Opinion
Skills for Communicating with Patients
Treating Traumatic Bereavement: A Practitioner’s Guide
Jonathan Silverman, Suzanne Kurtz and Juliet Draper Radcliffe Publishing £34.99 | 312pp ISBN: 9781846193651
Laurie Anne Pearlman, Camille Wortman, Catherine Feuer et al Guilford Press £24.45 | 358pp ISBN: 9781462513178
HIGHLY COMMENDED by the British Medical Association, this third edition of the book has been substantially expanded to include the latest research on healthcare communication. It begins with an overview of its subject and goes on to cover history-taking, gathering information, structuring interviews and building relationships with patients. It also discusses theoretical approaches to communication. Overall, the book offers a reliable, evidence-based guide on patient interactions for healthcare practitioners who want to acquire communication skills and add to their continuing professional development points. Grant Byrne is a nursing student at the University of Glasgow
Resus Algorithms Subjective Effect Ltd Free iOS 7.0+ | Android 4.0.3+ THE RESUS Algorithms app provides access to all the algorithms contained in the Resuscitation Council UK 2010 guidelines. The section on adult care covers anaphylaxis, bradycardia, choking, in-hospital resuscitation and tachycardia, and presents the council’s automated external defibrillator algorithm. The section on the care of children includes advice on basic, advanced and newborn life support, and choking. While the app discusses the use of airway control in resuscitation, it provides no directions on measuring and fitting an airway. Valerie McGurk is a practice development facilitator at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust EMERGENCY NURSE
TRAUMATIC BEREAVEMENT differs from other experience of grief and loss, and counsellors can find interactions with bereaved people highly challenging. This comprehensive guide discusses classic theories about grief and the mourning process, before analysing the conceptualisation of complicated grief as a mental and physical health disorder. It covers sources of social support and the effectiveness of support groups, and the authors note that members of such groups
can undermine the confidence of people they perceive to be struggling emotionally. The book also discusses the effects of grief on therapists, including countertransference responses in which counsellors recall their past experiences of grief. Such experiences can be traumatic for counsellors but can also lead them to develop greater respect, even admiration, for their clients. The authors outline the problems that arise in vicarious traumatisation, and emphasise the need for counsellors to acquire further training and the support of their colleagues. There is information for clients and therapists in the form of handouts, as well as exercises and questions about the issues covered in the book. This resource that should be invaluable to nurses who come into contact with bereaved families. Susan Watkins is a support worker and Open University graduate, Derby
Roisin Devlin
The bigger picture THIS YEAR, at the end of the US Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) annual conference in Indianapolis, I was privileged to be part of a two-day meeting of the organisation’s international committee. As a new member of the Royal College of Nursing Emergency Care Association (ECA), one of my responsibilities is to take over from chair Janet Youd as ENA international link member for the UK. Australia, Canada and the Netherlands will also be represented on the committee until next year, when representatives from each country in the European Union are expected to join too. The purpose of the committee is to share good practice in emergency nursing at a global level, and the involvement of the UK can be only a good thing. There has been a great deal of brainstorming about how to create a committee that is relevant for emergency nurses worldwide.
