Challenging Ideas in Psychiatric Nursing

Karen Lee Fontaine

This is a philosophical approach to both the definition of psychiatric nursing and the nature, origin, and significance of mental illness within society. The purpose is to provide one particular point of view of psychiatric nursing. While other views are acknowledged, they are beyond the purpose of this work. I believe this is a welcome addition to the ongoing controversy regarding the philosophical premises of nursing in general, and psychiatric nursing specifically. The author states that the text is of ""some relevance to nurses generally."" I find that it is most appropriate for the graduate level of nursing education. While the arguments should be of interest to technical nurses and generalist nurses, the level of discussion is beyond this basic level of preparation. Graduate students and nurse practitioners will find this presentation thought-provoking and challenging. One of the main themes of this text is how we, as nurses, can avoid being seduced by modern neurobiology into believing that technology and drugs are the mainstay of nursing interventions. The author argues convincingly that we must continue to focus our attention on clients' relationships and experiences in living in the real world. I particularly enjoyed his challenge to the current buzz-phrase of ""evidence-based practice."" He states that efforts to restrict nursing research to quantitative approaches may lead to the avoidance of nursing interventions which may be valuable for qualitative reasons. Evidence-based thinking suggests that it is not enough to simply help people, one must also provide evidence to that effect. In terms of psychiatric nursing, evidence-based practice ignores the uniqueness ofone-to-one therapeutic relationships. The author argues that we need both quantitative and qualitative research to support the decisions made by psychiatric nurses. The text is written at a high reading level and some people may be put off by the complex sentence structure and the formal language. I found myself having to reread some sentences to make certain I had comprehended accurately. I believe this book is a thought-provoking challenge to nurses in terms of finally coming to an agreement about the nature of nursing and the clients to whom we are responsible.

From The Critics

Reviewer: Karen Lee Fontaine, RN, MSN(Purdue University)
Description: This is a philosophical approach to both the definition of psychiatric nursing and the nature, origin, and significance of mental illness within society.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide one particular point of view of psychiatric nursing. While other views are acknowledged, they are beyond the purpose of this work. I believe this is a welcome addition to the ongoing controversy regarding the philosophical premises of nursing in general, and psychiatric nursing specifically.
Audience: The author states that the text is of "some relevance to nurses generally." I find that it is most appropriate for the graduate level of nursing education. While the arguments should be of interest to technical nurses and generalist nurses, the level of discussion is beyond this basic level of preparation. Graduate students and nurse practitioners will find this presentation thought-provoking and challenging.
Features: One of the main themes of this text is how we, as nurses, can avoid being seduced by modern neurobiology into believing that technology and drugs are the mainstay of nursing interventions. The author argues convincingly that we must continue to focus our attention on clients' relationships and experiences in living in the real world. I particularly enjoyed his challenge to the current buzz-phrase of "evidence-based practice." He states that efforts to restrict nursing research to quantitative approaches may lead to the avoidance of nursing interventions which may be valuable for qualitative reasons. Evidence-based thinking suggests that it is not enough to simply help people, one must also provide evidence to that effect. In terms of psychiatric nursing, evidence-based practice ignores the uniqueness of one-to-one therapeutic relationships. The author argues that we need both quantitative and qualitative research to support the decisions made by psychiatric nurses. The text is written at a high reading level and some people may be put off by the complex sentence structure and the formal language. I found myself having to reread some sentences to make certain I had comprehended accurately.
Assessment: I believe this book is a thought-provoking challenge to nurses in terms of finally coming to an agreement about the nature of nursing and the clients to whom we are responsible.

5 Stars! from Doody