Study Guide for Fundamental Nursing Care

This workbook provides abundant opportunities for students to preview, review, practice, and reinforce textbook material.  A variety of question types stimulate students to think critically, practice documentation, enage in client teaching and apply what they have learned at different levels of difficulty.

Roberta Pavy Ramont has been an instructor of Vocational Nursing at North Orange County Regional Occupational Program (NOCROP) in Anaheim for 12 years. She received her initial nursing education at Cooper Hospital School of Nursing in Camden, New Jersey; her baccalaureate degree from the University of Redlands; and a masters in Psychology-School Counseling from the University of LaVerne. She is presently a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at Alliant International University.

Roberta credits her entrance into nursing to an LPN student who cared for her during an illness and who recognized her potential. She also credits the continued support and encouragement of her parents, who always demonstrated that anything worth achieving is worth 100% effort.

Roberta began her nursing career working in intensive care, but quickly realized that she wanted to focus on keeping people healthy. She worked for an agency visiting well-child clinics, schools, and homes, and later worked in maternal and infant care, childbirth preparation, and physicians' offices. When she moved to California, she found a job working with the developmentally disabled in a state hospital, and was quickly promoted to unit supervisor. The LVNs she hired to care for residents with physical and cognitive deficits were an inspiration; they brought joy and self-respect to the residents' lives by focusing on residents' accomplishments, not their disabilities. When state regulations changed, Roberta continued to work with students with special needs.

In 1985, a diagnosis of cancer led to six years with numerous treatments and surgeries. As a hospital client, Roberta was able to observe nurses at work. She became concerned that many of them seemed just to be doing a job. When she had a chance to teach, and found she enjoyed sharing knowledge and insights with students, she was eager to pass on some of the "lost art" of nursing. A job as instructor of a nursing assistant class quickly developed into an opportunity to teach LVNs. Over the years she has been able to share with hundreds of students what it means to be a nurse. She feels that nursing students need two things: roots (to understand the rich heritage of nursing they will carry into the future) and wings (to develop skills that make them competent, safe nurses who can think and function with confidence).

Roberta served as curriculum chair for health careers education at NOCROP She has worked on projects to identify academic standards taught in the career technical classes and to develop rubrics for alternate assessment of student work. She has served as advisor for Health Occupation Students of America, and recently was installed as Cal-HOSA Inc. Board of Directors Chair. She was President of the California Association of Health Careers Educators (CAHCE) in 2000-2001, and was awarded their Lillian Runge Memorial Scholarship for Continuing Education in 2002. She is a member of Society of Pediatric Nurses and Pi Lambda Theta, International Honor Society in Education.

Roberta has served on the NCLEX-PN writing panel. She developed seminars on the adult learner and technology in the classroom. She has taught teacher credentialing classes for San Diego University and is on a task force with the California Department of Education of Teacher Credentialing for Health Occupations teachers.

Roberta and Fred, her husband of 32 years, have three children: twin daughters Amy (an RN) and Alicia (mom to Haley and T.J. and an early childhood teacher), and son Tom (who recently completed grad school). When time permits Roberta enjoys reading and traveling.

Dolores Maldonado Niedringhaus. Dee's nursing career began right after graduation from Nursing School at USC/LACMC (Los Angeles County Medical Center), when she moved to Orange County and applied for a graduate nursing position. She was hired on the spot at what used to be Orange County Hospital. Although it was much smaller than LACMC (the rooms had only had five beds instead of eight to ten), it was a challenge. As the county hospital, it was always busy. The first year she worked PM shift on an orthopedic floor, where once there were prisoners in four rooms with guards. Sometimes conditions were so crowded that clients had spaces in the halls. This was a growthful time. The doctors were interns and residents; all the staff worked together and learned how to be creative, innovative, and inventive.

After her marriage Dee transferred to a day shift position on the surgical floor, dealing with all types of surgical specialties (EENT, Plastic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery, and General Surgery). In team nursing there, Dee was fortunate to have as colleagues two excellent LVNs, who did most of the dressings and wound care and helped with medications. Dee's nursing techniques developed as she learned from these nurses. After working at this hospital for 12 years in various areas, she was chosen to work a new unit as the surgical specialist. It was the first outpatient unit developed at what was now UCIMC (University of California at Irvine Medical Center).

A chance request brought her to teaching. One summer a colleague needed a substitute instructor for a nursing assistant program run by North Orange County Regional Occupational Program. Those two months changed her nursing career. She was hooked on and loved teaching. When she was offered a full-time position teaching a day nursing assistant program, she taught this for a year. She then took a position teaching vocational nurses, and for 15 years taught Fundamentals I & II, Integumentary, Gastrointestinal, Endocrine, and Leadership modules. She began the first HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) chapters, which became very successful and continue today. She also instructed classes for Health Career Instructors and was the chairman for Cal-HOSA Inc. Currently Dee is an Instructional Administrator of Medical Programs at North Orange County ROP.