The Ailing Spine: A holistic approach to rehabilitation

The Ailing Spine: A holistic approach to rehabilitation

- Help with Your Project A guide for students of health care by Dianne Owen and Moya Davis. Edward Arnold, Sevenoaks, 1991 (lS8N 0 340 55270 0). Illu...

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Help with Your Project A guide for students of health care by Dianne Owen and Moya Davis. Edward Arnold, Sevenoaks, 1991 (lS8N 0 340 55270 0). Illus. 71 pages. f Z95.

This is a n interesting and useful contribution for those engaged at the early stage of project work. The authors have set out the clear objective to help health care students at both pre- and post-qualification level, to plan, implement and present a simple research project. Dianne Owen is a professional researcher and Moya Davis is a lecturer and nurse. The guide is prepared in nine chapters. The first four chapters consider the study research strategy and general research groundwork and methods, in order to lay the firm foundation from which to develop a project. The last five chapters act as a guide to the development of the subsequent stages of the project. The areas covered in this book are carefully worded to be of maximal value to those readers who require detailed guidance and fundamental levels of support in developing such a project. The style of presentation supports this concept. Each chapter begins with a checklist of the groundwork which is covered in the chapter. Throughout there are action boxes, describing tasks which should be completed and at the end of each chapter there is a summary of the material covered. This book proved to be extremely useful, interesting arid readable. There is no doubt that the reader who works zhrough this text should be able to achieve the overall aim of the study guide and have completed a simple research project to a satisfactory standard. I would certainly recommend that this text should be included in the prescribed booklet for any undergraduate course in health care which has the requirement for students to undertake a n independent project. Sandra Myles MEd BA MCSP

of each chapter, more complex case studies and suggested responses and a very comprehensive glossary. The twelth chapter, American Health Care Environment Beyond 1990, outlines the problems in health care which need to be overcome describing many of the issues facing health care managers in the NHS. The intervening ten chapters provide a comprehensive overview of management principles, relating them to physical therapy practice. The first two of these chapters cover organisations, structure and principles and personnel management theory, discussing employee motivation and principles of negotiation. Chapter 4 discusses the role of the professional manager and describes methods of recruitment and retention, personnel development and performance appraisal. The fifth chapter, on fiscal management, provides valuable insight into the financial management of a department or practice with examples of budget sheets and planning strategies. There are chapters on reimbursement

and documentation, reinforcing the importance of the latter; facilities planning, outlining a most useful planning process for new or converted premises; and values and ethics. Chapter 7 provides a most comprehensive guide to planning, goal setting and service evaluation, including the principles behind policy and procedure writing. Marketing is covered by chapter 9 which discusses market analysis and strategies relating them to current trends in health care. This excellent book should be on the book shelves of all physiotherapy managers wherever they work from private practice to independent hospitals via the NHS, and should be available for reference in all physiotherapy departments and schools of physiotherapy. As a learning tool it will provide a n excellent basis for clinical physiotherapists wishing to explore management principles and for managers it will provide excellent guidance and support for the new climate in which we work. Susan E Jackson MCSP

The Ailing Spine: A holistic approach to rehabilitation

factors are discussed, covering posture, analysis of sports and a useful table of phasic and tonic muscles (page 294). Good clear photo@’aphs show techniques and the text clarifies the need f i r practical training. A chapter on stretch techiiiques and self therapy gives the basic exercises for home practice. The majority of the references are in German, with a few English papers. The translation from German results in long complex sentences which are difficult to follow and it is not a n easy book to read, especially the earlier chapters. The layout, tables and boxed sentences are clear and understandable, however. This is a book for physiotherapists, not patients, who wish to coflirm their ‘whole person’ approach to treating their patients, and would be suitable addition to a reference library. Jane M Kember MCSP

by Hans Tilscher and Manfred Eder. SpringerVsrlag, Heidelberg, 1991 (lS8N 3 540 53008 8). Illus. 156 oaaes. 98 DM. .

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The authors of this book, both doctors at Austrian universities, state in the preface that their point of view encompasses ‘the whole person, his health and illnesses in all respects’. The scope of the book covers lifestyle, diet, reaction to weather conditions and the M factor. The latter stands for ‘man’ including personality, character traits and intelligence. ‘To become healthy and to remain healthy require a certain amount of intelligence and willpower’. This is frequently a strong factor in rehabilitation, but is difficult to define, as many of us have found with observation of recovery time and patient compliance. Alterable environmental and physical

Management Principles for Physical Therapists

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by Larry Nosse PT MA and Deborah G Friberg PT MEA. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, 1991 (ISBN 0 683 06576 9). Illus. 307 pages. f31.

This hardback book is the result of a management course which has been delivered to and revised by new undergraduates in physiotherapy education in the USA; parts of this course have also been delivered to new graduates. In the first chapter the authors describe the American health care environment and this provides interesting insight into philosophies behind the current changes in the National Health Service. The followingten chapters are designed with an introductory overview of the contents of the chapter and well-laid-out contents with a liberal use of figures, tables and examples throughout the text. Each chapter ends with a summary, followed by one or more case studies and a useful list of references. The appendices provide responses to the case studies at the end

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Psyche and muscle tone - locomotor suppression after emotional agitation leads to muscular tension. A drawing fkom ‘The Ailing Spine’

Physlotherapy,May 1992, vol78, no5