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Learning human skills
BOOK
REVIEWS
Food for Thought: A Parent’s Intolerance 2nd Edition hlaurcen hIinchin ( Word University- Press I986 “50pp kY3.95
Guide to Food
On tlx whole. this is a well presented and informative book. ~l’he content of the first 74 pages is a littlc 1onfusing at times and rather dogmatic in one OI two 1ilaccs: this could lead some parents, who had given prepared milk formula to their babies in infaric y, towards a guilt complex and feeling of I;tilurc as they had not succeeded in breast feeding lijr considrrablc period of time. This is to some c’xtent put into perspective in Chapter 7. Ch,iptcrs IO to 20 are very good, providing practical assessment and management which can c,asily be grasped; these chapters are much less confusing in content than the earlier ones and a lot of parents will probably read these first. l‘iiere is a very useful glossary as there are quite a f&v terms which I suspect the average mother would not understand. ‘I‘hr resources information is very good, particularly fbr those who wished to become more invrol1-l-d in the research aspects of allergies.
International Dictionary Biology Sidney I Landau et al \t’ilcy 198ti 3300 pp A285.00
of Medicine
and
‘l’his three volume dictionary is the culmination of 10 years of research and development by an impressive range of advisory editors and contributors who drc leaders in their fields. It is the first new major medical dictionary to published in 20 years, and contains 160 000 definitions. It is easy to use and includes up-to-date terminis well bound, and should stand up to the olog~, rigours of use as a reference source. It is expensive. but the price reflects the time and effort put into it by so many people; sadly, it may bc beyond the reach of many nurse education libraries. If the money is available, it is a collection of lrooks worth considering purchasing. NIWLA
JANE Sr~rrisss
BA RGN HC’Cert R.V’T
Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations hlarilyn Fuller Delorig Quest klcridien 1986 314 pp ,,&l7.45 \\‘hilst the practice of usin? abbrcv i;ctic ,u~; ia pot(~ritiall\ very dangerous and should lx% dis~~ournqctl. one has to accept their prescncc. A I~ook yctting out their meanings thcrcfore has potential. ‘1 his 1~~1, does contain numc‘rous indirect warnings to tlir, IN’ mc‘rtiof abbreviations. c.4. A(: has 15 altcrriativc, ings. and PE has IO. Howcvrr, I feel that 1 cannot rccx)mmcnd a Irook Mhich contains a wealth of rcfcrcn~es like: Bf:\ backac.hr; Plor Ilowcrs; OJ orany? jr1ic.t‘; ‘I‘LIB too man\birthdays! Unfortunatcl~ inany 01’ tlrc abbreviations are prculiar to the I:S:\. Nrc 01 \ J,\Sl, s 11~.1’111.\1 IL1 K(?‘.d. EIl T.‘r,.l I? 2T
Learning Human Skills P Burnard Hcinemann hsIcdic.al 1985 157 pp lilus ~7.95 ‘I’his book provides a us&l ititrctduction to ttic development of human skills: it is dividrd into t\\o parts. Part I introduces c’onccpts ot‘ sclt~awarcnr~cs and c.xpcrimental Irarnin,g. Part I I prrscnts a rarigc of practical escrcisrs for dcvclopirig human
Heron’s six category intervention analysis is used as the theoretical framework for the exercises. This in my opinion, represents both a weakness and a strength. ‘I‘he framework is too tight, could he unduly constricting and gives the impression that it is the only possible approach. ‘I’he advantage is that, because the teaching of human skills is complex, the inexperienced tcachcr gets a simple manual, a map to encourage and guide them through an exciting journey.
nutrition in which develop knowledge to do this.
Themes
nurses do need and expertise.
