Opinion
Board’s eye view Staff development OVER THE past year, my emergency department has changed its approach to staff recruitment. We had become concerned that the traditional interviews, in which a small panel of senior staff ask questions of people they have never met before, did not allow us to form judgements about the people we were seeing. Consequently, although we still interview potential recruits, we also hold scenario-based discussions with them. The scenarios vary according to the positions we recruit to but, generally, there are no correct answers to the problems we raise because we are more interested in how people approach them. As we have interviewed our own staff for promotion, their responses to scenarios have tended to match their workplace behaviour. Not only is this encouraging from a recruitment point of view, it also raises the possibility that scenario‑based discussions can form part of personal development. Most emergency nurses will be familiar with simulated scenario‑based learning in specific areas, such as advanced life support, but we could develop such learning in other important areas. Non-technical and situational awareness skills that are crucial to expert practice and good teamwork are usually developed incrementally, almost by a form of osmosis. Our challenge is to build this sort of learning into scenarios that test and encourage staff, and thereby enhance their development. We should incorporate these ideas into other clinical areas to develop emergency nurses who are confident in their abilities to tackle all of the presentations that they are likely to encounter. Andrew Rideout is an advanced nurse practitioner in the emergency department at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, and a member of the Emergency Nurse editorial advisory board
12 May 2015 | Volume 23 | Number 2
Reviews Ethics for Nurses: Theory and Practice Pam Cranmer and Jean Nhemachena Open University Press £19.99 | 232pp ISBN: 9780335241651 NURSING STUDENTS preparing to qualify and experienced practitioners who want to improve their nursing practice can learn from this book. The book takes readers on a signposted journey through a range of subjects and issues. It begins by stating that all nurses need a basic understanding of ethics and ethical nursing
Theories Guiding Nursing Research and Practice Joyce Fitzpatrick and Geraldine McCarthy Springer £41.93 | 384pp ISBN: 9780836164049 COMBINING IN one volume the work of nursing theorists on both sides of the Atlantic, this book on the application of theories to clinical practice is based on courses taught by the editors and their collaborators to doctoral students.
Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics is Fueling our Modern Plagues Martin Blaser Picador £8.74 | 288pp ISBN: 9780805098105 THE AUTHOR of this book argues that an over‑reliance on medical treatments, ranging from antibiotics to caesarean sections, are leading to a global plague. He links the rise in incidence of conditions, such as asthma, allergies and ulcerative colitis, to evolutionary
practice. It then discusses the background to ethical care and the consequences of nurses’ actions, as well as important issues such as accountability, fairness and respect in care, and patient autonomy and dignity. The book also addresses the nature of ethical research. Throughout the book, ethical theory is considered and explored as part of nursing practice, never as something separate. This is a useful introduction to ethics in nursing. It helps to encourage reflection and should facilitate discussion on a range of important issues at the heart of nursing. Marc Cornock is a senior lecturer in law at the Open University
Eighteen chapters cover individual theoretical approaches, while introductory and concluding sections explain the importance of theoretical frameworks in the development of practice and research settings. While some of the theories, such as that of human caring and transformational leadership, will be familiar to many readers in the UK, others cover new territory. Story therapy, for example, encourages patients to express accounts of their health issues, and work towards resolutions. John Adams is an honorary research associate at the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin
factors. He also explains his belief that climate change, and global travel and trade, will have severe health consequences. On the one hand, microbes are agents for good health; on the other, they cause illness. Will the overuse of antibiotics and decline of vital bacteria be the downfall of the human race? How should health service staff respond? We used to say children who were allowed to get dirty developed their own immunity. This book suggests this is true and that society’s obsession with cleanliness is doing more harm than good. Valerie McGurk is a practice development nurse in paediatrics at Northampton General Hospital EMERGENCY NURSE
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Board’s eye view Staff development OVER THE past year, my emergency department has changed its approach to staff recruitment. We had become concerned that the traditional interviews, in which a small panel of senior staff ask questions of people they have never met before, did not allow us to form judgements about the people we were seeing. Consequently, although we still interview potential recruits, we also hold scenario-based discussions with them. The scenarios vary according to the positions we recruit to but, generally, there are no correct answers to the problems we raise because we are more interested in how people approach them. As we have interviewed our own staff for promotion, their responses to scenarios have tended to match their workplace behaviour. Not only is this encouraging from a recruitment point of view, it also raises the possibility that scenario‑based discussions can form part of personal development. Most emergency nurses will be familiar with simulated scenario‑based learning in specific areas, such as advanced life support, but we could develop such learning in other important areas. Non-technical and situational awareness skills that are crucial to expert practice and good teamwork are usually developed incrementally, almost by a form of osmosis. Our challenge is to build this sort of learning into scenarios that test and encourage staff, and thereby enhance their development. We should incorporate these ideas into other clinical areas to develop emergency nurses who are confident in their abilities to tackle all of the presentations that they are likely to encounter. Andrew Rideout is an advanced nurse practitioner in the emergency department at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, and a member of the Emergency Nurse editorial advisory board
12 May 2015 | Volume 23 | Number 2
Reviews Ethics for Nurses: Theory and Practice Pam Cranmer and Jean Nhemachena Open University Press £19.99 | 232pp ISBN: 9780335241651 NURSING STUDENTS preparing to qualify and experienced practitioners who want to improve their nursing practice can learn from this book. The book takes readers on a signposted journey through a range of subjects and issues. It begins by stating that all nurses need a basic understanding of ethics and ethical nursing
Theories Guiding Nursing Research and Practice Joyce Fitzpatrick and Geraldine McCarthy Springer £41.93 | 384pp ISBN: 9780836164049 COMBINING IN one volume the work of nursing theorists on both sides of the Atlantic, this book on the application of theories to clinical practice is based on courses taught by the editors and their collaborators to doctoral students.
Missing Microbes: How the Overuse of Antibiotics is Fueling our Modern Plagues Martin Blaser Picador £8.74 | 288pp ISBN: 9780805098105 THE AUTHOR of this book argues that an over‑reliance on medical treatments, ranging from antibiotics to caesarean sections, are leading to a global plague. He links the rise in incidence of conditions, such as asthma, allergies and ulcerative colitis, to evolutionary
practice. It then discusses the background to ethical care and the consequences of nurses’ actions, as well as important issues such as accountability, fairness and respect in care, and patient autonomy and dignity. The book also addresses the nature of ethical research. Throughout the book, ethical theory is considered and explored as part of nursing practice, never as something separate. This is a useful introduction to ethics in nursing. It helps to encourage reflection and should facilitate discussion on a range of important issues at the heart of nursing. Marc Cornock is a senior lecturer in law at the Open University
Eighteen chapters cover individual theoretical approaches, while introductory and concluding sections explain the importance of theoretical frameworks in the development of practice and research settings. While some of the theories, such as that of human caring and transformational leadership, will be familiar to many readers in the UK, others cover new territory. Story therapy, for example, encourages patients to express accounts of their health issues, and work towards resolutions. John Adams is an honorary research associate at the Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin
factors. He also explains his belief that climate change, and global travel and trade, will have severe health consequences. On the one hand, microbes are agents for good health; on the other, they cause illness. Will the overuse of antibiotics and decline of vital bacteria be the downfall of the human race? How should health service staff respond? We used to say children who were allowed to get dirty developed their own immunity. This book suggests this is true and that society’s obsession with cleanliness is doing more harm than good. Valerie McGurk is a practice development nurse in paediatrics at Northampton General Hospital EMERGENCY NURSE
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Jan 31, 2016. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2016 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
