Nursing Management[horizontal ellipsis]Principles and Practice, edited by Mary Magee Gullatte. Pittsburgh, Pa: Oncology Nursing Society, 2005. 665 pages, hardcover, $75 for members, $95 for nonmembers. Order toll free at 866-257-4ONS or online athttp://www.ons.org.

This book was primarily written as an in-depth review of general and oncology nursing management principles to guide the practice and development of nurse managers involved with cancer care. However, any nurse leader overseeing a division involving oncology or integrate oncology care in their facility would also benefit from this comprehensive book. There is good reason this book received the 2005 AJN Book of the Year Award.

The editor worked with 54 authors of rather impressive backgrounds in research, practice, academic, financial, legal, and leadership expertise. Twenty-six reviewers with equally impressive backgrounds reviewed the chapters. In all there are 37 chapters. The appendices have 6 very practical templates for new nurse managers from a corrective action form to an 8-page Family and Medical Leave Act application.

The book covers not only general management and leadership topics very well but the applications in the cancer care setting as well. For example, they provide an example of workload measurement in an infusion center in the chapter on ambulatory care management. That is in addition to a budget worksheet for the acute care setting. The editor also includes cancer program strategic planning and marketing, an area oncology nurse managers should make part of their learning portfolio. In other words, the book covers the major management topic areas, across the entire cancer care continuum, with practical and technical applications specific to these areas. The book takes on the difficult issues managers face in specialty settings such as the role of assistive personnel in various work settings, the managing of employees from interviews to orientation to retirement and when necessary, terminated. This is one of those books that if you think of any question a nurse manager may have, this book can probably answer, which is why a copy of this book should be easily accessible to all oncology nurses. The only topic not found in the chapter headings or index is managing in the evolving area of genomes and genetic testing. This editor will probably be approached for a second edition, and perhaps that topic will be covered then. Cancer care is important to us all. It is good to have the Oncology Nursing Society support the publication of this book.