Auscultation Skills: Breath and Heart Sounds by Springhouse (Editor)

Product Details

Synopsis

This popular book-and-audio-CD product offers nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants a solid basis for recognizing and differentiating among abnormal breath and heart sounds. The full-color text with over 200 illustrations offers comprehensive coverage of simple and complex breath and heart sounds and explains fundamentals including anatomy, physiology, best auscultation locations, tips for identifying each sound, and documentation pointers.

The all-in-one CD features 46 tracks of breath sounds and 50 tracks of heart sounds, all enhanced for clarity, which can be listened to sequentially with the book or reviewed in any order the reader chooses. The CD can be listened to in the car or on the computer; it can be downloaded to the computer and converted to MP3 files.

Annotation

This popular CD/book product offers thorough training in recognizing and differentiating among abnormal breath and heart sounds. Two audio CDs provide 74 examples of breath sounds and 87 examples of heart sounds; a comprehensive text with over 200 illustrations explains breath and heart sound fundamentals, including anatomy, physiology, best auscultation sites, tips for identifying each sound, and documentation pointers. This edition's text includes timesaving assessment flowcharts for common abnormal heart and lung sounds. This edition also includes Spanish translations of common breath and heart assessment terms. CDs operate on PC, Mac, or any CD player.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:Patricia A Gunning, MS, BS, AD (Purdue University School of Nursing)
Description:The book reviews anatomy and pathology, principles and concepts of normal and abnormal breath and heart sounds through the use of simple clear explanation, diagrams, and an audio CD. There are rapid assessment flow charts, Spanish translations of commonly used terms and phrases and age-related concerns relevant to heart and lung sounds. Glossaries to define terms, tables of disease processes and expected heart and lung sounds as well as pretests and posttests are also provided.
Purpose:The purpose is to assist in learning/perfecting skills for auscultation, interpreting, and understanding the physiology of the heart and lung sounds interpreted. Auscultation of heart and lung sounds is a skill which requires practice and experience. All nurses and other healthcare professionals can benefit from review and expertise in this skill. The author meets the objectives very well.
Audience:I would have to concur with the clinical consultants that the book is appropriate for any healthcare team member who has cause to develop skill in listening to, interpreting and understanding patients' heart and lung sounds. This means doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists, to name a few. It is an excellent and appropriate introduction for beginners, as well as an excellent source for the seasoned healthcare team member seeking a review or wishing to advance their knowledge base and skill.
Features:The book reviews and demonstrates through diagrams (anatomy and physiology pictures, phonocardiograms and ECG tracings) and audio normal and abnormalheart and lung sounds. There are age alerts, emergent alerts, glossaries, English/Spanish terminology and phrases, auscultation tips, and rapid review flowcharts for common assessment findings. The book is written in professional language and remains clear and easy to understand. It starts with the anatomy and physiology for the novice or anyone wanting to review. However, readers may begin anywhere in the book depending on what they wish to review. The descriptions are clear and easy to understand. Of particular interest are the pretest and posttest. One may identify strengths and weaknesses before beginning and measure learning after working with the book and CD-ROM. The book is excellent. Aside from not citing specific sources of clinical content, there are no shortcomings.
Assessment:Mastering the auscultation skills and understanding what is heard is valuable for anyone in the clinical setting. I have seen various books with either heart or lung sounds with audio tapes/CDs. This book provides a simple and clear review and interpretation of both heart and lung sounds. This edition has included additions appropriate to the changing needs of healthcare. As healthcare is becoming culturally sensitive the authors have also, updating the book to recognize the growing elderly and Spanish speaking populations. This provides a realistic assessment of the clinical environment. Furthermore, with the high acuity of patients and the healthcare systems in place, many healthcare team members besides physicians are the first assessment point for the patient in the system. Expertise in these auscultation skills is invaluable and necessary for nurses and respiratory therapists as well.

Biography

Springhouse