urquhart, Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, Visiting Nurse Association Hospice of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

How To Raise Emotionally Healthy Children: Meeting The Five Critical Needs of Children...And Parents Too! Updated Edition
Parenting is the toughest job we can ever love. Yet in these challenging times many parents find they need help to cope. This book offers practical ideas to create the families we want - families that respect one another, where all feel secure, accepted, important and included. This is the framework that helps parents examine how they treat family members and themselves. Filled with examples from toddlers to teens, parents will find this book easy and enjoyable to read.
As a parent and a parent educator, my favorite chapter is chapter 4: "Becoming a Professional Parent: Child rearing is too important to leave to chance." In this chapter, Dr. Newmark discusses practical ideas to apply strategies used by professionals to the art of parenting. For example, parents need to develop a game plan and make conscious choices of how they use their time. This means having priorities straight and developing a plan to create the home and family life that is important to them. And professionals monitor their own progress and are willing to adjust plans and to get creative to meet goals. Parents are encouraged to keep a journal to note progress and challenges.
We have used the book as the basis of reading groups and parents report how helpful it is because it gives parents a way to make decisions about which strategy is best for their children and the emotional health of each family member.

My Husband and I (both attorneys) just finished reading How to Raise Emotionally Healthy Children -three months before our first child is scheduled to be born so we feel like we got a little head-start on this "parenting thing." We found this book to be both enlightening and empowering. Often times in the legal profession, lawyers are encouraged (if not literally trained) to be adversarial, confrontational and defensive (at least in the courtroom) but clearly that is not the approach we want to use in our home on our newborn child or anyone else for that matter (although a few exceptions come to mind). In any event, this book helped put our new role as parents into perspective and gave us concrete examples on how to speak and interact with our child in a way that will ensure that our child's 5 critical needs (Respect, Importance, Acceptance, Inclusion, and Security) are met . Thank you Dr. Newmark.

This book has been a tremendous help not only with my children but in my workplace as well. In the past I have always felt as though I was a reactive parent. I have a son with special needs and this book has helped open my eyes to a productive way of parenting. It is straight to the point and easy to put in practice. You will find yourself carrying the five needs into every aspect of your life.

My husband and I were very young parents with not a clue as how to raise our children. Our lives and our
children's lives would have been so much easier if this book had only been written then. We go to school to
learn the 3 R's, but there is no school for parenting. This book is so insightful, and makes so much sense, it
should be read by every person who has or expects to have children.
Thank you Dr. Newmark. Your book will have a positive effect on all the children and parents who read and use
it.

How To Raise Emotionally Healthy Children: Meeting The Five Critical Needs of Children...And Parents Too! Updated Edition

Dr. Newmark addresses the emotional needs of children and parents with a clear explanation of those needs, a practical plan for recognizing and fulfilling them and suggestions for collaboration at home, at school, and in the community. In my position as a school administrator I have seen firsthand the need for such a book as well as the enthusiastic response from parents and teachers when they read and discuss it. The book is organized in such a manner that it is easily read and understood. This book should be on everyone's bedside table or library shelf with frayed covers and earmarked pages.

I bought this book while expecting our daughter, who we know faces a long stay in the NICU. This book has been an excellent primer - the text is well written and detailed enough even for a mom with a background in science and medicine. The pictures and especially the diagrams are great too! I would recommend this to anyone who anticipates or is currently dealing with a child in the NICU.

I sent this book to a friend who had her baby at 24 weeks. Needless to say, she loves it, she could not put it down that first night and is recommending it to their support group at the hospital. She tells me it has simple explanations to what she could not make head or tail of the medical jargon used by the doctors and nurses. Get it for someone you know!

Families that experience parenthood in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) experience a very different beginning. They often feel intense powerlessness and a lack of control. Many families will share that "it doesn't really feel like this is my baby."

This book, written by a knowledgeable and sensitive NICU nurse and her colleagues,, will help parents the journey through newborn intensive care. The book is extremely detailed and exquisitely accurate, yet easy to read. It contains a wealth of information to arm parents with the information they need to ask questions, to question answers, and to work with the health care team as a true partner in their infant's recovery.

The book is written by a group of seasoned NICU nurses who convey a sensitivity and empathy that reaches out from the pages at every turn.

As a professional advanced practice nurse, who has worked in the NICU for 20 years, I am delighted to share this resources with parents and grandparents at every turn.

