Course Paper

EMERGENCY NURSE June 2011 | Volume 19 | Number 3 9

Opinion

Book reviews Board’s eye view

Designing and Managing Your Research Project David Thomas and Ian Hodges Sage Publications £20.99 | 264pp ISBN: 9781848601932

DesigneD to complement books on quantitative and qualitative research methods in health and social sciences, this straightforward and practical introductory text covers the fundamental knowledge and skills needed to complete a research project.

it covers procedures for conducting projects electronically and accessing information on the internet and includes exercises at the end of each chapter, checklists, suggested further reading and website addresses. it will be useful for an experienced researcher or novice. Graham Sloan is nurse consultant in psychological therapies, NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Campbell’s Physiology Notes Second edition John Campbell Lorimer Publications £14 | 546pp ISBN: 9780955379734

these are excellent, inexpensive notes on the causes, pathophysiological changes and clinical features seen in disease processes.

this new edition has been rewritten and updated, with more clinical features, improved layout and clearer diagrams. it is great value.

Chapters include the nature and aetiology of disease, neoplasia, infectious disease, disorders of immunity, alterations in body temperature, hypoxia, haemorrhage, nervous system disorders, shock, wounds and healing, gastrointestinal disorders, fractures and burns. Roger Evans is assistant editor of Nursing Standard

Clinical Pain Management: A Practical Guide Mary Lynch, Kenneth Craig and Philip Peng Wiley-Blackwell £68.99 | 388pp ISBN: 9781444330694

nursing stuDents writing assignments that mentions pain should ensure that this book is in their bibliographies or reference lists. equally, university libraries should ensure that copies are held on their shelves, because the price is higher than most students would like to pay.

While this is a comprehensive book there is nothing specifically about assessing and treating presentations of acute pain.

Post-operative and chronic pain are subjects that lend themselves to research, and this book benefits from the collective experience of its 81 contributors.

Disappointingly, however, it does not include a section or even a chapter on acute pain. it also lacks expert opinion on diagnosing the causes of pain from observations of behavioural patterns, and on the most appropriate analgesic and non-analgesic approaches to treatment.

however, the book’s chapter on clinical assessment of adults is a ‘must read’ for any nurse practitioner seeking to improve the quality of their history-taking and clinical examination techniques.

the section on pharmacotherapy would also be useful to practitioners who have not completed a non-medical prescribing course, and a good refresher for those who have. there is also an interesting section on some of the more challenging presentations, such as low back pain, headache and orofacial pain, practitioners may come across.

overall, this is a good reference book for practitioners, but i would advise reading only those chapters that are pertinent to individual clinical practice. Jeanette Welsh is practice development nurse, unscheduled care, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Coping with death The deaTh of a loved one is a traumatic and emotional experience, to which emergency nurses are frequently exposed.

In emergency departments, after initial consultations have been completed, doctors often leave patients’ bedsides to return later if, for example, resuscitation is needed. It is often appropriate, however, for nurses to remain at the bedside to support relatives and help reduce their feelings of abandonment.

Yet, many nurses think that they do not have the appropriate knowledge and skills to care for dying patients or to cope with sudden death, which is common in emergency settings.

Nurses often find informing relatives of the death of loves ones stressful, particularly because the manner in which this is done can affect how relatives cope with their loss.

While academic teaching and scenarios can equip nurses with the necessary theoretical methodology for breaking bad news, practical learning in a clinical setting gives them opportunities to learn from death and dying, and this can contribute to their personal and professional growth. Nursing staff can be helped in their reflection by collaborating with medical staff.

Gaining practical experience in this way can become a transforming process that enables nurses to change their thinking and behaviour.

Reflecting on practice, meanwhile, can allow emergency nurses to understand patient suffering. It also allows them to break bad news in an understanding and caring manner, which reduces the risk of evoking a negative response from patients’ relatives.

Learning from and reflecting on experience of death and dying are the best ways for nurses to deal with their complex emotions, and to develop new attitudes towards mortality.

Barry McBrien is clinical co-ordinator in emergency nursing at Mater Misericordiæ University Hospital, Dublin

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