Nurse Executive Resource Manual, edited by Julian S.A. Cicatiello, Gaithersburg, MD, Aspen Publishers, 2001. 412 pages, loose-leaf, $249.

This large text has 46 contributors and an editorial board of 10 members to enable the compilation of a sophisticated manual for those deeply involved in nursing administration at all levels. The need for keen insight and greater management of knowledge is a strong demand in this time of rapid expansion of knowledge and the growing need for sharper insights into its use for the public good. The pressure on those in appointed leadership positions will increase, and thus persons in these positions will have to be sophisticated in using organizational knowledge to enhance the precise delivery of care, even though the scientific components are undergoing frequent changes. This modulation demand will leap forward when genealogy therapy emerges as an absolute cure for some of the illnesses.

The manual is organized around eight major sections. These are (1) administration, (2) resource management, (3) ambulatory services, (4) patient care, (5) home care, (6) long-term care, (7) centers of excellence, and (8) new waves. Each of these sections is further focused on prime subsections of this topic area. For example, the section on new waves discusses the maturing of consumerism, online classes, strategic performance improvement planning using electronic meeting support, and patients' rights and responsibilities. This section will grow in content, so it is necessary to have an in-depth knowledge of what constitutes the present.

The patient care section may interest most readers because of the need to focus attentively on the issue as a major distinguishing variable to survival as a respected health care organization. All participants in each organization, and especially the leaders, must focus on the future in order to be proactive instead of reactive in how changes are made. This observation does not lessen the value of the other chapters. All aspects of executive behavior have to be in smooth relationships to ensure positive outcomes to keep patients satisfied with resources used in their care, or the health care organization may not remain in existence. This phenomenon of easy oblivion can be observed in organizations of all types. Patients are informed much better today than they were even 20 years ago, so they have keener observations of how they were treated.

This text is not limited to executives because everyone, at every level, must have an understanding of how organizations function productively and what must be done to cope with the rapid increase in behavioral science knowledge as well as that of the physical sciences. Career advancement largely depends on the wise use of knowledge. A CD-ROM with useful information is included with the text at no extra cost.