This new 4th edition of the most widely used classroom and clinical reference will continue to be a reliable guide for both students and nurses involved in constructing individualized patient care plans. The text provides introductory chapters on the nursing process, care planning and the documentation process. Comprehensive guidelines for nursing care plans encompass total patient needs, including not only the physical aspect but also cultural, sexual, nutritional, and psychosocial needs.-- Davis's Electronic Nursing Care Planner will be available - A tutorial on the nursing process, writing desired patient outcomes, creating scientific rationales and offering tips on individualizing care plans. Once individualized, 20 care plans can be printed out for clinical use by your students-- Critical thinking emphasized throughout, promoting thoughtful decision making and better individualization of care-- A new design format using a second color, promotes even greater ease of use-- Variations for the community and home care settings have been added to more accurately reflect today's healthcare environment-- Contains the latest NANDA Diagnoses, through the upcoming 12th (1996) conference-- Clearly delineates the documentation requirements of government regulations and third-party payers, and latest JCAHO and ANA standards-- Identifies the DRGs with projected mean length of stay-- Includes 10 Care Maps (Clinical Pathways) to illustrate their use in the clinical setting