Book Review
Clinical Judgement and Communication in Nurse Practitioner Practice
Susan K Chase
ISBN: 0-803607-97-0 2004 349 pages FA Davis, Philadelphia
Debra Thoms
Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, NSW Department of Health; Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney NSW
This book is described as being useful throughout a nurse practitioner student's education in that it supplements and supports a range of areas included in education programs. It also considers the philosophical and ethical grounding required around the relationships between nurse practitioners and patients. While the book is very much based on the North American nurse practitioner model and practice, there are elements which are of value and interest to Australian nurses who are either practicing or aspiring to practice as Nurse Practitioners. The aim is predominantly at primary care nurse practitioners with a specific chapter included for acute care nurse practitioners. The acute care nurse practitioner is described as evolving from the nurse practitioner role (p.231).
The book is divided into two units each containing a number of chapters. The first unit looks at the Primary Care Process and includes chapters on the process of clinical judgement, assessment and diagnosis, planning and interventions and documentation. The second considers the Factors that Influence Clinical Judgement providing discussion of clinical judgement in special populations and for acute care nurse practitioners. The initial chapter on Nurse Practitioners and Relationship Centered Care includes a discussion of the Nursing Model of Practice that applies for Nurse Practitioners providing a useful description of how this differs from medical practice. The latter sections providing an overview of the philosophical base and history of nurse practitioners in the United States are of interest with the final chapter on ethics being of value to nurses in general.
The book is well laid out and easy to follow with Chapter outlines included at the commencement of each Chapter. Each chapter closes with a summary of the key issues covered and a detailed reference list. Examples providing perspectives from actual nurse practitioners are included as Words of Wisdom at appropriate locations throughout the book. Also included are Rules of Thumb which provide useful short summaries of key ideas or strategies that can provide support to clinical judgement.
This text provides a useful reference for aspiring nurse practitioners in relation to the theoretical and philosophical base for the role. The broad overview of aspects of the role is a useful reference although a number of the references to guidelines and standards documents are US based.
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