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Care of the Mentally Ill
306
BOOK RE VIE WS
The inclusion of an outline of stress and coping is to be commended. However, coping is dealt with entirely by reference to Freudian defence mechanisms; of all coping mechanisms a knowledge of these is the least useful to nurses. There is no mention of everyday coping by direct means; no mention of indirect coping by use of relaxation therapy and, in this part at least, the use of accurate information to help coping is ignored. I was also surprised to see denial listed as non-coping. Lazarus (1979) suggests that this may be an extremely useful method of coping under some circumstances. Neither was Lazarus’s description (1976) of the coping mechanism of intellectualization mentioned. The chapter on nursing research written by Jill McCleod Clark is to be commended, but I would have liked to see more use made of research findings within the rest of the book. A serious criticism is that some aspects of care which I consider to be the absolute core of nursing were covered very superficially or not at all, e.g. pressure area care, prevention of deep vein thrombosis, mouth care, and the prevention in general of the sequelae of inactivity. I can find no evidence that these topics are covered in the remaining books in the series. Thus, whilst the authors have made a noteworthy attempt to look at nursing anew, this has meant the neglect of the very important areas of care in which the nurse should be the expert. Provided that students and teachers realise that the book does not fulfil the stated aim in respect to basic nursing competence, then it can be highly recommended as one of a number of introductory nursing texts. MARGARETCLARKE,S.R.N., R.N.T., BSc., M.Phil. References Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death andDying. Macmillan, New York. Lazarus, R. (1976). Putterns ofAdjustment, pp. 92-3. McGraw-Hill, Kogabusha, Tokyo. Lazarus, R. (1979). Positive denial: the case for not facing reality. Psycho/. Toduy Nov., M-60.
Care of the Mentally Ill. Peggy Martin. Essentials of Nursing series. Macmillan, London (1983). Price f 10 (hardback), f2.95 (paperback). One of a set of six books. Each chapter of this book deals with a nursing problem commonly encountered in psychiatry, e.g. nursing the patient who is anxious, suspicious, aggressive, institutionalized etc. This is a fairly new and interesting approach. It helps nurses to move away from an excessive dependence on psychiatrists’ diagnostic categories, which although overlapping with nursing problems, do not entirely determine the nursing care required. Inevitably in a small book there are omissions in the choice of topics. Chapters on drug dependency, sexual dysfunction, appetite disorders and child psychiatry would be useful additions. It is disappointing that in a book specifically intended for general nursing students undertaking psychiatric experience, there is no discussion of the psychiatric problems likely to be encountered among physically-ill patients in general hospitals. Despite the emphasis on nursing problems, the content is presented within a very traditional medical/organic psychiatric framework, largely ignoring the many other models within which abnormal behaviour may be conceptualized. The vigorous debate about the
BOOKREVIEWS
307
nature of mental abnormality is totally ignored. The very title of the book indicates that an ‘illness model’ is adapted throughout. The book claims to focus on nursing models of care. This seems an inaccurate use of the term ‘nursing model’ which here describes a structure for nursing widely referred to as the nursing process or process of nursing. Surely a nursing model should encompass a summary description or explanation of the content of nursing, not just its structure. The book is written at a very simple uncritical level. Contentious ideas are presented as facts and controversial issues about the nature of psychiatric nursing and the state of psychiatric nursing knowledge are not discussed. There is virtually no discussion about the causes of the various problems such as phobias, obsessions etc. dealt with in each chapter. Some references are used but the book is not fully referenced or research-based. In all chapters a standard nursing assessment interview schedule is used. It would be helpful to know how, for what purpose and by whom it was developed. Although its format is an improvement on the typical admission kardex, it is by no means comprehensive enough to constitute a complete nursing assessment. It is also doubtful whether a single format is appropriate for all types of psychiatric patients. Each chapter contains a plan of care for a hypothetical patient, part of which claims to be the objectives of care. In fact these do not describe a desired outcome or change in the patient’s affect or behaviour. Instead they are written as vague aims, e.g. to accept the patient and provide a supportive relationship, to promote the patient’s psychological and physical case etc. These are the sort of hackneyed phrases that have always appeared in nursing notes and which because of their lack of specificity usually result in total inaction. There are several minor irritations. In the illustrations the nurses are usually in uniform and the patients look old and drab. The expression double-blind is used when double-bind would be correct. The text refers to the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982, which has now been superseded by the Mental Health Act 1983. Despite many criticisms, the book does represent a move towards a style which shows nursing problems and nursing actions as different from medical diagnosis and treatments. The A4 format and the layout are attractive, the price is modest and it is easy and interesting to read. The book will be useful for general learners undergoing psychiatric experience. It will also be useful for psychiatric nursing learners as an introductory text. It is not written at a sufficiently advanced level to make it suitable for post-basic or undergraduate study. JULIAI. BROOKING,B.SC.,R.M.N.,S.R.N.,Dip.N.
Maternity and Neonatal Care. Hazel Ball, Margaret Beacroft and Elizabeth Davies-Johns. Essentials of Nursing series. Macmillan, London (1983). Price f10 (hardback), f2.95 (paperback). One of a set of six books. This slim but sturdy book is attractively presented, with a plentiful supply of relevant headings which make quick reference easy.