in Nursing:
Research
cncouragemcnt but this book
to fails
for Practising
Nurses Vera H Darling & Jill Rogers Macmillan 1986 78 pp Illus kg.95 Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics for Nurses 4 W Goode, J P Howard & S Woods Hodder & Stoughton 1985 214 pp Illus L5.95 ‘rherc were only two chapters in this book which I found interesting and enjoyable. These were on ‘Oral or Entcral Feeding’ and ‘Parenteral or Intravenous Feeding’. They both took a practical and could easily stimulate and helpful attitude, nurses to delve deeper. The other chapters used a framework whereby each diet discussed used the same format; the aim of the diet was followed by ‘Relevant Drugs’, and a section called ‘Important Points’, next an outline of ‘General Modifications’ which could bc made to the finally ‘General Observations’. ‘I’his usual menu, format sounded hopeful, but in practice it just did not work. It resulted in cstremely superficial accounts and tedious repetition. I am unsure how nurses or teachers could use this book. If they attempt to read it from cover to cover aiming to increase their knowledge of clinical nutrition, it is too repetitious. Yet. if they were to consult one aspect of it, say, for rxample, a patient requiring a low purine diet, the account would be far too superficial and they would need to look elsewhere to gain the knowledge and background to make responsible nursing decisions. Generally, the approach taken was prescriptive with minimal rationale or backup. It was neither analytical nor discursive and no reference was made to research either from nursing or clsewhcre. ‘I’he earlier chapters create an image of the nurse as a constantly vigilant and watchful checker, pcrsistcntly frisking relatives alld searching lockers for forbidden food. ‘I’hc number of times the italic print reminded the nurse to refer to the doctor and dictician irritated me. ‘l’he illustrations were unhelpful and conf&ing and in many cases unrelated to the text. ‘I’hcrc arc man!stimulating aspects of clinical
‘l’hc authors state clearly that this book is intended both to enable practising nurses to read research reports more effectively and to introduce those considering undertaking research work to the research process. The authors with experience in nursing and nurse education (Darling), and in education and research related to health care (Rogers), seem well qualified to do this. It is short and easy to read; is well set out and indexed, so information is easily obtainable. Its brevity means that discussion in any depth is not possible, but the annotated bibliography is of value to the reader who wants to read further. As an introduction to research it is concise, understandable and comprehensive. The occasional use of summary points is most helpful. Tables and graphs arc used cffectivcly to support and enhance the text. However, the naive illustrations, included to add humour, barely achieve this aim, at the expense of distracting and annoying the rcadcr. ‘I’his book achieves what it sets out to do; it is a valuable reference for nurses starting to read research reports, contemplating doing research or carrymg out an rxtcnded study such as is required for some ENB post basic nursing courses. At Lg.95 the book may appear expensive but it is of value not only for the information presented but it’s excellent bibliography.
Occupational Therapy Approaches Ann Allart Wilcock Churchill Livingstone 1986 235 pp Illus L15.00 Written achieves
for occupational therapy its aim of integrating
to Stroke
students, different
this book techniques
REVIEWS
Food for Thought: A Parent’s Intolerance 2nd Edition hlaurcen hIinchin ( Word University- Press I986 “50pp kY3.95
Guide to Food
On tlx whole. this is a well presented and informative book. ~l’he content of the first 74 pages is a littlc 1onfusing at times and rather dogmatic in one OI two 1ilaccs: this could lead some parents, who had given prepared milk formula to their babies in infaric y, towards a guilt complex and feeling of I;tilurc as they had not succeeded in breast feeding lijr considrrablc period of time. This is to some c’xtent put into perspective in Chapter 7. Ch,iptcrs IO to 20 are very good, providing practical assessment and management which can c,asily be grasped; these chapters are much less confusing in content than the earlier ones and a lot of parents will probably read these first. l‘iiere is a very useful glossary as there are quite a f&v terms which I suspect the average mother would not understand. ‘I‘hr resources information is very good, particularly fbr those who wished to become more invrol1-l-d in the research aspects of allergies.
