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HCAI Research Network The National Healthcare Associated Infection Research Network contributes to the national research agenda on infections that develop as a direct result of contact in a healthcare setting. It acts as a forum to encourage high quality research into best infection-control practice. It also provides support to research groups for HCAI governance and ethical approval processes. Its website is a good resource on HCAIs in hospitals and the community, and how they affect patients and healthcare workers. There are sections on drug-resistant infections such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the effects of such infections on patients, and the impact on the NHS. The site points out that not all infections can be prevented, but with good practice and careful hygiene about 15 to 30 per cent of such infections can be avoided. It emphasises that everyone working in health care and healthcare research has a role to play in helping to prevent the spread of infection. There are details on the site of a range of research projects, from monitoring the survival and spread of resistant micro-organisms in the hospital environment to the follow up of care home residents and the effects of colonisation status on health outcomes. The site links to the SURF website – England’s HCAI service users’ research forum – and a range of related organisations. Margaret Arthur is a retired nurse living in London www.hcainetwork.org See www.nursing-standard.co.uk for previous website reviews
A Very Private Diary – A Nurse in Wartime Diaries transport us back to the events they describe with a vividness other sources cannot match. This diary, recently discovered in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, was kept by the Irish nurse Mary Morris to record her experiences during and after the second world war. Her strength of character and spirit shine through. Mary’s training at Guy’s Hospital had barely begun when she was
evacuated to Kent, and found herself caring for RAF and Luftwaffe pilots injured in the aerial dogfights in the skies above the hospital. Her decision to join the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserves caused tension, as her father had fought against the British Army in the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence. Day and night she faced the grim experience of nursing battle casualties. The constant hunger from insufficient rations, catching diphtheria, and being injured by shrapnel failed to daunt her. The diary ends with marriage to an officer and the beginning of family life.
Mary Morris (Edited by Carol Acton) | Weidenfeld & Nicolson | 300pp | £14.99 ISBN: 978 0 2978 7155 2 Reviewed by John Adams, temporary lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University, Peterborough
Clinical Research Manual – Practical Tools and Templates for Managing Clinical Research The term ‘manual’ in the title excited me, but delving in made me realise that much of the authors’ experience of research, specifically in the United States, may not translate overseas. From the outset, the authors indicate that research staff are separate from clinical staff. This may be the case in much of the US, but current trends in the UK, for example, are to mix and match these roles. There are, however, some good top tips in this manual for nurses, particularly with useful ideas around
data ownership, registering projects, adverse events, consent and the finances associated with research projects. The electronic links and regulatory bodies the book refers to are specifically American. The tools and templates are to be found in the appendix – although they are referred to in the text. The templates may help some nurses in the management of research projects, although the organisations where they work are likely to have their own documents and internal processes. This book is aimed at involved research nurses rather than those dipping their toes into the subject. It will be of particular use to those employed in research projects with American partners.
R Jennifer Cavalieri and Mark E Rupp | Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing 336pp | $44.95/£27.15 | ISBN: 978 1 9375 5463 7 Reviewed by Irene Mabbott, practice development co-ordinator, evidence-based practice, Sheffi eld Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Key Excellent
Very good
Good
Average
Poor
30 september :: vol 29 no 4by:: ${individualUser.displayName} 2014 STANDARD Downloaded24 from RCNi.com on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
Reviews
TV :: radio :: books :: websites :: apps
HCAI Research Network The National Healthcare Associated Infection Research Network contributes to the national research agenda on infections that develop as a direct result of contact in a healthcare setting. It acts as a forum to encourage high quality research into best infection-control practice. It also provides support to research groups for HCAI governance and ethical approval processes. Its website is a good resource on HCAIs in hospitals and the community, and how they affect patients and healthcare workers. There are sections on drug-resistant infections such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, the effects of such infections on patients, and the impact on the NHS. The site points out that not all infections can be prevented, but with good practice and careful hygiene about 15 to 30 per cent of such infections can be avoided. It emphasises that everyone working in health care and healthcare research has a role to play in helping to prevent the spread of infection. There are details on the site of a range of research projects, from monitoring the survival and spread of resistant micro-organisms in the hospital environment to the follow up of care home residents and the effects of colonisation status on health outcomes. The site links to the SURF website – England’s HCAI service users’ research forum – and a range of related organisations. Margaret Arthur is a retired nurse living in London www.hcainetwork.org See www.nursing-standard.co.uk for previous website reviews
A Very Private Diary – A Nurse in Wartime Diaries transport us back to the events they describe with a vividness other sources cannot match. This diary, recently discovered in the archives of the Imperial War Museum, was kept by the Irish nurse Mary Morris to record her experiences during and after the second world war. Her strength of character and spirit shine through. Mary’s training at Guy’s Hospital had barely begun when she was
evacuated to Kent, and found herself caring for RAF and Luftwaffe pilots injured in the aerial dogfights in the skies above the hospital. Her decision to join the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserves caused tension, as her father had fought against the British Army in the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence. Day and night she faced the grim experience of nursing battle casualties. The constant hunger from insufficient rations, catching diphtheria, and being injured by shrapnel failed to daunt her. The diary ends with marriage to an officer and the beginning of family life.
Mary Morris (Edited by Carol Acton) | Weidenfeld & Nicolson | 300pp | £14.99 ISBN: 978 0 2978 7155 2 Reviewed by John Adams, temporary lecturer, Anglia Ruskin University, Peterborough
Clinical Research Manual – Practical Tools and Templates for Managing Clinical Research The term ‘manual’ in the title excited me, but delving in made me realise that much of the authors’ experience of research, specifically in the United States, may not translate overseas. From the outset, the authors indicate that research staff are separate from clinical staff. This may be the case in much of the US, but current trends in the UK, for example, are to mix and match these roles. There are, however, some good top tips in this manual for nurses, particularly with useful ideas around
data ownership, registering projects, adverse events, consent and the finances associated with research projects. The electronic links and regulatory bodies the book refers to are specifically American. The tools and templates are to be found in the appendix – although they are referred to in the text. The templates may help some nurses in the management of research projects, although the organisations where they work are likely to have their own documents and internal processes. This book is aimed at involved research nurses rather than those dipping their toes into the subject. It will be of particular use to those employed in research projects with American partners.
R Jennifer Cavalieri and Mark E Rupp | Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing 336pp | $44.95/£27.15 | ISBN: 978 1 9375 5463 7 Reviewed by Irene Mabbott, practice development co-ordinator, evidence-based practice, Sheffi eld Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Key Excellent
Very good
Good
Average
Poor
30 september :: vol 29 no 4by:: ${individualUser.displayName} 2014 STANDARD Downloaded24 from RCNi.com on Nov 26, 2015. For personal use only. NoNURSING other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
