Book Reviews
Fundamentals of Pharmacology: A Text for Nurses and Allied Health Professionals
Alan Galbraith, Shane Bullock & Elizabeth Manias
ISBN: 0-582810-12-4 1997 818 pages Addison-Wesley
Yenna Salamonson
Senior Lecturer, School of Nursing, University of Western Sydney, Sydney NSW
It is only in recent years that pharmacology textbooks have been written for the Australian and New Zealand nurses and other allied health professionals. Now in its second edition, this book is designed specially for the Australia and New Zealand audiences wishing to establish a comprehensive foundation in pharmacology. This book provides the necessary and relevant scientific information for nursing students, nurses and other users of this book to come to grips with the scientific principles of pharmacology. The mechanisms of drug action are discussed following a review of the relevant physiological and pathophysiological processes that are well explained, often with the aid of clear schematic diagrams and illustrations. The text has a strong clinical focus. A variety of issues relevant to the clinicians are covered, ranging from drug storage and drug administration to medication errors. Legal and ethical aspects of drug administration in the Australian and New Zealand contexts are well addressed.
The 69 well-structured chapters are grouped under eight sections. The first three sections contain seventeen chapters, covering general aspects in pharmacology relevant to nurses and other health care workers. Sections four to eight address specific drug groups classified according to their pharmacological effects, an approach not commonly used in the traditional pharmacology text. Each section concludes with an up-to-date reference list drawing mainly on references from Australian and New Zealand sources.
Each chapter, succinctly written, is organised using a set formats: objectives, contents and, when appropriate, discussion points, clinical management and case histories, questions and drug summary tables. The answers to the questions in each chapter are available on the Website linked to this edition of the text.
The new clinical management tables provide succinct summary information on a plan of action for clinicians caring for clients on the relevant drug therapy.
Another merit of this book is the drug summary tables. They provide a list of drugs according to family names, generic names and trade names of drugs available in Australia and New Zealand.
A number of interesting icons are used very effectively in the drug summary tables. These include the kangaroo icon for drugs only available in Australia, the kiwi icon for drugs only available in New Zealand and a cogwheel icon for the mechanism of drug action.
An added feature in the updated edition includes a link to a useful Website, http://www.awl.com.au/pharma. Features provided by this Website include a testbank of questions and some helpful information and exercises to help students with drug calculations. Users are able to obtain feedback on their present knowledge of pharmacology.
The use of a more favourable phrase 'clinical decision-making process' instead of 'the nursing process' is a welcome change. Case histories included are well constructed and address a wide range of issues associated with the pharmacological aspects of nursing care in both hospital and community contexts. The case examples used take into consideration the culturally diverse clients that the users of this book are likely to encounter.
The new chapters in this edition include 'Fluids and potassium imbalances' and 'Enteral and parenteral nutrition'. These contain vital information for clinicians working in the hospital setting that is not usually covered in a traditional pharmacology text. It is also refreshing to see 'Hartmann's solution' listed as one of the examples of crystalloid solutions instead of its American equivalent, 'Ringers lactate solution'. However, the inclusion of Stable Plasma Protein Solution (SPPS), a colloid solution that has been superseded by Albumex 4 (Human Albumin 40g/L) for a number of years now, should have been corrected. The addition of the paediatric and geriatric drug consideration chapter also adds to the quality of an already good book.
The presentation of the updated version has also been improved. The contrast colour used in this edition, blue, enhances the presentation of this text significantly.
I have only two reservations. Having taken into account that this is only a foundation pharmacology text, I would still like to see more depth of content in certain chapters. For instance, in Chapter 38 ('Antihypertensive drugs') two of the mainstays in current antihypertensive therapy, beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors warrant further exploration, possibly at the expense of superseded antihypertensive groups such as centrally acting sympathetic depressants and ganglionic blockers. Secondly, text information in the book is cluttered. The presentation could have been improved (possibly adding to the cost) by spacing out the text more throughout the book.
Overall, this is an excellent book and should be of great benefit to its target audience, Australian and New Zealand nursing students, qualified nurses and other allied health professionals.
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