Economics and Financial Management for Nurses and Nurse Leaders (2nd Ed.)
Penner, S. J. (2013). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8261-1049-7 (Paperback), 410 pages, Price: $80.00.
Reviewed by:
Mary Cannon, RN, MSN, ACNS-BC
Nurse Educator
VA Loma Linda Healthcare System
California
This book offers a comprehensive coverage of budgeting, financing, and fundamentals of economics. The content is depicted in a way that allows an easy flow of learning for the nurse who may be less familiar with the concepts. For example, budget planning and management involve complicated financial concepts; thus, the author's discussions are presented in a practical nonthreatening fashion. To enhance learning through practice, the nurse has the option to download the chapter's budget reports from the publisher's Web site and from other Web sites for additional practice.
As designed, the book addresses learning needs of students and nurses. This work is an excellent well-organized textbook for undergraduate or graduate nursing students in either traditional or online learning as well as a reference for practicing nurses and nurse leaders in all aspects of nursing. A wealth of resources accommodates the textbook to enhance teaching-learning efforts. The instructor materials include PowerPoint presentations, test questions, and sample syllabi. I applaud the fact that learners are given real-world outpatient clinic and inpatient nursing unit examples to enhance understanding. In addition, they can upload chapter terms and definitions to online software to further augment learning. I find it beneficial that the book includes extensive end-of-chapter lists of both print and Web-based references to substantiate subject matter.
Penner's use of a historical backdrop on changes in U.S. healthcare delivery and economical conditions serves as a fruitful incentive for nursing to ensure that the profession is armed to step forward and provide cost-effective care. She then steps up to the plate with this book to help better equip nurses in economics and finance. A discussion on healthcare cost and market distribution is injected to improve nurses' understanding of economic forces and their impact on the nursing workforce. Noting the reality that prospective payment includes long-term care, home health, and acute care, Penner includes content on classification and coding systems for healthcare charges. Such knowledge can increase the nurse's ability to understand concepts on pricing and charges in order to generate action that promotes delivery of affordable care. Appealing to advanced level nursing students and nurse leaders, business plans and grant proposal writing are presented with enough detail for nurses to become more astute and capable of effecting change in patient care by justifying cost to improve the quality and efficiency of health care.
The author's discussions emphasize how nurses play a momentous role in health care, and she provides content that prepares nurses to influence the financial performance of organizations on a daily basis. Whether inpatient or outpatient care, nurses in all settings can use knowledge gained from this book to ensure the delivery of quality health care that is affordable. Having served as an educator to nursing students and nurses, and consultant to nurse leaders and administrators, I can attest to the fact that this book serves as one of the most comprehensive resources on healthcare economics and finance for nurses. I commend the author's approach to the topics covered. Penner uses a conversational style that engrosses the learner and enhances understanding of ordinarily mystifying concepts. Nurses gain insight on how to use leadership skills to manage budgets, formulate business plans, and write grant proposals.
Disclaimer: The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this review.
Quality Caring in Nursing and Health Systems: Implications for Clinicians, Educators, and Leaders
Duffy, Joanne, R. (2013).NewYork,NY: Springer Publishing Company, LLC. ISBN 978-0-8261-1014-5 (Paperbound), 312 pages.
Reviewed by:
Ilze S. Hallman, DNPc, PMHNP, PMHCNS, GNP, BC
Clinical Nurse Specialist in Psychiatry
University of Michigan Health System
Ann Arbor
As a Nurse Practitioner who recently reached Doctor Candidacy in a DNP program, this book is right on target with the current quality, nursing, and complementary healthcare literature that is being taught. It summarizes nursing and health systems, relationship-centered professional encounters, and leading quality caring initiatives. As many hospitals are trying to achieve Magnet status, Dr. Duffy reintroduces the Quality Caring Model as a potential means of achieving this status. The Quality Caring Model has assisted hospitals in coordinating their efforts in patient-centered, measureable quality care. This quality model is built on a structure of having openness and safety that helps lead to inquiry and regular reflection among the interprofessional staff. This sense of openness carries over into patient care.
Dr. Duffy has pulled the quality literature into the 21st century, as it applies to the field of nursing and complementary health care in general. By incorporating concepts such as mindfulness (i.g., being vs. doing, authentic use of self, etc.), the author has enlarged the potential audience of professionals that can become familiar and benefit from these concepts. These principles of self-care, such as mindfulness, are overdue for nurses and other healthcare providers. The work environment continues to become faster paced and more stressful because of technological demands as well as regulatory demands. Learning to take care of self first and then passing this onto the patients is a pivotal step in enhancing the healing environment as a whole.
