Coherently brings together the latest trends in nursing and health care and the most important issues affecting professional nurses including nursing history, ethics and patient rights, nursing and the law, health care delivery system, career management, workplace issues, the role of government, leadership and change, and much more. Important additions to this edition include extended chapter summaries and objectives, expanded coverage of students' rights, a review of recent legislation as it impacts the nursing profession, and two new chapters: Skills in Contemporary Practice and Credentialing in Nursing and Health Care.