Parent's are not and should not be visitors in their children's lives. Knowledge is power and this book will give you the confidence to become your babies BEST advocate.

Madge Buus-Frank RNC, Ms, ARNP

When our son was born at 26 weeks we knew he'd spend several weeks in the NICU before coming home. This book helped us understand his progress each step of the way, and eased the transition to him coming home. It also helped explain some of what to expect in terms of potential problems, procedures, feelings, and just getting to know the NICU environment. This experience would have been much more difficult without this excellent reference guide.

This book shows the caring yet realistic way through the NICU. I ordered this book while in the hospital three weeks prior to my son's early arrival. It made more sense in the NICU, showed me what to exepct and gave me more knowledge to adequately approach my son's medical team without feeling helpless, stupid and uninformed. Being a more well-informed parents allowed us to make correct decisions and allowed us to "TRY" and worry less. This book even had experimental research in it, with which our son would not have survived. I was told of an experimental protocal our son was a candidate for and the NICU book had information on it! Technical and medical information was presented in a concise and thoughtful manner.

I am about to end my chief year in general surgery residency - my copy of the first edition shows the wear of half a dozen total read throughs and probably hundreds of referencings. Newest edition is equally good. For the last 3 years I have given this book to our interns if they finish their surgical internship. And I've paid for this myself - if you know how little residents get paid you will know how important I think it is. If you are in surgical training DO NOT WAIT ANOTHER DAY BEFORE YOU BUY THIS BOOK. I do agree with another reviewer who thought a bit of cool surgical technique would have been good too. But, all in all, best, most useful little book on surgery ever. Nuff said.

Donald Dupuis, MD
Lahey Clinic

this is a fine book in the tradition of "guides to being on call" - or maybe the "guide to the perplexed". I like the straightforward get to the point style, and the directness of the book makes this a useful book to have handy when confronted with some of the emergency surgery problems. I would only say it could have had a bit more on surgical technique, and one or two references would have been useful (instead there was almost a militant insistence on as few as possible). But I would recommend it for any resident who is on call, and I find it useful as a staff sugeon as well.

Chet Morrison
Assistent Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Critical Care
Michigan State University

The best general surgery book on my bookshelf. Must-to-read book for all general surgeons and residents.

This is one of the most useful and interesting surgical book in my library. It exposes simply and clearly the situations that a surgeon must face daily and gives precious and updated hints on diagnosis and management of abdominal emergencies.You will read it in two hours with pleasure and interest and remember forever.If you enjoy it, the author publshed previously other surgical books with the same characteristics that you will appreciate.In two words, buy it!

I enjoyed this book so much that I decided to translate it to Spanish(Editorial Mediterraneo,360 pags.,Santiago,2001). I wish to quote from the recent book review in the World Journal of Surgery (January 2002).

"Since Henry Mondor's text in the 1940s there has been no another book written with such ease and wit about emergency abdominal surgery, an attractive battlefield for so many surgical recruits. Dr. Moshe Schein, a general surgeon with broad experience in New York, has presented a compact handbook useful even in the smallest rural hospital. The book is divided into three sections: Before the Operation, The Operation, After the Operation. This partitioning allows convenient access to pertinent information about the diagnostic and operative hitches frequently encountered in daily practice. In its turn each section of the book is divided into chapters devoted to acute abdominal diseases as well known as perforated peptic ulcer and as rare as Curtis-Fitz-Hugh syndrome. In spite of its semi-belletristic style, the monograph addresses each question with competence; even such a complicated subject as the pathophysiology of urgent surgical situations is very clear and understandable. The features of operative techniques for the different emergency surgical procedures and the management of the postoperative period are thoroughly elucidated.

I was unable to tear myself away from Moshe Schein's book, and I have learned much from it, in spite of my surgical maturity. This manual deserves to be readily available in every emergency service and operating room. Undoubtedly it will come to be highly useful for surgeons at every level, and not only for surgical "teenagers."

I complete my review with one of the aphorisms from the book: "It is more difficult to decide when not to operate than when to operate and what operation to perform." This sentence reflects exactly the substance of the book.

Boris D. Savchuk, M.D.

