Care of the seriously injured continues to be a major challenge for nurses and physicians throughout the continuum of care. Many of these seriously injured patients are desperately ill and rely on their physicians and nurses to deliver state-of-the-art care, in a compressed timeframe, and, oftentimes, under challenging circumstances. The care of these patients can be intimidating. The survival of these patients depends on the skillful execution of both the art and science of critical care nursing practice.

This journal is dedicated to those nurses who have chosen to engage in this challenging, yet ever so rewarding, area of nursing. Our goal is to provide an overview of the care of the multiply injured through a series of case scenarios. The authors have provided insight into the care of those patients by topic presentations on traumatic shock; cardiothoracic trauma; and abdominal, genitourinary, and orthopedic injuries. We have also included discussions regarding some of the complications that continue to confound us such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and other all too frequent sequelae of major injury. During our case scenario discussions, we have included some of the "pearls and pitfalls" on the basis of our experiences.

We hope that the reader finds this primer useful, and that it will encourage the reader to seek out more information and keep up with research as it unfolds regarding this very challenging patient population. The next issue (CCNQ 28:2) will include a comprehensive discussion of pain management and head and spinal cord injuries in the trauma patient.