This book describes trends and issues that influence the way students (and nurses) learn to become competent practitioners, and meet the needs of patients.Competent nurses integrate these changes into their way of being, to become "thinking" nurses as well as "doing" nurses. Thinking nurses learn to integrate essential knowledge, attitudes, and skills into care that involves best practices and evidence- based practices that promote patient safety and quality care Some of these trends and related issues include the following: the extreme and rapid changes in technology in patient care and education, significant changes in the demographics of our society, the environmental issues, the economic crisis and its consequences, the globalization of knowledge and diseases, the requirement for competent health care providers, the increase in domestic abuse and violence of all sorts, complexity of physical and mental health conditions, and ethical issues in the work place.