Department of Surgery, Central Clinical Hospital, Moscow, Russia"

I was looking for a book on bioethics as I was writing an assingment for graduate school. I thought that this book would be anti-NICU but it really wasn't. I take issue with one review that gathers ALL NICU personel into one lump in taking care of these tiniest of tinies. I agree though, that just because we can, doesn't mean we should..HOWEVER, that being said, I am a NICU nurse not because I want to heroically save every tiny person that is born into this world, but to help these little ones in their greatest time of need. Don't fool yourselves into thinking that doctors and nurses make all the decisions for these preemies. Parents who refuse to let go do exist! Parents who have struggled to get pregnant and then want everything done...do exist. Parents who believe that because they are in the UNITED STATEs we can cure anything do exist. So while, we do go to extremes at times...it is never without thought, deliberation and might I add prayer. No one wants a baby to suffer..no one wants a parent or sibling to suffer ..that is never the intent of NICU care... say what you want...we do good things...and faced with the dilemma of NICU care or not..when it is an emergency..there is not a parent in the world who would not say "do something." This is quite different from those who know ahead of time that the infant will not make it...has a major lethal defect or is too little to live well...then I believe that perinatal hospice is the way to go...In the short 10 years or so since some of these children were born..there is no longer the secrecy of treatment..parents are well aware of each step along the way...given a chance for informed consent..and can and DO make decision in their childrens care....that being said..I thought the book was good, objective for its time, and through..and I WOULD and have recommended it for read in my own NICU.

This book was in the new book section of our local library. While my 3 year old was feeding books, one at a time, into the book return, my 1 year old pulled it off the shelf. I picked it up and while the boys were enjoying the library collection of books and puzzles I started reading a passage here and a passage there. Within 24 hours I had read the entire thing (including the acknowledgements). That is how compelling this book is. The writing is so sensitive and brilliant and the subject matter is so eye-opening. I am going to buy a copy for my doctor, my midwife, and everyone I know who works in the health field. Can I buy this book by the case?

I think this book is right on and makes everyone think. Families should have the final say in medical care for anyone in their family when they are unable to. For some people out here medicine has gone to far. Doctors should not have the ability to force medical care and sometimes expermential treatment on anyone.

Sometime life is about quality not quanity.

I was a premature baby myself. I was born in the early 1960s, when NICUs were just getting started. I was six weeks premature and weighed five pounds. That's about four times more than many of the babies profiled in the book. Today, of course, a 32-week preemie like myself is hardly worth mentioning. I have no after-effects except possibly my tendency to lung infections.

This book profiles a number of "miracle babies" who were saved after being born very prematurely (at 22-26 weeks gestation) or who were very sick at birth and saved by dramatic surgical intervention and high-tech care. The point made is that for many of these babies, "success" as measured by the NICU staff, usually defined as a living baby who goes home, is quite different from what the babies' parents experience. The doctors and nurses don't have to deal with life-long care for children who are blind, deaf, retarded, autistic, or have cerebral palsy. The NICU staff also don't have to deal with family strain, resentful siblings, bankruptcy, and divorce resulting from the constant pressure of dealing with a severely handicapped child. The parents do. Yes, there are some babies who grow up to be happy and normal. But the percentage of lucky babies is smaller than most people imagine.

Today the treatment of ever-teenier preemies has become an industry in itself. The price to society has mounted steadily. Yes, it's only money. But when a million dollars is spent keeping a single preemie alive, that million dollars has to come from somewhere. If you cut doctor visits from 20 minutes to 15 minutes or reduce the number of nurses on a hospital floor, which are some of the standard cost-cutting measures, it takes a very, very long time to reach a million dollars. The cost of neonatal intensive care is one of the major reasons why health care is so expensive in developed countries, and particularly in the U.S. Health care in the U.S. is trapped in a spiral of diminishing returns as costs climb ever higher. My husband and I spend a very substantial chunk of our incomes on health insurance for us and our son. Are we getting our money's worth? I don't think so.

It is long past time for doctors to begin thinking about the place medicine should have in society, particularly high-tech medicine. High-tech medicine in general has surprisingly small benefits compared to its appalling costs. (For some specific examples of this, such as cardiac bypass surgery, see Nortin Hadler's book, "The Last Well Person.") There are plenty of countries around the world who have public health as good as, or in some cases even better than, the U.S., but pay a lot less for it. Having someone there to hold your hand when you are sick, which is the sort of touch usually eliminated for cost-cutting reasons in U.S. hospitals, is actually cheaper than high-tech medicine and is frequently more effective.

