Its a long time ago now since I last read a textbook, however, what I do remember is finding them more or less stultifying. Each chapter contained pages and pages of impenetrable prose ending with several broadly phrased questions which, in order to answer them, meant going back over the same dull reading to try and extract a few salient points.
In comparison, Clinical Judgement and Decision Making in Nursing is an altogether revolutionary kind of textbook. Far from inhibiting the inquisitive mind, it stimulates the readers neural networks right from the start with chapters brimming with short case studies which feature ordinary people facing everyday situations in a medical setting.
The essential learning points are there for students to discern for themselves, which is by far the best way to retain knowledge. In the event that some may struggle, the main points are identified in each set of circumstances and succinctly stated to reinforce and enhance understanding of specific issues.
Overall, the book could arguably be put forward as a landmark in teaching prospective nurses the importance and value of adhering to NMC standards of practice and personal behaviour. It is also a significant tool in the raising of awareness amongst all medical professionals of the vital role a registered nurse plays in the daily life of us mortals as we hurtle toward our inevitable fate.
-- Annie Hitchman
This is a truly excellent book. The style of writing will appeal to readers of all levels within the nursing profession. The author has cleverly written as if talking to the reader using examples from both nursing, university life as a student or within life in general. Using these examples captures the readers attention because they are interesting and pose questions that can be applied within nursing or within their everyday lives. Linking the NMC Standards for Pre-Registration Nursing Education domains to each chapter is also very helpful to both students and academic staff. Students need to understand the domains and having this theory linked, highlighted and applied will enable this understanding. It will also help them in their assessment of clinical practice.
I particularly liked the chapter on standardised clinical decision making. This is very pertinent to the world of nursing where so often assessment tools are used as checklists and not as they should be. It highlights the importance of evidence based practice and gives helpful links to that evidence. The case example where the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was introduced was one that many mental health practitioners come across and highlighted the many advantages of using this particular tool.
Although this book focuses on nurses, I believe that it would be very useful within other areas of healthcare professions. It would be particularly useful to doctors who have trained in some overseas countries where they have not been encouraged, as part of their undergraduate and postgraduate medical education to consider how they make decisions or to challenge the robustness of the evidence.
Overall I would highly recommend this book. Congratulations to the author.
-- Susan Plummer * Unpublished review *