BOOK RE VIE WS
The inclusion of an outline of stress and coping is to be commended. However, coping is dealt with entirely by reference to Freudian defence mechanisms; of all coping mechanisms a knowledge of these is the least useful to nurses. There is no mention of everyday coping by direct means; no mention of indirect coping by use of relaxation therapy and, in this part at least, the use of accurate information to help coping is ignored. I was also surprised to see denial listed as non-coping. Lazarus (1979) suggests that this may be an extremely useful method of coping under some circumstances. Neither was Lazarus’s description (1976) of the coping mechanism of intellectualization mentioned. The chapter on nursing research written by Jill McCleod Clark is to be commended, but I would have liked to see more use made of research findings within the rest of the book. A serious criticism is that some aspects of care which I consider to be the absolute core of nursing were covered very superficially or not at all, e.g. pressure area care, prevention of deep vein thrombosis, mouth care, and the prevention in general of the sequelae of inactivity. I can find no evidence that these topics are covered in the remaining books in the series. Thus, whilst the authors have made a noteworthy attempt to look at nursing anew, this has meant the neglect of the very important areas of care in which the nurse should be the expert. Provided that students and teachers realise that the book does not fulfil the stated aim in respect to basic nursing competence, then it can be highly recommended as one of a number of introductory nursing texts. MARGARETCLARKE,S.R.N., R.N.T., BSc., M.Phil. References Kubler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death andDying. Macmillan, New York. Lazarus, R. (1976). Putterns ofAdjustment, pp. 92-3. McGraw-Hill, Kogabusha, Tokyo. Lazarus, R. (1979). Positive denial: the case for not facing reality. Psycho/. Toduy Nov., M-60.
Care of the Mentally Ill. Peggy Martin. Essentials of Nursing series. Macmillan, London (1983). Price f 10 (hardback), f2.95 (paperback). One of a set of six books. Each chapter of this book deals with a nursing problem commonly encountered in psychiatry, e.g. nursing the patient who is anxious, suspicious, aggressive, institutionalized etc. This is a fairly new and interesting approach. It helps nurses to move away from an excessive dependence on psychiatrists’ diagnostic categories, which although overlapping with nursing problems, do not entirely determine the nursing care required. Inevitably in a small book there are omissions in the choice of topics. Chapters on drug dependency, sexual dysfunction, appetite disorders and child psychiatry would be useful additions. It is disappointing that in a book specifically intended for general nursing students undertaking psychiatric experience, there is no discussion of the psychiatric problems likely to be encountered among physically-ill patients in general hospitals. Despite the emphasis on nursing problems, the content is presented within a very traditional medical/organic psychiatric framework, largely ignoring the many other models within which abnormal behaviour may be conceptualized. The vigorous debate about the
BOOKREVIEWS
307
nature of mental abnormality is totally ignored. The very title of the book indicates that an ‘illness model’ is adapted throughout. The book claims to focus on nursing models of care. This seems an inaccurate use of the term ‘nursing model’ which here describes a structure for nursing widely referred to as the nursing process or process of nursing. Surely a nursing model should encompass a summary description or explanation of the content of nursing, not just its structure. The book is written at a very simple uncritical level. Contentious ideas are presented as facts and controversial issues about the nature of psychiatric nursing and the state of psychiatric nursing knowledge are not discussed. There is virtually no discussion about the causes of the various problems such as phobias, obsessions etc. dealt with in each chapter. Some references are used but the book is not fully referenced or research-based. In all chapters a standard nursing assessment interview schedule is used. It would be helpful to know how, for what purpose and by whom it was developed. Although its format is an improvement on the typical admission kardex, it is by no means comprehensive enough to constitute a complete nursing assessment. It is also doubtful whether a single format is appropriate for all types of psychiatric patients. Each chapter contains a plan of care for a hypothetical patient, part of which claims to be the objectives of care. In fact these do not describe a desired outcome or change in the patient’s affect or behaviour. Instead they are written as vague aims, e.g. to accept the patient and provide a supportive relationship, to promote the patient’s psychological and physical case etc. These are the sort of hackneyed phrases that have always appeared in nursing notes and which because of their lack of specificity usually result in total inaction. There are several minor irritations. In the illustrations the nurses are usually in uniform and the patients look old and drab. The expression double-blind is used when double-bind would be correct. The text refers to the Mental Health (Amendment) Act 1982, which has now been superseded by the Mental Health Act 1983. Despite many criticisms, the book does represent a move towards a style which shows nursing problems and nursing actions as different from medical diagnosis and treatments. The A4 format and the layout are attractive, the price is modest and it is easy and interesting to read. The book will be useful for general learners undergoing psychiatric experience. It will also be useful for psychiatric nursing learners as an introductory text. It is not written at a sufficiently advanced level to make it suitable for post-basic or undergraduate study. JULIAI. BROOKING,B.SC.,R.M.N.,S.R.N.,Dip.N.
Maternity and Neonatal Care. Hazel Ball, Margaret Beacroft and Elizabeth Davies-Johns. Essentials of Nursing series. Macmillan, London (1983). Price f10 (hardback), f2.95 (paperback). One of a set of six books. This slim but sturdy book is attractively presented, with a plentiful supply of relevant headings which make quick reference easy.