Taylor’s Clinical Nursing Skills

PAMELA LYNN EdD, MSN, RN

UNIT I Actions Basic to Nursing Care 

Chapter 1: Asepsis and Infection Control 

Chapter 2: Vital Signs 

Chapter 3: Health Assessment 

Chapter 4: Safety

Chapter 5: Medications

Chapter 6: Perioperative Nursing

UNIT II Promoting Healthy Physiologic Responses 

Chapter 7: Hygiene

Chapter 8: Skin Integrity and Wound Care 

Chapter 9: Activity 

Chapter 10: Comfort and Pain Management  

Chapter 11: Nutrition 

Chapter 12: Urinary Elimination 

Chapter 13: Bowel Elimination 

Chapter 14: Oxygenation 

Chapter 15: Perfusion and Cardiovascular Care 

Chapter 16: Fluid, Electrolyte, and Acid–Base Balance 

Chapter 17: Neurologic Care 

Chapter 18: Laboratory Specimen Collection 

UNIT III Integrated Case Studies 

Part 1 Basic Case Studies

Part 2 Intermediate Case Studies 

Part 3 Advanced Case Studies 

• Focusing on Patient Care chapter-opening scenarios and Developing Clinical Reasoning and Clinical Judgment end-of-chapter questions challenge readers to think through clinical situations, combining critical thinking and clinical reasoning to form clinical judgment that can affect patient outcomes.
• Step-by-Step Skills reflect the latest evidence and walk students through skills in a consistent, straightforward format to ensure comprehension. 
• Photo atlas approach with nearly 1,000 high-quality photographs helps visual learners effectively learn and perform each skill.
• Developing Clinical Reasoning and Clinical Judgment provides insight into prioritization and evidence-based practice and supports students’ development of clinical reasoning and clinical judgment skills. This section includes:
  • Unexpected situations highlight unexpected outcomes and explanations of how to react to provide the best care.
  • Special considerations explain the varying needs of patients across the lifespan and in various settings.
• Integrated Case Study Connection callouts refer students to related case studies in Unit III, which challenge students to think critically and confidently prioritize care. 
• Nursing Process Framework integrates assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation to build a strong foundation for clinical thinking and skill performance.

Builds foundational knowledge and learning efficiency 

• Clear learning roadmaps guide students to prioritize key content and come prepared for lab and clinical through structured learning outcomes and pre-reading direction.
• Streamlined fundamentals review reinforces prerequisite knowledge with concise summaries, tables, and figures that reduce cognitive overload and improve retention.
• Suggested answers provide built-in self-assessment that helps students evaluate understanding and strengthen clinical thinking independently.

Strengthens clinical thinking and decision making with a humanistic approach

• Delegation considerations support real-world decision making with evidence-based guidance aligned to ANA and NCSBN standards.
• Evidence for Practice boxes familiarize students with the latest best-practice guidelines, research-based evidence, and support from professional literature.
• Scientific rationales accompany each nursing action to deepen understanding of the principles underlying patient care and strengthen critical thinking.

Prepares students for safe, real-world practice

• Documentation guidelines and examples guide accurate, professional charting and reinforce practice-ready documentation habits.
• Skill variations clarify differences in equipment or technique with start-to-finish guidance, preparing students for diverse patient needs and care settings.
• Nursing alerts highlight critical safety information, drawing attention to high-risk steps and essential considerations for safe performance.
• Hand Hygiene icons reinforce infection prevention by alerting students to essential safety steps at the point of care.
• Patient Identification icons emphasize accuracy and safety by ensuring the right patient receives the correct intervention and reducing risk of errors.