Blackwell Publishing
Developing the reflective healthcare team.
Responding to the UK's National Health Service call for greater emphasis on developing high performing healthcare teams, Ghaye (CEO, The International Institute of Reflective Practice, UK) discusses the use of reflection as a means of improving team learning. Following discussion of the nature of reflection and the nature of teams, he presents a facilitated team learning approach called TA2LK, which encourages learning through the interests and practices of reflection; learning through working together, in teams; and learning through a facilitated process based upon the idea of team wellness and the healthy team. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Diagnostic ultrasound in small animal practice.
Six European academics and practitioners contribute 15 chapters to a new version of Frances Barr's classic introductory text, Diagnostic Ultrasound in the Dog and Cat, revised and expanded to reflect advances in the field since publication of the original text in 1990. Following a foreword by Barr, the text is organized around body systems, with each chapter covering imaging procedures, normal appearances, abnormal appearances/diseases and specific conditions. In addition, the text now includes material on exotic animals, such as rabbits and reptiles, and new Doppler techniques. For students and practitioners involved in small animal imaging. Illustrated with b&w photographs and line drawings. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Effective healthcare leadership.
Primarily from a British National Health Service (NHS) perspective, healthcare practitioners and academics address challenges in team-delivered healthcare, the NHS trend toward transformational as vs. transactional leadership, and theoretical frameworks of leadership in 15 chapters. Jasper (health and social welfare studies, Canterbury Christ Church U. College) and Jumaa (Chief Emeka Anyaoku R&D Centre for Work Based Learning and Leading, West Sussex) introduce Dr. Jumaa's CLINLAP/ LEADLAP model for effective healthcare leadership, based on research identifying nurse team leaders' skills. A study of RNs treating patients with learning disabilities provides insights into applying the model, which entails specific goals, roles, processes, and open relationships. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The endocrine system at a glance, 2d ed.
The 54 chapters in this medical review begin with a case study of a patient and describe the physiology of the thyroid and adrenals, female and male reproduction, posterior pituitary hormones, pancreas, and gastrointestinal hormones. Originally published as Endocrinology at a glance in 1994, the second edition adds chapters on obesity and osteoporosis. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Essential guide to generic skills.
Cooper (general internal medicine and care of the elderly, Yorkshire, UK) et al. assemble 30 chapters by practitioners in the UK who detail the Foundation Programme Curriculum in generic skills, particularly information about clinical and communication skills, legal and ethical issues, clinical governance and patient safety, and teaching and learning. Topics, which are meant to be sampled and not read in order, include professionalism, medical records, death certification, adult and child protection, ethics, safe prescribing, infection control, and many others. The book is intended for teachers, doctors in training, medical students, nursing staff and allied professionals, and educational supervisors and teachers. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Essentials of nuclear medicine physics, 2d ed.
Intending the work for radiology residents, cardiology fellows, nuclear medicine fellows, nuclear medicine technology students, and other interested parties, he authors (a professor of radiology at Boston U. School of Medicine and the former chief of nuclear medicine services at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Allen Park, Michigan) the authors introduce the foundations of nuclear medicine physics. They first discuss basic nuclear physics, nuclear medicine instrumentation used for production of nuclides, measurement of doses, surveying radioactivity, and imaging. Final chapters cover radiation biology, radiation safety, and radiation accidents. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Ethics in medicine.
Jackson (philosophy, U. of Leeds) takes the big questions of medical ethics and rather than examining them separately takes on the even bigger questions that overarch them: Is justice a problematic virtue? Is benevolence another problematic virtue or is it the only virtue? In a series of logical and persuasive essays Jackson places the issues of obtaining consent, giving consent, respecting autonomy, doing no harm, abortion, suicide, assisted suicide, euthanasia, killing and letting die within their proper places on the ethical landscape, focusing on the aforesaid issues and analyzing each against the dictates of conscience. She warns that this is only the beginning of the debate as technologies, such as reproductive medicine, the ability to prolong life, and even newer techniques threaten and inspire us to think about what we are doing at the clinical and human levels. Distributed by Blackwell Publishing. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
From patient data to medical knowledge; the principles and practice of health informatics.
Taylor (University College London, Archway Campus) explores how patient data can be managed to provide information to practitioners and their patients in the most helpful and accessible way. Coverage includes an introduction to health informatics; the challenges in creating data, turning the data into knowledge, and accessing that knowledge; various techniques used to represent and analyze patient data and medical knowledge, and the theory behind them; and the organizational changes necessary for the effective application of health informatics in the clinical setting. For healthcare practitioners, managers, and IT specialists. Distributed in the U.S. by Blackwell Publishers. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Gene cloning and DNA analysis; an introduction, 5th ed.
This text introduces students in the biological sciences to the principles of cloning techniques and their applications. In the fifth edition, the final four chapters have been significantly updated and extended to reflect the advances made in recent years in the applications of gene cloning and DNA analysis in biotechnology. It also includes new material on glyphosate resistant plants, a new section on the uses of gene cloning and PCR in archeology, and coverage of ethical concerns related to gene therapy and genetically modified crops. Brown teaches life sciences at the U. of Manchester. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Genes, culture, and human evolution; a synthesis.
Stone (anthropology), Paul F. Lurquin (genetics, both Washington State U.), and L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza (emeritus population genetics, Stanford U.) present undergraduate anthropology students with information in genetics that is changing the conventional views of culture and cultural diversification over space and time. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Global coastal change.
