Holly C, Salmond S, Saimbert M, eds. Comprehensive Systematic Review for Advanced Practice Nursing. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company; 2016
Holly, Salmond, and Saimbert have provided an important resource at a critical time in health care. The work is acknowledged by American Journal of Nursing, which awarded one of the 2016 Books of the Year Award honors in the advanced practice category to the said book. This revised text is an important contribution to advance nursing because systematic review is an essential step in developing evidence-based practice recommendations. Currently, techniques for this type of review vary widely, and many students and clinical staff need guidelines to direct this process.
This text highlights the importance of the systematic review, and it provides guidelines for the process of searching for evidence and tools for evaluating studies. The quality of work in these steps is essential in making evidence-based clinical decisions that guide practice change. This resource provides a comprehensive overview of the entire process, from developing clinical questions to disseminating results and incorporating findings into both clinical practice and hospital policy.
Clarification about the types of systematic reviews is completed through many examples. Guidelines and resources complete the text, allowing the reader to understand the comprehensive scope of a quality review. Instructions are repeated in clear, concise language; tables include step-by-step directions for completing reviews.
Davidson S, Weberg D, Porter-O'Grady T, Malloch K, eds. Leadership for Evidence-Based Innovation in Nursing and Health Professions. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning; 2016
Any book with this impressive list of authors is worthy of review. This book did not disappoint me. Although evidence-based practice has become a common term and remains a lofty goal to guide clinician practice, many resources do not address the complexity of this process and the essential role of leadership. It is no surprise that this text also garnered a 2016 American Journal of Nursing award.
The framework of an evidence-based curriculum is innovation! The authors call for leaders to assume responsibility for innovation as an essential facet of leadership.
The contributors and editors share their expertise as innovation experts and accelerators. This text is a tremendous gift to new and experienced leaders.
The reader is guided through 4 detailed sections:
Section 1 tells about how to use the known to lead to the unknown.
Section 2 makes the connection between evidence and innovation.
Section 3 creates an acute awareness about the importance of measurement in innovation, a critical step often given little attention.
Section 4 gives concrete examples of innovation, detailing the process beyond an academic exercise using current health care challenges to illustrate specific facets within the complex process.
The text calls for academic and clinical faculty to add innovative methods to their teaching. This book teaches how to incorporate innovation and suggest new tools to address some of the challenging issues that face nurses new to practice.
The editors advise readers that this book introduces a new way of thinking, one that is essential to the role of the advanced practice nurse and nurse leaders.
Authors combine traditional and contemporary concepts of leadership, innovation, theory, and evidence. The creative integration of these concepts provides a new paradigm for nursing leadership.
Media
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar?utm:source=Sailthru&utm:medium=em
Kahn Academy continues to support education for all ages. Kahn began as an online tutoring program for children but has grown to encompass education at all levels. Currently, these programs extend to help professional writers.
Adults often need some reinforcement of concepts and practice to improve writing skills, especially when writing for scholarly publication. Kahn offers support for adult writers.
The concept behind this innovative organization is that any individual can take control of their learning by working on skills that you choose at your own pace, with free online learning.
Courses include math, science, computer programming, history, art, economics, and more.
Extended courses even include practice questions for standardized testing such as NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination), the nationwide examination for the licensing of registered nurses. Now, programs exist to help authors write and edit scholarly papers.
New and experienced authors and experts in clinical practice often struggle with the process of editing their own manuscripts. Some writers possess excellent grammar skills, whereas others simply must take time to review concepts and rules that guide the writing process.
Writers use many traditional written resources from Strunk and White's The Elements of Style, first written in 1958, to Stephen King's On Writing, completed in 2010. However, Kahn academy offers a creative alternative to traditional textbooks because it brings a lively combination of video, animation, and self-assessment techniques to this discussion.
Kahn Academy: A brief Introduction to Grammar
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/introduction-to-grammar/welcome-t
This section begins the grammar modules and leads the learner deeper into understanding the many parts of standard American language.
Khan Academy Grammarian David Rheinstrom brings you through this process because he reminds us that grammar is context dependent, so we need to understand multiple formats. Rheinstrom explains that grammar is the collection of rules and conventions that make languages work.
Videos, presented in animated, voice over (with written transcript) in blackboard and graphic format, traditionally used by Kahn, provide instruction and tools that help one harness language for multiple purposes.
Many subsections are broken down into parts of speech, such as the preposition and the conjunction. Multiple practice tests support each module and allow the participant to test small areas of knowledge at a time.
One test contained questions about various use of prepositions. Clicking on the section testing prepositional phases, I was surprised to achieve 100% success, earning 475 energy points. The breakdown was explained as follows: 5 problems answered 100% correctly earned 375 points and bonus points for completion accrued 100 additional points.
Kahn offers free, continuous, or segmental learning that is often fun and inspiring for people of all ages and professions. The grammar section is especially useful for anyone interested in improving his or her writing skills.