Each of the features in this text performs a specific function to benefit the student and are designed to appeal to all learning styles. The features will help students with: organizing learning in manageable chunks enhancing retention demonstrating practical applications teaching clinical skills teaching critical thinking deepening understanding of the anatomic basis of nursing care applying research evidence to everyday practice working effectively with patients of different ages and cultures facilitating test preparation The features in these chapters are intended: .to set the stage for successful learning: Learning Outcomes and a personal Vignette open each chapter and illustrate the diversity of cultures, parental concerns, and family situations that nurses will encounter throughout the course of their careers. Key Terms appear opposite the chapter title page, listing important words to know that will be introduced in the chapter. Page numbers are included with each key term to identify the place where the term first appears in the chapter.to teach core skills with clinical and practical applications: Assessment Guides , found in the maternal-newborn chapters, assist students with diagnoses by visually organizing physical assessment and normal findings, alterations and possible causes, and guidelines for nursing interventions in a single convenient table. Drug Guides for selected medications commonly used in maternal-newborn and child nursing guide students in administering medications correctly and accurately and evaluating their actions. Nursing Care Plans address the unique nursing care needs of women who have complications such as preeclampsia or diabetes mellitus, as well as those of high-risk newborns and children.

Nursing Practice features offer hands-on suggestions and clinical tips. Boxes are placed close to narrative content that is related to them, where they are most applicable. They include topics such as legal and ethical considerations, nursing alerts, and home and community care considerations. Teaching Highlights focus on special healthcare issues or problems and the related key teaching points for care by the family. Clinical Manifestations charts help students understand the association between the pathophysiology and the signs and symptoms of a particular condition. Pathophysiology Illustrated boxes feature unique drawings that illustrate conditions on a cellular or organ level, and may also portray the step-by-step process of a disease.to teach the importance of evidence-based practice and critical thinking: Evidence-based Nursing boxes present recent nursing research in a consistent format that is designed not only to help students learn how evidence is applied in everyday nursing practice, but to gain valuable critical thinking skills as they do so. Each box poses a clinical question, presents a brief discussion of the evidence and its implications, recommends best practices, and asks a series of follow-up critical thinking questions that will help students integrate the research into their nursing practice.

MyNursingKit presents possible responses for each question. Evidence in Action boxes further prepare nursing students for today''s evidence-based practice by presenting concise, research-supported recommendations, as well as the category of the evidence (metaanalysis, practice, etc.). Critical Thinking in Action at the end of each chapter proposes a real-life scenario and a series of critical thinking questions that allow students to practice applying chapter concepts to the clinical setting.to prepare students for contemporary nursing practice: Clinical Pathways prepare students to keep pace with the changing approaches to nursing care management by helping them plan and manage care within normally anticipated time frames. Developing Cultural Competence boxes highlight specific cultural issues and their application to nursing care. Complementary Care boxes present information about common alternative and complementary measures used to treat or provide comfort for various conditions.to highlight unique aspects of nursing caring for children: As Children Grow boxes illustrate the anatomic and physiologic differences between children and adults.

Growth & Development boxes, found exclusively in the pediatric chapters, provide information about the different responses of children at various ages to health conditions. Health Promotion boxes summarize the needs of children with specific chronic conditions, such as asthma or diabetes. These overviews model for the student an attitude of treating the child with a chronic illness like any other child, with health maintenance needs for prevention, education, and basic care.to help students locate information quickly: Laboratory values are printed in blue font to make it easy for students to locate essential information for assessing their patients'' conditions. Cross-reference icons (8) help the student quickly locate related information in other chapters. Figure locator icons make it easy for students to find their place in their reading after stopping to examine a figure.to encourage integrated use of text and ancillaries: MyNursingKit thumbtabs in each chapter provide seamless integration between the text and its online resources, reminding the student to use the accompanying supplemental materials on the text''s companion website, www.MyNursingKit.

com. SKILLS icons further interweave the text with its ancillary components and point students to the companion book, Clinical Skills Manual for Maternal & Child Nursing Care, 3rd edition, where they will find practical skills related to that topic in the text.to facilitate test preparation and further study: Critical Concept Review at the end of each chapter outlines the main points of the chapter, organizing them by Learning Outcome. References provide a complete list of supporting documentation for the chapter, followed by a reminder to check the online resources in www. MyNursingKit.com for additional activities and other supplements.