Current Issues in Nursing

From The Critics

Reviewer: Christine R. Curran, MSN, RN, CNA(Pennsylvania State University)
Description: This fifth edition of Current Issues in Nursing features 11 sections covering definitions of nursing, changing information, changing education, changing practice, quality improvement, governance, healthcare systems, healthcare costs, role transitions, cultural diversity, and ethical and legal issues. This edition contains 52 new chapters, 39 updated chapters, and one reprint. Each section is organized with an overview, a debate chapter, and multiple viewpoint chapters.
Purpose: The purpose of this book is to provide a forum for knowledgeable debate on important issues in nursing, in order that nurses might make intelligent decisions about these issues. This goal is an essential one to move the nursing profession forward. The multiple viewpoints and the debate chapters contain a rich diversity of ideas to stimulate critical reflection by the reader.
Audience: The target audiences are senior undergraduate and graduate students as well as those interested in the profession of nursing. The text would be appropriate for use in a nursing issues course. The list of authors is impressive. The authors are highly qualified to write on their topics and are national as well as international.
Features: The most useful feature of this book is the layout. Each section contains one topic discussed from multiple viewpoints. Some ideas are radical, e.g., according to Pesut, Herman, and Fowler (Chapter 12), the nursing process may actually impede the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills, while others are extensions of more common beliefs or practices. References, as well as black-and-white illustrations, range from none to very extensive and depend on the particular author. An author index would have been helpful.
Assessment: This book includes pertinent and timely issues for the nurse. Critical issues such as information management, location and quality of care, development of nursing expertise, governance structures, and the ethics of health care are all explicated. For anyone who desires to understand the current issues faced by nurses, I would highly recommend this book.

Christine R. Curran

This fifth edition of Current Issues in Nursing features 11 sections covering definitions of nursing, changing information, changing education, changing practice, quality improvement, governance, healthcare systems, healthcare costs, role transitions, cultural diversity, and ethical and legal issues. This edition contains 52 new chapters, 39 updated chapters, and one reprint. Each section is organized with an overview, a debate chapter, and multiple viewpoint chapters. The purpose of this book is to provide a forum for knowledgeable debate on important issues in nursing, in order that nurses might make intelligent decisions about these issues. This goal is an essential one to move the nursing profession forward. The multiple viewpoints and the debate chapters contain a rich diversity of ideas to stimulate critical reflection by the reader. The target audiences are senior undergraduate and graduate students as well as those interested in the profession of nursing. The text would be appropriate for use in a nursing issues course. The list of authors is impressive. The authors are highly qualified to write on their topics and are national as well as international. The most useful feature of this book is the layout. Each section contains one topic discussed from multiple viewpoints. Some ideas are radical, e.g., according to Pesut, Herman, and Fowler (Chapter 12), the nursing process may actually impede the acquisition of clinical reasoning skills, while others are extensions of more common beliefs or practices. References, as well as black-and-white illustrations, range from none to very extensive and depend on the particular author. An author index would havebeen helpful. This book includes pertinent and timely issues for the nurse. Critical issues such as information management, location and quality of care, development of nursing expertise, governance structures, and the ethics of health care are all explicated. For anyone who desires to understand the current issues faced by nurses, I would highly recommend this book.

Booknews

The second edition was 1985. Provides a forum for debate on issues of concern to nurses. The issues are identified and addressed in 12 sections; each section includes an overview, a debate chapter, and several viewpoint chapters. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

3 Stars from Doody