Priorities in Critical Care Nursing
Urden, Stacy · 9th Edition
Complete chapter-by-chapter study guide aligned with Priorities in Critical Care Nursing (9th Edition). Includes summaries, learning objectives, and NCLEX-style practice questions for all 27 chapters.
Overview
When you open Priorities in Critical Care Nursing (9th Edition), you are learning to care for patients whose smallest changes carry the highest stakes, and this study guide is built to walk that ground beside you chapter for chapter. It follows the 9th Edition exactly, moving from the foundations of critical care through the common problems your patients share, then unit by unit through cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, kidney, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and multisystem alterations. For each of the 27 chapters you get a plain-English summary that pulls out what matters, the chapter's learning objectives stated up front so you know your targets, and a bank of NCLEX-style questions with a full rationale for every option so you learn why the right answer is right and why the tempting one is wrong. You will practice reading a hemodynamic profile, prioritizing an unstable rhythm, titrating sedation and managing delirium, and thinking through shock, sepsis, and multiple organ dysfunction the way a bedside nurse actually does. The assessment-disorder-management rhythm that Urden, Stacy, and Lough use is preserved here, so when your instructor assigns the pulmonary or kidney unit, you study in the same order and nothing feels out of place. Whether you are prepping for a unit exam, reviewing before clinical, or building the pattern recognition the NCLEX rewards, this is a printable companion you can highlight, annotate, and return to across the whole course. Every summary points you back to safe, prioritized nursing action rather than rote memorization, which is the habit critical care demands. Use it to close the gap between what you read and what you will do at the bedside. You will also see how a single lab value or trend on the monitor should reshape your plan of care within minutes. Original, independently written, and not affiliated with the publisher.
Aligned with baccalaureate critical care courses and written in an NCLEX-RN style, the questions mirror how prioritization, hemodynamics, and multisystem management are tested on course exams and the licensure exam.
- 810+ practice questions
- 27 chapters
- ~135 pages
- Instant PDF download
What you'll learn
The major topics this guide walks you through, matched to the textbook's order:
- Hemodynamic monitoring and interpretation
- Dysrhythmia recognition and management
- Mechanical ventilation and pulmonary therapeutics
- Shock, sepsis, and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
- Sedation, delirium, and pain management
- Cardiovascular clinical assessment
- Neurologic assessment and intracranial pressure
- Acute kidney injury and renal replacement
- Nutritional alterations in critical illness
- Trauma and burn resuscitation
- Palliative and end-of-life care
- Ethical and legal issues in critical care
- Care transitions and family-centered care
Need the textbook itself?
The textbook by Urden, Stacy, and Lough (Elsevier) is a long-standing critical care text organized around body-system alterations, pairing clinical assessment with disorders and therapeutic management and emphasizing evidence-based, prioritized nursing care.
Buy new, rent, or find a used copy of Priorities in Critical Care Nursing below. Make sure you get the 9th Edition — editions differ, so double-check the ISBN on the listing before you order. We earn a small commission if you buy through these links — your price is unchanged.
Chapters covered
Every chapter below is fully covered in the PDF — summary, learning objectives, key terms, and NCLEX-style practice questions with rationales.
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What exactly do I get?
A printable PDF study guide covering all 27 chapters of Priorities in Critical Care Nursing (9th Edition) — chapter summaries, learning objectives, and NCLEX-style practice questions with rationales. One file, lifetime access, no subscription.
How soon will I get it?
Instantly. A download link appears on screen and lands in your inbox the moment your payment clears.
Does this match the 9th Edition specifically?
Yes — it is built around the 9th Edition and follows its 27 chapters and nine-unit structure. Earlier editions cover most of the same alterations, though some chapters were renumbered or combined.
Will this help me prioritize on exam questions?
Yes — the questions are written in the NCLEX prioritization style, and every rationale explains why one nursing action comes before another, which is exactly how critical care exams frame their toughest items.
Will it match my edition?
This guide is built around the 9th Edition. If your class uses a different edition, chapter numbering may shift slightly, but the topics and learning objectives are usually unchanged.
Do I still need the textbook?
The study guide is a companion, not a replacement — it helps you study efficiently and review fast, but you'll still want the textbook for full depth and any assigned readings. You can buy new, rent, or find a used copy through the price links on this page.
What if it is not what I expected?
Every purchase is backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee — email us within 14 days for a full refund.
Is this a test bank or copied from the textbook?
No. This is an original study guide written to align with Priorities in Critical Care Nursing — summaries, objectives, and practice questions with rationales, not a reproduced publisher test bank or copied text.
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About this study guide
This is an original study guide written to align with the topics and learning objectives covered in Priorities in Critical Care Nursing (9th Edition) by Urden, Stacy. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed by the publisher or the textbook's authors. All summaries, practice questions, and explanations are independently authored.