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MEN IN NURSING

AMERICAN ASSEMBLY FOR MEN IN NURSING

11 Cornell Rd., Latham, NY 12110-1499; 518-782-9400, ext. 346; fax: 518-782-9530; [email protected]; http://www.aamn.org/index.html

 

Brief: The purpose of AAMN is to provide a framework for nurses as a group to meet, discuss and influence factors that affect men as nurses. Membership is open to any nurse-male or female-to better facilitate discussion and to meet the most important objective of AAMN-strengthening and humanizing health care. Full membership ($80.00 annually) is open to RNs; associate membership ($25.00-40.00) is open to nursing students and LPNs. Benefits of membership include a newsletter, opportunity for voice and to hold offices, and participation in an annual convention.

 

MEN IN NURSING JOURNAL

Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins, bimonthly, premiers February 2006, $29.95, softbound.

 

Brief:Men in Nursing is the first journal of its kind to address the clinical and professional needs of male nurses and those who recruit and hire them. This new peer-reviewed journal will inform and support male nurses and their colleagues in four areas: clinical, technological, career and personal. Feature articles describe methods for overcoming gender stereotypes and obstacles to professional growth; clinical guidelines to ensure top-quality patient care; practical tips for managing career goals; and strategies for effective collaboration with all members of the health care team. Regular departments offer insight into finance, career development, high-tech equipment, men's health issues and professional advice for men, written by men.

 

MEN'S HEALTH

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MEN'S HEALTH AND GENDER

Edited by Siegfried Meryn

 

Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier, quarterly, $105.00, paperback.

 

Brief: IJMH was initiated in 2004 by the International Society for Men's Health and Gender to disseminate information in the growing discipline of men's health and gender-specific medicine. The purpose of this peer-reviewed journal is to inform, educate, encourage debate and engender innovation in treatment and preventive medical care. Although focused primarily on men, a unique aspect of this journal is the regular inclusion of articles on gender-specific medicine for both men and women. Nurses can find the latest research and treatment information for a variety of gender-related health concerns.

 

A HANDBOOK OF MEN'S HEALTH

By Tom Laws

 

232 pp., Edinburgh, United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, March 2006, $29.95, paperback.

 

Brief: Laws, a nurse, has prepared a ready reference in every area of practice for nurses who care for men. Chapters are organized following each stage of life from youth to maturity. General topics such as cardiovascular and cancer diseases are addressed from the male perspective, as well as gender-specific health concerns such as cultural identities among men, accident and illness prevention, reproductive rights, substance abuse, STDs and sensitive issues related to sexuality. Best practices guidelines, evidence-based information and critical reflection exercises help the reader evaluate social norms and understand current men's health practices. Resources include a wide range of websites and references.

 

HARVARD MEN'S HEALTH WATCH NEWSLETTER

By Harvard Medical School 8 pp., Boston. MA: monthly newsletter, $24.00.

 

Brief: Written by Harvard physicians and based on research from the Harvard Men's Health Study, this eight-page, monthly newsletter addresses men's health concerns to help them lead healthier, longer lives. Covering everything from prostate disease, nutrition and exercise, to sexual dysfunction and hair loss, this is a helpful recommendation for patients and a handy reference to help nurses keep up with the latest in men's health.

 

PERSONAL GROWTH

OVERCOMING SECONDARY STRESS IN MEDICAL AND NURSING PRACTICE

By Robert J. Wicks

 

197 pp., New York, NY: Oxford University Press 2006, $25.00, hardcover.

 

Review: Written by a psychologist, this book helps practicing health care professionals (nursing and medicine) to remain psychologically healthy. Wicks recognizes many health care professionals "deny their own emotional needs as a survival mechanism" (p. 4). However, this survival mechanism increases one's risk of succumbing to secondary stress that is likely to lead to burnout. Secondary stress is defined as "the stress caused by the pressures placed on professionals who care for others in need" (p. 14).

  
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Divided into four short chapters with an extensive bibliography, it's a quick read for busy professionals, to acquaint them with the realities of secondary stress that exist in today's health care environment. A proactive approach to acknowledge stress and to prevent the acceleration of secondary stress in one's life is encouraged. Multiple questionnaires and reflective queries are included to guide readers in identifying personal factors leading to professional stress. The author introduces strategies to assist readers in developing a self-care protocol to combat the effects of secondary stress in their work and their home lives.

 

Spirituality and religion are recognized as having potential roles in the life of health care professionals. However, Wicks views spirituality and religion from a postmodern world-view. Incorporated into the text are spiritual perspectives from a variety of world religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Judaism. Readers are encouraged to consider "different approaches to spiritual reading, including inner journeys, biographies/autobiographies, quotes from spiritual masters, wisdom from the East, Western spirituality and spiritual/self-help/New Age material" (p. 110). It is acknowledged that one's approach to spiritual reading depends on "whether you are religious, the faith group to which you belong, whether you are a searcher and have no religious affiliation and how interested you are in using a broad or focused approach" (p. 110). Wicks also states, "If you are Christian, moving beyond one's own tradition to read from other religious traditions is also very enlightening and inspiring" (p. 135). Books from a variety of religious perspectives are recommended.

 

Health care professionals are likely to find this book helpful in recognizing secondary stress and its effects on their lives. Strategies to assist readers in developing a self-care protocol are varied and easily personalized. However, in spite of the book's many good aspects, I cannot recommend it to Christian health care professionals as a first-line approach to developing personal resilience, due to the author's postmodernist approach to spirituality. For those who choose to read this book, I recommend that you use spiritual discernment.

 

Joy Washburn, EdDc, RN

 

Assistant Professor of Nursing, Grand Valley State University; Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, Zeeland Community Hospital

 

A DAD-SHAPED HOLE IN MY HEART

HOW GOD WANTS TO HEAL THE WOUNDS LEFT BY YOUR EARTHLY FATHER

 

By H. Norman Wright

 

187 pp., Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2005, $12.99, paperback.

 

Brief: Wright offers insights into the important role of the father/daughter relationship and what happens when dads disappoint. Some of the twelve topics include: losing your father through divorce, death or abandonment; seeing denial for what it is; how to improve your relationship with your dad; finding your real and perfect heavenly Father.

 

Though written for daughters, fathers wishing to heal or restore a wounded relationship with their daughters may find helpful insights. Each chapter contains thought-provoking questions or exercises to help one deal with the grief of a failed relationship.

 

MISSION

PERSPECTIVES ON POVERTY AND HEALTH CARE A COLLECTION OF READINGS

Edited by Jeanne M. