...it is refreshing to review a book that doesn't claim to include everything but literally provides a foundation by focusing upon key areas within Emergency Care - to borrow that hackneyed phrase - it does what it says on the tin!
Tim Barr, Cardiff University, UK

The Foundations of Emergency Care is an accessible text that brings together both academic and clinical experts to combine coverage of the clinical skills and underpinning theoretical knowledge essential to practice within the modern emergency setting.

Using an evidenced-based and protocol driven approach, this clinical companion guides readers through a multitude of common patient scenarios, to help them acquire essential skills in assessment and priority assignment in an emergency care setting.

Each chapter includes scenarios that utilise common emergency care presentations to clearly demonstrate how practitioners can identify critical illness at an early stage through understanding how disease and illness affect normal physiology and how this relates to the patient's clinical presentation. This ability to critically analyse physical findings assists the practitioner in becoming a specialist and directly saves lives.

Key areas covered include:

• Cardiac Emergencies: including the new 2006 ALS guidelines
• Head Injuries
• Acute Surgical Emergencies
• Gynaecologic and Obstetric Emergencies
• Respiratory Distress
• Paediatric Emergencies
• Minor Trauma and Illness
• Major Trauma
• Acute Medical Emergencies

The book also includes scenarios that cover the treatment of the elderly and those presenting with mental health emergencies.

This important new book encourages readers to reflect on their clinical encounters to gain further insight into relevant treatment options and illustrates how critical thinking can be applied in emergency care.

Essential reading for healthcare professionals working within emergency care and students requiring the fundamental skills necessary to competently undertake patient assessment and correctly prioritise patient care.