Another important aspect that Dr. Duffy incorporated into her text is the 2011 Institute of Medicine report on the future of nursing. Part of this report stressed that interprofessional collaboration is an essential behavior that is often linked with professional behavior that is essential for nursing practice.
Interprofessional collaboration can be difficult for various disciplines that have not been previously exposed to this approach. It is useful to have Dr. Duffy have this as a basis of the model to assist in identifying a crucial aspect that is needed in the process of the ongoing quality improvement process.
Finally, the author highlights nursing leadership as a practice and identifies that the first priority of this role is to provide a nursing workforce that is uniquely qualified to "advance relationships that improve the human experience." (Duffy, 2013, p. 179).
Although this book is very stimulating for an advanced practice nurse and beyond, I do believe that it is not beyond the level of an undergraduate nursing curriculum. I would recommend this book to clinicians, educators, and leaders at all levels.
Institute of Medicine. (2010). The future of nursing: Leading change, advancing health. Retrieved from http://thefutureofnursing.org/
Disclaimer: The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this review.
Training Design Basics (ASTD Training Basics)
Carliner, Saul. (2003). Alexandria, VA: ASTD. ISBN: 978-1-56286-348-7 (Print), 978-1-60728-324-9 (PDF e-book), Paperback, 203 pages, $29.95.
Reviewed by:
Maxine L. Morris, MSN, BSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CNOR
Pre-Renal Transplant Coordinator
Demographics: New York Presbyterian Hospital
New York City
(e-mail: [email protected])
Training Design Basics focuses on the development of training programs. This book outlines the fundamental principles for producing a training program for both the classroom setting and workbooks. Concentration is placed on intended course analysis, design, and development; the creation of supplemental teaching aids and guides; appropriate communication among all involved in the course development; marketing; and finally program execution. Training Design Basics is intended for new, experienced subject matter experts and those who are noneducators.
The author, Dr. Saul Carliner, has a background that spans the role of educator, researcher, consultant, lecturer, author, and professional organization leader. He has a PhD in instructional technology from Georgia State University and is assistant professor of educational technology at Concordia University. He was faculty at the City University of Hong Kong, University of Minnesota, and Bentley College. His research included the future of online education. He has served as educational consultant for companies such as IBM, Microsoft, 3M, and government organizations. Dr. Carliner is currently a fellow for the Society for Technical Communication. He is past president of the society, as well as the Atlanta-based chapter for the International Society for Performance Improvement.
The table of contents for this book is accurate to the layout of the chapters throughout the book. In addition, each chapter begins with an overview and ends with a summary of the respective chapter.
In order to facilitate understanding of how to develop an educational program, throughout the book the author refers the concepts to the development of three types of educational programs: New Sales School, New Accounts Receivable Application, and New Security Policy.
What I find unique about this book is its reference to the development of an educational program, sequence of chapters, the use of icons, and the templates.
Each chapter is organized as to the process of developing an educational program. In other words, if you follow each chapter in order, you will be following the actual process for the development of a program. Another advantage to this layout is that you can easily refer back to a chapter during your development if needed.
The chapters provide icons that describe the contents of the chapter ("What's Inside This Chapter"), additional thoughts/reminders ("Think About This"), important rules for development of the program ("Basic Rules"), additional information to make a point ("Noted"), and an opportunity to apply what was discussed in the chapter ("Getting It Done"). As part of "Getting It Done," there are templates that can be used by the reader during program development. For example, Chapter 3, which discusses the initial phase of starting a project, provides an exercise template that can be used as a guide for all the important information to be collected.
Additional technical features, typography, exercise, figures, references, tables, and appendices are organized, easy to understand, and very helpful.
The two weaknesses that I find for this book include the location of the author's bio and its limitation with regards to the type of learning format it addresses.
The author's bio is at the end of the book, as opposed to the front of the book where the intended user can more readily view the author's credits. Second, the book does not include instructions on how to develop e-learning programs, a popular method for teaching and learning.
Overall, the author greatly achieved the goal of providing a book that comprehensively outlines the details and tasks necessary for the development of an educational program. Training Basics Design is an invaluable step-by-step resource for those who have to develop an educational program or workshop. As I read the book, I found myself reflecting about the programs that I have developed in the past. I learned new concepts for building future programs, whereas others were reinforced. With the information contained in this book, it is definitely an asset for the library of a nursing professional development specialist or anyone seeking to develop a program.
Disclaimer: The author has disclosed that she has no significant relationships with, or financial interest in, any commercial companies pertaining to this review.