Valiela has been teaching and conducting research since 1969 in Woods Hole at the Boston U. Marine Program, Marine Biological Laboratory. He offers an overview of the environmental factors changing the marine systems of the world. Topics addressed include the global context of coastal change, atmospheric-driven changes, sea level rise, alteration of freshwater discharges, alteration of sediment transport, loss of coastal habitats, petroleum hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, metals, the introduction of exotic species, harvest of finfish and shellfish, eutrophication, and other agents of coastal change. The text is intended for interested lay readers, professional managers and decision makers, and researchers and students dealing with coastal matters. Illustrated in b&w. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Green reaction media in organic synthesis.
Chemists from around the world overview the three reaction media most commonly used in green chemistry, which strives to design chemical processes that reduce or eliminate the use and production of hazardous materials. For ionic liquids, fluorous solvents, and supercritical carbon dioxide, they look at the historical background, physical properties, applications as reaction media, reactions under various conditions, related compounds, actual experiments, and other topics as appropriate. The information can serve as a reference for scientists or a textbook for a graduate course. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Groundwater in the environment; an introduction.
Younger (University of Newcastle) explains the occurrence, nature, behavior, and environmental role of natural underground waters using simple language and limited mathematics. The undergraduate textbook describes groundwater flow patterns, quality parameters, the interdependence of groundwater and freshwater ecosystems, agricultural and industrial uses, hazards and threats, and the analysis of aquifer systems by conceptual and mathematical modeling. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The hands-on guide for junior doctors, 3d ed.
Useful for UK medical students making the transition from school to life on the wards, and for junior doctors in their first year, this pocket guide has been updated to reflect current practice. It starts off with sound advice about the work environment, geography, what to wear and how not to panic and then addresses such topics as organization, paperwork, accidents and emergencies, cardiac arrests and crash calls, common conditions and diseases, death and dying, drugs, special cases such as children and AIDS patients, pain, radiology, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, general practice, and self-care, including what to do when drug reps attack. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
How to read a paper; the basics of evidence-based medicine, 3d ed.
For Greenhalgh (primary care and population sciences, U. College London Medical School, UK) the basic skills of evidence-based medicine consist of the ability to find the significant medical literature, to assess the scientific validity and practical relevance of medical articles, and to put the results into practice. This text introduces these skills, concentrating particularly on the interpretation of the medical literature. Aside from some new illustrations and updated references, most of the material remains unchanged for this new edition, but the discussions on searching the literature, qualitative research, systematic review, and implementing evidence-based practice have been fundamentally revised to account for changes in the field. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Implantable cardiac pacemakers and defibrillation; all you wanted to know.
Writing for a general medical audience, Chow (The Heart Hospital, UK) and Buxton (cardiovascular division, Brown Medical School, US) present an introduction to the principles and function of cardiac pacing and defibrillator technology. Nine chapters cover basic principles, temporary cardiac pacing, pacemaker implantation and indications, the implantable cardioverter (ICD) defibrillator and how it works, ICD indications and follow-up, pacing therapies for heart failure, pacing in the special cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and congenital heart disease, lead problems and extraction, and device infections. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Inflammatory bowel disease; genetics, barrier function, immunologic mechanisms, and microbial pathways; proceedings.
This volume represents a major contribution to translating advances in basic understanding of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), into clinical management. Domschke (German Research Council) introduces 39 lectures and poster presentations of the International Symposium on IBD held in September 2005 in Münster, Germany. The opening lecture discusses challenges in applying the results of the interplay between adaptive and innate immune responses to understand IBD pathogenesis in developing more potent, tailored therapies. Other topics reviewed include the role of various inflammatory mediators, and probiotics ("good bacteria") to balance the intestinal microflora. Lacks a subject index. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Infection; microbiology and management, 3d ed.
This text is designed to explain infection and to serve as a problem-solving manual for diagnosis and treatment. It will be most useful for senior medical and pharmacy students and those preparing to complete general medical and surgical training programs; public health nurses and specialists in clinical microbiology may also use it as a reference. Part one introduces infection, pathogens and antimicrobial agents in four chapters. The subsequent chapters address systemic infections — for each individual pathogen discussed, the epidemiology and microbiology, clinical presentations and diagnosis, and strategies for prevention and control are described. The remaining chapters cover genital, sexually-transmitted, and birth-related infections, and disorders affecting more than one system. Also included is discussion of special hosts, environments, and the community. Updates in this third edition account for new learning as well as new threats such as SARS and the deliberate release of harmful pathogens. The three authors are experts in infectious and tropical diseases, microbiology, and epidemiology; two of the three are affiliated with the Royal Free Hospital, London, and the third, with the Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Invertebrate medicine.
Arthropod zoos and insectaria, jellyfish exhibits, and captive coral reefs are among the evidence for the increasing practice and sophistication of maintaining live invertebrates in captivity for pets, displays, research, and consumption. Veterinary medicine has not kept up with the trend, but here specialists offer practicing veterinarians a text for dealing with various groups, among them sponges, crustaceans, spiders, centipedes and millipedes, echinoderms, insects, and nematodes. Other chapters explain diagnostic techniques and sample handling; laws, rules and regulating agencies; neoplasms; notifiable diseases; and euthanasia. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The labor progress handbook; early interventions to prevent and treat dystocia, 2d ed.
Organized by stages of labor, this handbook describes prevention, diagnosis, and non-invasive interventions for failure to progress in labor. Simkin and Ancheta (Seattle Midwifery School and Independent Practice of Childbirth Education and Labor Support) detail interventions based on medical and childbirth education literature as well as psychology, sociology, and anthropology. This edition has a new chapter on assessing progress in labor by Suzy Myers (Seattle Midwifery School and Seattle Home Maternity Service & Childbirth Center), and new sections on managing labor pain, normal labor, and additional positions and maneuvers. Aside from the general index, there is also an index referring to epidural illustrations and mentions in the text. The book is aimed at practitioners and students of obstetrics and gynecology, family practice, midwifery, and nursing. (Annotation ©2006 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
