Clinical Analytics and Data Management for the DNP, Martha L. Sylvia and Mary F. Terhaar, Second Edition. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company; 2018. Soft Cover, 379 pages, $95.00.
"In God we Trust. All others must bring data." This often-quoted line by W. Edwards Deming1 still holds true. What has changed since Deming's proclamation is the complexity, volume, and speed of data. Today's quality practitioners, such as DNPs, must learn a number of complex tools for managing and analyzing data.
Clinical Analytics and Data Management for the DNP is a serious textbook. Students using this book are introduced to traditional methods of continuous quality improvement and statistical process control. The basic statistics chapter is beyond what many of us learned at university or in practice. This second edition has added 11 new chapters, which address newer concepts such as Value-Based Purchasing, Predictive Modeling, and Risk Adjustment. Both authors are in academic settings. Their book includes contributions of 13 experts from multiple service settings, as well as diverse academic settings such as Uniformed Services and an International University. The aim of the book is to be responsive to the "trilogy of the evolution of the health care system into a Learning Healthcare System, the unprecedented proliferation of Big Data resources and analytic methods for knowledge discovery, and the exceptional adoption of the DNP-prepared nursing professionals to advance clinical excellence in the United States" (Foreword, p. xi).
Readers might question whether this book would be of benefit to nurse leaders as well as DNPs. The answer is yes. It is an excellent reference for nurse leaders working on Big Data initiatives, especially when they are leading an initiative or choosing someone else to lead one.
In his earlier works, Deming was known to point out the importance of "management" in accomplishing quality outcomes. To quote Deming once again: "A company cannot buy its way into quality-it must be led into quality by top management."2 In addition, as nurse leaders work more closely with global leaders, a common language of analysis will help in shared projects. One DNP student used the first edition of this textbook to demonstrate reduced errors of omissions during intershift handoffs on a unit in a hospital in Lebanon (p. xii).
Big Data is real. So is the need to continue to solve problems, including clinical issues, using proven techniques. As health systems merge into regional and national systems, there is a high probability they will develop departments to deal with the science and application of data. This is similar to what we did in the 1990s to create Quality Departments. The Science and Math required are beyond what we learned in the 1990s. Nurse leaders can best serve patients if they understand the lingo and sophisticated approaches to analyzing clinical data, not just at the bedside but also at the broader population level. Nurse leaders need to ensure that nurses who are versed in this field are on teams searching to improve care. Sylvia and Terhaar's book is an excellent tool for preparing these nurses.
I recommend this book as a reference text for senior nurse leaders and service educators. With the impending growth of Artificial Intelligence on the horizon, this book will help you become part of a Learning Healthcare System. Because this is a textbook, Digital Access is provided along with supplemental materials, including sample data sets, case studies in SPSS and Excel formats, exercises, PowerPoint slides, and more.
Caution: This is a textbook intended for classroom use by DNP students. There is no quick pocket-size reference you can carry in your laboratory coat. But then, the subject matter is anything but small. I have a mug gifted to me by Kathy Douglas, director of a documentary on Nursing Excellence. On it she wrote: "If only Florence could see us now." As nurse leaders, Florence would expect us to stay current. This book helps us do that. Minimally, by perusing this book, you will be more aware of your DNPs' capabilities.
-Elizabeth (Betty) Falter, MS, BSN, RN, NEA-BC
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