358 NURSEEDUCATIONTODAY

library. Any Unit that was seeking to develop a family orientated nursing approach would find it a valuable resource. This text would also find a useful place on the book shelf of a tutor in any branch of nursing, midwifery, or health visiting.

This is an exciting, innovative approach to the study and documentation of nursing. The text could easily form the basis of a module in a common foundation programme or could act as a reader for a post basic or post graduate nursing course. The title of the text accurately reflects its aims and achievements for its contents are indeed the foundations of the science of family nursing.

J FOWLER RGN RMN DipN RCNT CertEd RNT

Curriculum Design and Development T Burrell Prentice Hall 1988 181pp Illus ISBN O-13-195611-6 f9.95

There is a danger, in devising a ‘practical manual for nurse educators’, of producing a cook-book or curri- culum-by-numbers text. Tom Burrell avoids this dan- ger while producing a book which is clear, reasonably concise, and logically ordered. I see this volume as preparatory reading material for a newly convened curriculum planning group, or for students on a Certificate in Education course.

Burrell discusses the place of nursing models and the nursing process in curriculum planning. His redefinition of the term ‘nursing tasks’ is interesting and needs careful consideration, though I do not find this part of the book altogether convincing. Most interesting for me were the chapters on the nature of knowledge, together with the role of attitudes and skills in education, and the place of objectives in a curriculum. Student assessment, however, is dealt with rather brusquely; it should play a far more con- structive part in curriculum development.

There is an adequate level of discussion, though at times a chatty style creeps in which, personally, I find irritating, a good further reading section which would not be too daunting for a beginner, and an excellent index.

CJ GOODALL PhD RGN DipN CertEd

Research in Health Care Settings K E Grady & B S Wallston Sage 1988 175pp ISBN 0-8039-2875-O &8.50

It is a shame that the appeal of this volume may be largely limited to nurse researchers and students studying for nursing or social science degrees. The authors present a delightfully honest and concise

review of the process of health care research, illustrat- ing the steps along the way with their own studies into breast self examination and similar. Key terms are clearly defined. The work is generously referenced and each chapter supported by some short, but useful review exercises.

There is a growing catalogue of research methods texts, many written by nurses. This one has to compete without detailed explanation of statistical techniques or a British context (the authors are American). Despite this, the book will prove a valuable addition precisely because it does not pretend that research practice will always mimic the protocols of classic texts on methodology. The author’s observations and advice instead compliments the more standard text, and will give hope to nurses daunted by reports on large scale health research.

BOBPRICE SRN BA MSc CertEd

Nursing Concepts for Health Promotion R B Murray et al. Prentice Hall 1988 336pp Illus ISBN O-13-627662-8 210.95

This book was originally written for the American market, but has now been successfully adapted for the UK.

It is divided into two sections: factors influencing

health and a framework for health promotion. Among the many useful topics discussed are therapeutic communication, health teaching and crisis interven- tion. It presents its information keeping two main underlying beliefs in mind. Firstly, the authors believe that nursing is an emerging profession that has its own body of knowledge and practice capabilities and they encourage the integration and modification of their ideas to the reader’s own specific area of practice. Secondly, the importance of viewing society as plura- listic is stressed and rather than investigate health topics in isolation, the book attempts to apply them within the framework of an holistic approach to client and patient care. This gives the book a refreshingly different approach to health promotion, so making it an extremely valuable source book for nurses.

It’s usefulness is further enhanced by the frame- work of each chapter, which begins with a list of enabling objectives and ends with a comprehensive reference list which will allow the reader to follow up any individual area of interest.

This book would be of value not only to nurse teachers within basic nurse education but particularly also to nurse educators responsible for post-basic courses.

CAROLINECARLISLE BA MSc RGN SCM NDN Cert RNT