Professional Nursing Concepts: Competencies for Quality Leadership takes a patient-centered, traditional approach to the topic of nursing education and professional development. This dynamic text engages students in recognizing the critical role that nurses play in healthcare delivery. Divided into four sections, this text has a unique framework and exclusively covers the Institute of Medicine s (IOM) five core competencies on quality and healthcare for all healthcare professionals. The first section introduces students to the history of the nursing profession, and covers such topics as nursing education, regulation, and accreditation. Section two explores the healthcare context in which nursing is practiced including continuum of care, health promotion, disease prevention, and illness, nursing ethics, and the nurse s role in health policy. The third section focuses on each of the five core competencies set forth by the IOM, and the final section focuses on the practice of nursing today and in the future particularly exploring the critical issue of the nursing shortage and the transformation of nursing practice.