Management Guidelines for Nurse Practitioners Working in Family Practice

By Alice Running, RN, PhD, FNP, ANP, and Amy Berndt, RN, MSN, FNP (Editors). Philadelphia: FA Davis Co., 731 pp, $49.95

This succinct book covers information on the clinical features, diagnostic testing, and management of 310 disorders and conditions common to the primary care setting. Family nurse practitioner (FNP) students and faculty will find the quick references and brief overview of relevant physiology and pathophysiology particularly helpful. The ICD codes and the "Signal Symptoms" for each disorder render the book user-friendly. Each diagnosis or condition includes the following content: definition, etiology, occurrence, age, ethnicity, gender, contributing factors, signs and symptoms, relevant diagnostic tests, differential diagnosis, treatment, appropriate follow-up, sequelae, prevention/prophylaxis, referral guidelines, education, and references.

Readers will find the rationale for ordering a specific test along with a discussion of possible causes for abnormal test results especially helpful. Where suitable, the book includes a diagnostic decision tree to help illustrate applicable diagnostic or treatment reasoning. The clinician is assisted in identifying potential diagnoses through the inclusion of visual symbols such as clinical pearls, age-related considerations, risk factors, red flags, and emergency situation signal symptoms. FNP students and early-career FNPs will likely gain much from use of this book in learning how to effectively manage patients across the life span.