Foundations in Nursing and Health Care: Profiles and Portfolios of Evidence

AORN Journal,  Oct, 2006  by Lesley Henderson

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Foundations in Nursing and Health Care: Profiles and Portfolios of Evidence

Ruth Pearce 2003, 124 pages 14 [pounds sterling] softcover

This book provides a concise and well-written look at the development and use of a professional portfolio. Nursing students are guided through the process of organizing and setting up their first portfolio. Nursing students sometimes see portfolio development as busy-work or just something that is required for a course, but the chapters on linking theory to practice and why a portfolio is useful will answer many questions from students as to why developing a portfolio is important.

This book does a particularly good job of illustrating how a nurse might use experiential case studies to illustrate professional growth and how he or she might link these case studies to a career ladder more effectively. For a long time, nurses have had difficulty articulating what effects their actions have on patient care. The author uses a case study of an unreasonable workload to show readers how to use case studies to effectively highlight problem areas. The book also examines the issues of continuing professional education, applying for particular positions, and developing a focused and effective curriculum vitae. All of these topics are covered well and will be useful to a new graduate.

A CD-ROM is included with the book, and it contains numerous templates for documents useful to students and professional nurses, such as examples of portfolios, curriculum vitae formats, and resumes. The templates are easy to use and offer a nice starting point for someone new to the process of career development.

The only drawback to the book is one of language. The book was written and published in the United Kingdom, and some of the language may confuse American students. For example, concepts such as academic levels of certificate, diploma, and degree by student years in a "programme" or applications to a "trust" might require some explanation for US students. Overall, this is a very good book with some nice features, but it should be evaluated carefully before it is adopted for student use.

This book is available from Nelson Thornes Ltd, Delta Place, 27 Bath Rd, Cheltenham GL53 7TH, United Kingdom.

LESLEY HENDERSON

RN, MSN, CNOR

Assistant professor

Department of Nursing

Georgia Highlands College

Rome, Ga

COPYRIGHT 2006 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning