Book Review
Psychiatric Nursing Made Incredibly Easy
ISBN: 1-582552-70-3; 2003; 576 pages; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins;
Margaret McAllister
School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore QLD
This CD-ROM produced in the United States by Springhouse and distributed in Australia by Maclennan and Petty is one in a series of interactive question-and-answer reviews on various nursing topics.
The software is quick to load and very simple to use. The player can choose from three games: 'Endless Lecture', 'Tedious Textbook Torture' or 'Problem Patient'. Each comprises a set of multiple-choice questions and the games differ only in their animations and backgrounds. Users can vary the number of questions in a quiz and monitor their progress through a scoring metre at the top right corner of the screen. When users begin, the screen changes to show a multiple-choice question with a hint section. To answer, users simply move their mouse onto the relevant letter and click and they will receive instant feedback and a mildly annoying animation such as a voice bubble over a teacher praising the correct student with 'Good Job!'. As I discovered, correct answers are met with silent animated praise, but watch out if you're wrong! The animation turns mean.
While the content of the questions and answers is identifiably North American, the little case scenarios which precede the question remain relevant and challenging. Typically, though, the questions are problem and disorder focused and for me this effectively reduces nursing work to diagnostic and treatment management. I find it also disconcerting that the three games are named in such negative ways. It would seem that these authors find it amusing to push the old adage of 'the problem patient'. Furthermore, for $77 one should be able to find better value for money in CD-ROM technology. Certainly my five-year-old child has educational games with more variety and options for interactions. But, if you're looking for a tool to help you review your psychiatric knowledge and you've got 25 MB of hard disk space free, then this is a reliable resource to add to your library.
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