Using an approach that fosters critical thinking and values clarification, this textbook examines the full range of professional issues facing contemporary nursing. Coverage includes critical issues such as the nursing shortage, mandatory staffing ratios, violence in nursing, legal and ethical issues, plus the latest HIPAA regulations, career advancement and evaluations, and best practices for today and the future. This edition includes a broader discussion of the Clinical Nurse Leader, expanded discussion of generational diversity, a new chapter on simulation as a training/education tool, new models of distance education, updated information on importing international nurses, and new material on the Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) debate as entry for advanced practice nurses.