MEDIA REVIEWS

Interpersonal Communication and

Psychology for Health Care Professionals

by Dev M. Rungapadiachy. Butterworth

Heinemann, Oxford, 1998, 288 pages,

£19á99, ISBN 0 750 64080 4.

This book was published in 1999 with the

explicit aim of ®lling a perceived gap in the

market. The rationale for combining the

subjects of psychology and interpersonal

skills in one book is that the former

provides essential foundation for the latter.

Other textbooks in this area concentrate on

psychology, perhaps with a chapter or two

on interpersonal skills, or they do a good

job in dealing with interpersonal skills

with very little theoretical underpinning.

This is a largish paperback that aims to

achieve both. It is divided into three

sections. The ®rst two sections deal with

intrapersonal and interpersonal factors that

in¯uence communication and there is a

strong emphasis on self awareness through-

out. They contain good introductory chap-

ters on the major theoretical perspectives in

psychology applied to interpersonal rela-

tionships. The third section focuses on

interpersonal skills in practice and

includes chapters on particular types of

skills, models and interventions.

I have already recommended this book

to students over the last year, and the

feedback I have received is favourable. The

book is well set out and clearly explained

with examples and applications relating to

all the major areas of nursing. It is a good

introduction that is suitable for preregis-

tration diploma and degree students,

though it does not have the depth required

for Level 3.

I think the author has made his point:

interpersonal skills are psychology and it

would be inappropriate to try to teach the

skills without the theory. The book is a

one-stop resource for the practice and

theory of interpersonal skills and I will

continue recommending it to students.

David Shaw

RN MA(Educ) MSc(Psych)

Principal Lecturer

Faculty of Health Studies

Buckinghamshire College

Buckingham

England

Pharmacology: an Open Learning Intro-

duction for Healthcare Workers by John

Sneddon. The Open Learning Foundation

and Radcliffe Medical Press, Oxford, 1999,

78 pages, £19á50, ISBN 185775 431 X.

I have often wished that I could write a

short study guide to pharmacology for

nurses. Had I had undertaken this then I

wish that I had written this one. Unlike

many books on pharmacology for nurses,

this one actually deals with pharmacology

and is not simply another formulary. After

reading this and completing the activities

the reader really should have a grasp of

what drugs do in terms of kinetics and

dynamics. This leads to a genuine under-

standing of drug action, routes of admin-

istration and what can go wrong. This is a

superior way to learn pharmacology than

rote learning about groups of drugs, their

effects and side-effects ± which is the

usual way. With the advent of nurse

prescribing, however limited, there is a

real need for high quality publications in

pharmacology at this level and the present

text ful®ls this.

There are some minor irritations about

the book. For instance, it is described as

being for health care workers and the

content is explicitly and solely aimed at

nurses. Nurses are also referred to as

female. The credentials of the author and

the editor (Nan Stalker) are not provided

and this, in addition to some confusion

about who the book is aimed, raises the

issue of who it is written by. Nevertheless,

these are very minor points about this

excellent book which I recommend as a

guide to study and for the design of

introductory courses in pharmacology for

nurses.

Roger Watson

Media Reviews Editor

Venous Leg Ulcers: a Guide for Patients

and Caregivers (video). Family Health

Media, Charlottesville, USA, 21 min,

US$99á00.

The positive and empowering message at

the core of this programme makes it a

particularly attractive and useful video. So

often venous ulceration is seen by patients

and health care providers alike as a frus-

trating and dif®cult problem to be endured

rather than as a challenge to be met and

mastered: this video redresses the balance.

The nature of chronic venous insuf®ciency

is explained beautifully, giving the client

suf®cient understanding of the physiolo-

gical problems that the treatment regime

needs to address. The diagnostic process,

including a demonstration of duplex ultra-

sound scanning is shown, allowing the

client to appreciate the easy, noninvasive

nature of the assessment required to deter-

mine ulcer type.

An holistic approach is emphasized

throughout the video and `real' clients

are used to illustrate key points. The three

self care activities of daily compression,

exercise that uses the calf pump and

elevation of the legs above heart level form

a core message. In addition, topics such as

nutrition, footwear, weight control, pre-

vention of damage, and the importance of

moisturizing, are included. The video

deals with the actual concerns of clients,

for example, pain, fears about the nature of

the wound, and concerns about employ-

ment. Each of these is dealt with and the

realistic message is reinforced that these

ulcers take time to heal and require a

lifelong commitment to a self care routine

and cooperation with the health care

professional. Costing US$99á00, and avail-

able in a variety of formats (PAL/VHS) it

represents excellent value for money.

Linda Husband

Lecturer

School of Nursing

University of Hull

Hull

England

Intensive Care Nursing: a Framework for

Practice by Philip Woodrow. Taylor and

Francis, Hampshire, 2000, 576 pages,

£30á00, ISBN 0 415 18456 8.

This comprehensive, clear and clinically

focused text is aimed at nurses 6±12

months into their intensive care careers.

Furthermore, the author suggests that

Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2000, 32(5), 1307±1312

Ó 2000 Blackwell Science Ltd 1307

readers should be quali®ed nurses with

experience of caring for ventilated

patients. I believe this text should have a

much wider readership. In addition to

becoming a standard text for students

undertaking any critical care course and

as a reference book on the shelves of

critical care units, it will be of value to

many nurses caring for critically ill or

highly dependent patients outside the

intensive care unit.