It is also evident from discussions in Indianapolis that many of the problems, such as overcrowding, high workload, and violence and aggression, faced by UK emergency nurses are experienced elsewhere. While this situation is disappointing, it has galvanised committee members to address the issues from an international standpoint. I found it refreshing that ENA staff are such ‘can-do’ people who see potential problems as challenges to be embraced rather than feared. As a first-time attender to the meeting, the passion and drive in the room left me with enormous enthusiasm for the work ahead. I am delighted to be part of the committee, and hope I represent the ECA and the UK well at further meetings. I will, of course, update Emergency Nurse readers as the year progresses. Roisin Devlin is a member of the RCN Northern Ireland board, RCN Northern Ireland Emergency Care Network and Royal College of Nursing
December 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 8 11
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Skills for Communicating with Patients
Treating Traumatic Bereavement: A Practitioner’s Guide
Jonathan Silverman, Suzanne Kurtz and Juliet Draper Radcliffe Publishing £34.99 | 312pp ISBN: 9781846193651
Laurie Anne Pearlman, Camille Wortman, Catherine Feuer et al Guilford Press £24.45 | 358pp ISBN: 9781462513178
HIGHLY COMMENDED by the British Medical Association, this third edition of the book has been substantially expanded to include the latest research on healthcare communication. It begins with an overview of its subject and goes on to cover history-taking, gathering information, structuring interviews and building relationships with patients. It also discusses theoretical approaches to communication. Overall, the book offers a reliable, evidence-based guide on patient interactions for healthcare practitioners who want to acquire communication skills and add to their continuing professional development points. Grant Byrne is a nursing student at the University of Glasgow
Resus Algorithms Subjective Effect Ltd Free iOS 7.0+ | Android 4.0.3+ THE RESUS Algorithms app provides access to all the algorithms contained in the Resuscitation Council UK 2010 guidelines. The section on adult care covers anaphylaxis, bradycardia, choking, in-hospital resuscitation and tachycardia, and presents the council’s automated external defibrillator algorithm. The section on the care of children includes advice on basic, advanced and newborn life support, and choking. While the app discusses the use of airway control in resuscitation, it provides no directions on measuring and fitting an airway. Valerie McGurk is a practice development facilitator at Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust EMERGENCY NURSE
TRAUMATIC BEREAVEMENT differs from other experience of grief and loss, and counsellors can find interactions with bereaved people highly challenging. This comprehensive guide discusses classic theories about grief and the mourning process, before analysing the conceptualisation of complicated grief as a mental and physical health disorder. It covers sources of social support and the effectiveness of support groups, and the authors note that members of such groups
can undermine the confidence of people they perceive to be struggling emotionally. The book also discusses the effects of grief on therapists, including countertransference responses in which counsellors recall their past experiences of grief. Such experiences can be traumatic for counsellors but can also lead them to develop greater respect, even admiration, for their clients. The authors outline the problems that arise in vicarious traumatisation, and emphasise the need for counsellors to acquire further training and the support of their colleagues. There is information for clients and therapists in the form of handouts, as well as exercises and questions about the issues covered in the book. This resource that should be invaluable to nurses who come into contact with bereaved families. Susan Watkins is a support worker and Open University graduate, Derby
Roisin Devlin
The bigger picture THIS YEAR, at the end of the US Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) annual conference in Indianapolis, I was privileged to be part of a two-day meeting of the organisation’s international committee. As a new member of the Royal College of Nursing Emergency Care Association (ECA), one of my responsibilities is to take over from chair Janet Youd as ENA international link member for the UK. Australia, Canada and the Netherlands will also be represented on the committee until next year, when representatives from each country in the European Union are expected to join too. The purpose of the committee is to share good practice in emergency nursing at a global level, and the involvement of the UK can be only a good thing. There has been a great deal of brainstorming about how to create a committee that is relevant for emergency nurses worldwide.
It is also evident from discussions in Indianapolis that many of the problems, such as overcrowding, high workload, and violence and aggression, faced by UK emergency nurses are experienced elsewhere. While this situation is disappointing, it has galvanised committee members to address the issues from an international standpoint. I found it refreshing that ENA staff are such ‘can-do’ people who see potential problems as challenges to be embraced rather than feared. As a first-time attender to the meeting, the passion and drive in the room left me with enormous enthusiasm for the work ahead. I am delighted to be part of the committee, and hope I represent the ECA and the UK well at further meetings. I will, of course, update Emergency Nurse readers as the year progresses. Roisin Devlin is a member of the RCN Northern Ireland board, RCN Northern Ireland Emergency Care Network and Royal College of Nursing
December 2014 | Volume 22 | Number 8 11
Downloaded from RCNi.com by ${individualUser.displayName} on Nov 29, 2015. For personal use only. No other uses without permission. Copyright © 2015 RCNi Ltd. All rights reserved.
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