This book should be required reading for all expectant parents, who deserve to know about the hell that could be in store for them should their baby be born sick or early and receive the full panoply of high-tech treatment. Doctors and nurses who work in an NICU, a labor and delivery unit, or who deal with obstetrics should also read it.

As a mother to two preemies, born at 25 weeks gestation, I found Ms. Guyer's book to be an accurate portrayal life in the NNICU and life after the NNICU. The majority of preemies do end up disabled. The outcomes presented in this book are accurate portrayals of the vast majority of children who are born with Extremely Low Birth Weights. All parents-to-be, especially those who are at risk of delivering prematurely should read this book. It should be required reading for every medical student and resident.

I highly recommend this text for anyone who is preparing for certification or just wants to brush up on their knowledge! The text is great, and the review questions are an effective study guide.

Okay, so where to start...
Let me give my first disclaimer that, in fact, I know Rick personally. I also have helped him teach the class for which this book is used as the manual/syllabus, and I also work in "friendly competition" with him in the emergency/critical/healthcare continuing education business. I consider him a friend, a business colleague, a peer as well as "the competition" (remember, I said "friendly competition").....

I've known Rick for the last 3 years (little more/little less) back from when HE TAUGHT ME my first CFRN review class, using the very "rough draft" copy of this book back then (of course I passed my exam!). Since then, I know he has been busting his rear trying to get this book published and "just right" so it is a professional and high-quality book.

This is the book we typically teach from when we do his CFRN/FP-C courses. Although he mentions that it is used in CEN classes, one must realize that this book's strength is the critical care and flight components (CFRN/FP-C material). It "could" be used for a CEN review, but one might find that it is not as in depth for that purpose when compared with some of the others out there.

I believe (but he doesn't advertise it as such) that this could also be used for a "light" PCCRN or CCRN review as well as he includes a wealth of critical care knowledge in here also.

His passion for flight medicine as Certified Flight Paramedic and Critical Care EMT, is evident in the dedication and committment he puts into devloping his publications. I have personally known him to be up until 3 or 4 AM some nights, writing, re-writing and refining his material. His unyielding pursuit to be "the best" and the highest quality is beyond mention. He is driven to provide YOU the CFRN/FP-C candidate with the best for your money.

While the book is published as a stand-alone resource, as I mentioned, it is also used as the manual/syllabus for the 2-day live review course he puts on (again, disclaimer here - I have helped him in a few of these). As a side note, if you like his book, you'll LOVE HIM in PERSON! If you get a chance to attend one of his classes, don't let the oppotunity slip by....

As to the quality of the book, I give high marks. It is broken down by systems in a bullet-point outline format. It flows from one section to the next. Included are tables, formulas, diagrams and "PEARLS" to help the learner assimiliate and retain the knowledge. His mastery of certain areas including his unique take on ABG analysis and manipulation is light years ahead of the rest of us!

It is not a HUGE book, so it's fairly easy to transport in your work back pack or messenger bag while on duty to study from.

And finally, Rick is committed to his students. If you ever need him for whatever, even if it's just to get a question answered, he's never too busy for a phone call or email and will happily follow up with you.

In all fairness, I'm going to give the ONLY downside to this book in that the price is a bit high when compared with other books of this genre. (CFRN/FP-C review manuals). It is a smaller book and there is less content; but this is only beacuse he has CONDENSED it all into a concise/no-frills/dedicated format. Other CFRN/FP-C manuals may be priced fairly similar, but they are more comprehensive in scope (like a BIG college text book). Again in fairness, there is another competitor on the market, who markets a similar CFRN/FP-C manual that I also have commented that his prices were a bit high too for a "smaller" book.

But to counter what I just said; if you want a dedicated, committed professional, who has such a love and passion for flight medicine and quality continuing education, then the extra money may be worth it to you to not just "buy the book" but to actually have an "educational relationship" with the author.

Rick, keep up the good work and best wishes....
-Mark Boswell MSN, APRN, CEN, CFRN, NREMT-P

Being a Seahawk SAR pilot, this was an extremely helpful review of the fundamentals. The material was easy to follow and understand. I have attended one of Mr. Patterson's courses in the past and his wealth of experience is illustrated in this text.

This book is a great study guide for those on a tight time budget, concise and to the point. Get this book if you want to pass your test the first time.