The text is divided into four logically

structured parts. In part 1, Fundamental

Aspects, there is an exploration of funda-

mental patient-focused issues. Part 2,

Monitoring, concentrates on the technical

knowledge necessary to care for patients.

Part 3, Pathophysiology and Treatment,

examines some of the common reasons for

admission to intensive care and describes

treatments that might be implemented. In

the ®nal part, Developing Practice, the

author considers how nurses might use

their knowledge and skills to develop

nursing practice. Throughout the book,

Jane Roe's excellent clinical scenarios

enable the reader to relate new learning

to practice.

Importantly, the author did not scribe a

text intended to be a de®nitive book on

intensive care nursing. Philip Woodrow

clearly states that this book will only

achieve its main objective if it encourages

debate among nurses. This book should

certainly stimulate debate and I would

advise all libraries and intensive care units

to acquire a copy of this book.

Leslie Gelling

BSc MA RGN

Research Nurse

Academic Neurosurgery Unit

University of Cambridge

Cambridge

England

Nursing Administration in the 21st

Century: A Self-Care Theory Approach by

Sarah E. Allison and Katherine E.

McLaughlin-Renpenning. Sage, London,

1999, 298 pages, £21á00, ISBN 0 761

91456 0.

This book is not about nursing administra-

tion or nursing management. This book

illustrates a mental model of nursing

which nursing administration can use to

structure and develop nursing practice and

the delivery of nursing services. Examples

are given to allow nursing administration

to communicate with health care adminis-

trators, physicians, third-party payers and

the public about patient/client require-

ments for nursing.

The ®rst chapter reviews the health care

service organization and identi®es trends

as we enter the 21st century. The second

chapter presents models used to illustrate

the role and responsibilities of patients/

clients and their caregivers in managing

health-related matters. The self-care de®cit

nursing theory facilitates the description

of articulation between health care models

and nursing responsibilities. Subsequent

chapters include such topics as: The

Process of Administration, The Clinical

Communication System, Quality Control

and Fiscal Management.

The purpose of this book, according to

the authors, is to present both theoretical

and practical considerations for ensuring

the provision of nursing in the 21st

century. A premise of this book is that

leadership from nursing administration is

essential if substantive changes in nursing

practice are to be made. Nursing adminis-

trators as leaders are responsible for exam-

ining nursing situations involving patient

populations, designing and developing

nursing systems of care, and planning to

ensure that essential and desirable opera-

tions of nursing practice are carried out.

This book, which emphasizes the theoret-

ical framework of self care de®cit nursing

theory, provides a comprehensive guide

for nursing professionals and nursing

administrators.

Bonnie Saucier

PhD RN

Dean and Professor

Indiana State University School of Nursing

Terre Hauto

Indiana

USA

Making Sense of Practice Finance, 3rd

edition, edited by John Dean. Radcliffe

Medical Press, Oxford, 2000, 249 pages,

£19á95, ISBN 1 857 75331 3.

Amid the increasing ®nancial complexity

of general medical practice, the NHS still

clings to the principle that GPs are inde-

pendent contractors. Consequently, NHS

GPs depend uniquely on their own ®nan-

cial competence for professional survival.

Much of what they need is in this practical

guide. Although half the chapters are

undeveloped outlines, it provides a work-

ing understanding of how GPs are paid,

and how they should be recording,

tracking and controlling the practice

®nance. Book-keeping, taxation, and the

rights of practice partners to draw on

partnership income are discussed with

examples. Brief coverage of cars, spouses

and pensions are included, plus advice on

not putting more money than necessary

into computers.

All sections are cognisant of the varying

types and sizes of practice, and the ®nan-

cial impact of Primary Care Groups is

clearly explained. However, the chapter

on women professionals is an outdated

idea, especially when it fails to con®rm its

patronizing remark that `Female doctors

experience¼®nancial and management

problems speci®c to their sex'. For

example: `Female GPs are unable to obtain

tax relief for the cost of engaging people to

look after their children'. So are male GPs!

The old stand-up jokes about solicitors

are also ill-judged, and some readers will

wince at the suggested reasons for

choosing between an inner city practice

and a rural one.

A useful book for practice managers, but

of limited effectiveness for reading-up on

focused topics, because some chapter titles

(e.g. Partnership Taxation) conceal wider

content, and not all are cross-referenced to

overlapping ones where the reader would

®nd additional detail or examples. Its

nonreference status is demonstrated by

the crucial topic of tax self-assessment,

where coverage totals two sentences refer-

ring the reader to unspeci®ed `specialist

literature'.

Angela C. Grainger

MA RGN RSCN DipN(Lond) RCNT FETC

MRSH

Senior Nurse Manager,

Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust

Blackpool

England

Couples in Care and Custody edited by

Pamela J. Taylor and Tom Swan. Butter-

worth Heinemann, Oxford, 1999, 240

pages, £22á50 (paperback), ISBN 0 75063

618 1.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That users

of psychiatric services desire and have

Media reviews

1308 Ó 2000 Blackwell Science Ltd, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 32(5), 1307±1312