Emergency nursing requires rapid assessment and decision-making. Often nurses are required to make sense of considerable amounts of information and act on it. The Oxford Handbook of Emergency Nursing provides an essential resource when time is short and the need for practical clinical guidance is paramount. This second edition has been fully updated to reflect new guidelines and approaches which have impacted emergency nursing in recent years. This handbook provides clear, focussed information that will aid all areas of patient assessment and management in emergency care. The concise format will enable the reader to quickly locate the information needed and provides alerts regarding critical 'must-dos' for ill adults and children. The skills section provides a quick summary of the many clinical skills needed in emergency care, ideal as an introduction for the uninitiated and as a refresher for skills performed infrequently. Additionally, this second edition has been expanded to cover nursing in major trauma and emergencies in the elderly. This handbook will empower nurses to deliver excellence in emergency care.

Written by practising nurses and subject experts, the Oxford Handbook of Emergency Nursing is a unique and invaluable companion for qualified and student nurses, and to all health care professionals working in the emergency care setting.

1: General principles of emergency nursing
2: First principles
3: Investigations
4: Emergency care of the infant and child
5: Obstetric emergencies
6: Neurological emergencies
7: Respiratory emergencies
8: Cardiovascular emergencies
9: Musculoskeletal injuries
10: Gastrointestinal emergencies
11: Genitourinary emergencies
12: Skin emergencies
13: Ophthalmological emergencies
14: ENT emergencies
15: Major trauma
16: Endocrine and metabolic emergencies
17: Haematological emergencies
18: Overdose and poisoning
19: Mental health emergencies
20: Emergencies in older patients
21: Skills reminder

Edited by Robert Crouch OBE, Consultant Nurse and Honorary Professor of Emergency Care, Emergency Department, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust & Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, UK

Alan Charters, Consultant Nurse, Emergency Paediatrics, Emergency Department, Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Hampshire, UK

Mary Dawood, Consultant Nurse and Honorary Lecturer, Emergency Directorate, Imperial College NHS Trust London & Imperial College, London, UK

Paula Bennett, Consultant Nurse and Honorary Lecturer, Emergency Department, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust & University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Robert Crouch has extensive emergency nursing experience, spanning 20 years in practice. He has pursued both an academic and clinical career and is recognised as a leading figure in emergency nursing in the UK. He has contributed nationally to the development of emergency nursing practice and policy. He has worked and been involved in developing educational programmes in a number of countries. In particular he has overseen the development of a consultant practitioner training programme, the first of its kind in the UK.

Alan Charters has 20 years' worth of experience in emergency nursing. He specialised early on in his career focussing on paediatric emergency care and has worked in many departments and countries. He has contributed nationally to the development of paediatric emergency nursing practice and policy. He has been involved in developing educational programmes in a number of universities and departments.

Mary Dawood has an established career in emergency nursing and has held the post of Consultant Nurse in this specialty at St Mary's NHS Trust London for the past six years. Prior to this post she worked for two years as Lecturer/Practitioner where she taught both pre- and post-registration nursing focusing particularly on the education and training of nurse practitioners. Mary is also a member of the editorial board of the health journal Diversity in Health and Social Care and has published numerous papers on the subject of emergency nursing. She is an established speaker having presented at conferences both nationally and internationally.

Paula Bennett qualified as a registered nurse in 1990 and an registered sick children's nurse in 1996. She has spent her career in emergency care combining clinical practice with teaching and service development. Her current post as Nurse Consultant enables her to maintain frequent clinical contact with patients and at the same time support and develop the skills of others. Following a recent Florence Nightingale Foundation Travel Scholarship, Paula has visited centres in Toronto and Melbourne to explore international developments in emergency care.

`Review from previous edition Newly registered emergency nurses who want to acquire the skills and knowledge needed for effective practice will find this book invaluable.' Emergency Nurse - June 2009

`This resource is essential for the emergency nurse clinician... The authors have exceeded their objectives... this is a must-have handbook. It provides a patient-centred, evidence-based resource for even the most experienced emergency-room nurses.' Doody's Notes - June 2009

`...there are contributions from a considerable range of specialists from nursing and other professions...the totality of the content appears substantive, holistic, and evidence based...exceedingly interesting and well written, with a clear holistic approach. It will be of great benefit to my emergency care students...recommend immediate purchase' International Emergency Nursing - 2010