I just took my FP-C exam last week and passed!! This book does not have extraneous information --it is the "meat and potatoes" outline of the exam. I have a busy schedule and was unable to travel and take a review course, so I bought the text and studied on my own when it was convenient. Definitely worth the money!

thank you for the great speed i received my book and the great condition it is in

We have this book stuck in the corner of all our code/trauma rooms in the hospital. Offers lots of information and step by step guide on procedures needed for emergency nursing care. Very helpful if you needed to review something quick.

Great review for procedures that have not been done in awhile. As a traveler, it is always a good reference and easy to read up in seconds.

I am a RN in the Emergency room at a major hospital. This book is an asset.

This is an excellent reference book. All the nurses in the ER use it and recommend it to our students. Very accurate pictures with detailed explanations and easy to understand procedural directions. A must have for all ED nurses.

When I started in the ICU recently, after 7 years of pedi outpatient nursing, hemodynamics was once of my greatest fears. This book really breaks it down and gives you a great visual look at what you are doing. I highly recommend this book for anyone starting the the ICU.

i own this book & LUV it - the whole series is great! i find the illustrations & pics make learning the information much easier than just reading from a txt book! it's a good book 2 use as a refresher or along with nursing school txtbooks.

I bought this book to help me write a lecture for nursing students. This was a huge help. Hemodynamic monitoring is a difficult concept to understand. This book helped make it more visual for my students.

What a fabulous book, easy to read and understand with wonderful diagrams. I bought this as a reference book for new staff to my area. Even the most experienced staff in the area have found this book to be an excellent resource. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a comprehensive easy to read and understand guide to hemodynamic monitoring.

Finally! A book that works easily for visual learners!! I precept lots of new grads and new RN's (new to critical care) and I find this is a useful tool to help them put all the written/spoken theory together and understand Hemodynamics.

Oncology nursing secrets is an excellent guide for community- visiting nurses. Very detailed and accurate information on various types of cancer including nursing assessment, planning, and appropriate interventions. Provides indepth patient S&S and interventions that were not taught in nursing school!! Enables the RN to take a preventative approach to care of his/her clients. This book became my best friend as my cancer case load increased.

I have provided my research team with this reference book. We all have differing backgrounds and are responsible for abstracting medical records of cancer patients. Our credentials range from MD, RN, CTR, MIS. This book has been most useful to us all - in particular the Chemotherapy data. We hope there is a new edition in the works since therapy changes rapidly, in part we hope as the result of our data collection.

I've worked on a med-surg/oncology unit for a little more than a year now and this book has really helped me out, especially in regards to chemotherapy administration and side effects. It contains a wealth of information that I haven't been able to find anywhere else (from one source). There are chapters devoted to different types of cancers, as well as chapters on radiation, biotherapy, bone marrow transplants, and palliative care. I can't recommend this book highly enough -- perfect for oncology nurses!

This book utilizes the science and physiology you possess from nursing school and your experiences in clinical practice to present concise, easy-to-reference text in a Q&A format. I also highly recommend the Core Curriculum for Oncology Nursing for anyone taking the OCN exam.

This book was a great help to me as a family NP starting over in Hem/Onc! I did not have an oncology background, and it's very easy to understand, and answered many of the questions I have had in the field. I find it to be a good resource, and refer to it still.

If you want get the most accurate information that fit with your daily real critical care practice, with the most clear explanation of each critical care disease...it is your book. It won't tell you more or less information that you need.

probabily the best critical txtbook of the last 3-4 yrs better than fink( only a source of review). I prefer the parrillo book for the practical point of view (waiting for a new edts)but probably is only a personal opinion.
Very interesting and well done the surgical critical care pts.

I know this book from my residency years,when I rotate in ICU,
and this book is an authority in the critical care specialty.
Clear and update,the Best.

This text is clearly one of the best in its field. It is well organized and very thorough. The organization and attention to detail make it a great referrence source and an easy read. It should be in anyone's library that takes of critically ill patients. I would highly recommend it for fellows in critical care medicine. The "Pretest" question and answer study guide that is a companion to this text is also excellent and a great tool for the critical care boards. I am anxiously awaiting the next edition.

This is an excellent review of the most common problems found in the clinical practice of Critical Care. It helps with the initial assessment of the patient and formulates a systematic approach to the differential diagnosis and therapeutic plan. The bibliography is updated and it has detailed illustrations and diagrams. Certainly, recommended as reference for those persons involved in the management of Critical Care patients.