International Dictionary Biology Sidney I Landau et al \t’ilcy 198ti 3300 pp A285.00
of Medicine
and
‘l’his three volume dictionary is the culmination of 10 years of research and development by an impressive range of advisory editors and contributors who drc leaders in their fields. It is the first new major medical dictionary to published in 20 years, and contains 160 000 definitions. It is easy to use and includes up-to-date terminis well bound, and should stand up to the olog~, rigours of use as a reference source. It is expensive. but the price reflects the time and effort put into it by so many people; sadly, it may bc beyond the reach of many nurse education libraries. If the money is available, it is a collection of lrooks worth considering purchasing. NIWLA
JANE Sr~rrisss
BA RGN HC’Cert R.V’T
Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations hlarilyn Fuller Delorig Quest klcridien 1986 314 pp ,,&l7.45 \\‘hilst the practice of usin? abbrcv i;ctic ,u~; ia pot(~ritiall\ very dangerous and should lx% dis~~ournqctl. one has to accept their prescncc. A I~ook yctting out their meanings thcrcfore has potential. ‘1 his 1~~1, does contain numc‘rous indirect warnings to tlir, IN’ mc‘rtiof abbreviations. c.4. A(: has 15 altcrriativc, ings. and PE has IO. Howcvrr, I feel that 1 cannot rccx)mmcnd a Irook Mhich contains a wealth of rcfcrcn~es like: Bf:\ backac.hr; Plor Ilowcrs; OJ orany? jr1ic.t‘; ‘I‘LIB too man\birthdays! Unfortunatcl~ inany 01’ tlrc abbreviations are prculiar to the I:S:\. Nrc 01 \ J,\Sl, s 11~.1’111.\1 IL1 K(?‘.d. EIl T.‘r,.l I? 2T
Learning Human Skills P Burnard Hcinemann hsIcdic.al 1985 157 pp lilus ~7.95 ‘I’his book provides a us&l ititrctduction to ttic development of human skills: it is dividrd into t\\o parts. Part I introduces c’onccpts ot‘ sclt~awarcnr~cs and c.xpcrimental Irarnin,g. Part I I prrscnts a rarigc of practical escrcisrs for dcvclopirig human
Heron’s six category intervention analysis is used as the theoretical framework for the exercises. This in my opinion, represents both a weakness and a strength. ‘I‘he framework is too tight, could he unduly constricting and gives the impression that it is the only possible approach. ‘I’he advantage is that, because the teaching of human skills is complex, the inexperienced tcachcr gets a simple manual, a map to encourage and guide them through an exciting journey.
nutrition in which develop knowledge to do this.
Themes
nurses do need and expertise.
in Nursing:
Research
cncouragemcnt but this book
to fails
for Practising
Nurses Vera H Darling & Jill Rogers Macmillan 1986 78 pp Illus kg.95 Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics for Nurses 4 W Goode, J P Howard & S Woods Hodder & Stoughton 1985 214 pp Illus L5.95 ‘rherc were only two chapters in this book which I found interesting and enjoyable. These were on ‘Oral or Entcral Feeding’ and ‘Parenteral or Intravenous Feeding’. They both took a practical and could easily stimulate and helpful attitude, nurses to delve deeper. The other chapters used a framework whereby each diet discussed used the same format; the aim of the diet was followed by ‘Relevant Drugs’, and a section called ‘Important Points’, next an outline of ‘General Modifications’ which could bc made to the finally ‘General Observations’. ‘I’his usual menu, format sounded hopeful, but in practice it just did not work. It resulted in cstremely superficial accounts and tedious repetition. I am unsure how nurses or teachers could use this book. If they attempt to read it from cover to cover aiming to increase their knowledge of clinical nutrition, it is too repetitious. Yet. if they were to consult one aspect of it, say, for rxample, a patient requiring a low purine diet, the account would be far too superficial and they would need to look elsewhere to gain the knowledge and background to make responsible nursing decisions. Generally, the approach taken was prescriptive with minimal rationale or backup. It was neither analytical nor discursive and no reference was made to research either from nursing or clsewhcre. ‘I’he earlier chapters create an image of the nurse as a constantly vigilant and watchful checker, pcrsistcntly frisking relatives alld searching lockers for forbidden food. ‘I’hc number of times the italic print reminded the nurse to refer to the doctor and dictician irritated me. ‘l’he illustrations were unhelpful and conf&ing and in many cases unrelated to the text. ‘I’hcrc arc man!stimulating aspects of clinical
‘l’hc authors state clearly that this book is intended both to enable practising nurses to read research reports more effectively and to introduce those considering undertaking research work to the research process. The authors with experience in nursing and nurse education (Darling), and in education and research related to health care (Rogers), seem well qualified to do this. It is short and easy to read; is well set out and indexed, so information is easily obtainable. Its brevity means that discussion in any depth is not possible, but the annotated bibliography is of value to the reader who wants to read further. As an introduction to research it is concise, understandable and comprehensive. The occasional use of summary points is most helpful. Tables and graphs arc used cffectivcly to support and enhance the text. However, the naive illustrations, included to add humour, barely achieve this aim, at the expense of distracting and annoying the rcadcr. ‘I’his book achieves what it sets out to do; it is a valuable reference for nurses starting to read research reports, contemplating doing research or carrymg out an rxtcnded study such as is required for some ENB post basic nursing courses. At Lg.95 the book may appear expensive but it is of value not only for the information presented but it’s excellent bibliography.
Occupational Therapy Approaches Ann Allart Wilcock Churchill Livingstone 1986 235 pp Illus L15.00 Written achieves
for occupational therapy its aim of integrating
to Stroke
students, different
this book techniques