Teaching IOM, Implications of the Institute of Medicine Reports for Nursing Education (2nd edition), Anita Finkleman and Carole Kenner. Silver Spring, MD, American Nurses Association, 2009. Softcover with companion instructional CD, 272 pages, $39.95 (order throughhttp://Nursebooks.org)

November 2009 marked the 10th anniversary of the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) groundbreaking report To Err Is Human. At the writing of this review, Healthcare Reform legislation sits precariously, with a bill passed in Congress and the Senate about to pass its own version. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) continue to march with its pay for performance or, in some cases, no performance and no pay. Many of the CMS's Never Events, those that should never occur, are tied to nursing. Professional nursing sits at the precipice of a great opportunity to prove both economic and quality value. While nurse practitioners look to be in demand, could the bedside nurse be at risk of being perceived as too expensive, with tasks being delegated to a lower-cost caregiver or some piece of technology?

The authors have stepped to the plate in tackling IOM reports, using the very framework proposed by IOM, and bringing the thinking to both nursing education and nursing practice. One cannot read this book and ignore the dialogue so essential both to US quality patient care and the role nursing needs to play in that goal. There was a phrase I heard somewhere in my 30-year career that nursing is an island unto itself. The authors challenge that thinking as nurses to nurses, particularly educators and service leaders. The authors go beyond defining the framework of IOM teaching to challenging nursing in each step of the way to recognize that quality patient care is about all providers coming together. With the knowledge shared in this book, nurse leaders will be poised to speak a collaborative language with colleagues while challenging each other to address quality issues within the profession itself. This book is not just about teaching in schools of nursing but about learning in both the classroom and service settings.

The book is divided into 5 parts:

Part I: The IOM Reports: Summaries, Recommendations, and Implications for Clinical Care

Part II: Nursing Education and the IOM Reports, an Overview

Part III: Incorporating the Core Competencies in Nursing Education

Part IV: Using IOM Reports in the Classroom

Part V: References, Terms, and Appendices

The authors provide easy-to-use topic areas, with page numbers throughout each part. In addition, they provide issues for discussions. Part V could fool you because it is more than lists and references. It delves into the details that bring a better understanding of the multiple reports. Educators will really like the companion CD. It includes PowerPoint presentations in key topic areas, examination materials, sample questions, annotated list of Internet links, reference lists, and much more.

Quality is something everyone wants to achieve. But the plethora of reports, projects, and players can be overwhelming. The authors have done a very good job of getting our arms around all that is occurring in this area. This is not an easy task. The authors also demonstrate an innate sense of quality in how they approach their work. After their first edition, they traveled the country to conferences, schools, and clinical providers. They listened. They then revised and improved the first edition. I will not be surprised to see a third edition in another year or two, as we as a country, an industry, and a profession do what we joined up to do: provide quality care to our patients, to be the best we can while ever striving to be better. Nursing leaders do not let the word "teaching" relocate this book to your educators. We are all teachers, particularly our leaders.

Elizabeth (Betty) Falter, MS, RN, CNAA, BC