Health Assessment for Nursing Practice. . - book review

AORN Journal,  Jan, 2002  by Cinda Lewis

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HEALTH ASSESSMENT FOR NURSING PRACTICE, second ed By Susan F. Wilson, Jean Foret Giddens 2001, 848 pp $59 hardback

Health assessment provides nurses with a systematic method of collecting data--both subjective and objective--that relates to patients. This book provides a comprehensive review of this topic. It addresses both physical and mental health across the life span.

This book is a practical reference guide for a wide range of nurses. For new graduates, it provides valuable detailed information, including equipment needed and techniques for inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation, and positioning. For specialized nurses, it is a handy reference guide that is useful for reviewing issues not dealt with on a daily basis. For nurses changing practice areas or returning to work after an extended absence from the field, it certainly would be a useful tool.

The book contains two major divisions. Chapters one through 10 form the foundation for discussing assessment. Those related to interviewing techniques and ethnic and cultural considerations are particularly helpful. As important as the physical factors, the social, economic, and cultural factors related to health are of vital interest to nurses conducting assessments. The authors give tips on types of questions to ask, styles of interviewing, and methods of eliciting information that are practical and important. As communities increasingly become more diversified, we are faced with cultural, religious, and language differences. Nurses must be aware of these differences because each group has values and beliefs that can affect the delivery of health care either positively or negatively.

New to the second edition is a chapter on comfort and pain assessment. Chapters 11 through 25 each address a particular body system. They include a review of anatomy and physiology, health history, examination, and a summary. Critical thinking questions and case studies provide a more in-depth approach to self study, and answers can be found at the back of the book. A separate chapter is devoted to patients who are pregnant. The final chapter presents a head-to-toe examination and incorporates the previously delineated components of assessment.

The book is organized in a logical fashion. The table of contents provides quick access to specific topics. The book has a solid and broad foundation, a complete review of body systems, and a useful summary outlining the actual assessment with documentation. It includes sidebars, boxes, summaries, charts, and photographs highlighted in various colors. Occasionally, these special features cause sensory overload. The writing, however, is clear, and the authors present information in general terms. There is a 10-page glossary that is helpful in providing concise definitions of terms found in the text, an extensive bibliography, and a bonus CD-ROM that supplies interactive student activities and health assessment laboratory guides. This broad spectrum, comprehensive volume would be a useful resource for the new or experienced nurse and a practical addition to any nurse's library.

This book is available from Mosby, Inc, 11830 Westline Industrial Dr, St Louis, MO 63146; http://www.harcourt health.com/Mosby/index.html.

CINDA LEWIS
RN, BSN
STAFF NURSE
BAYLOR UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

DALLAS

COPYRIGHT 2002 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group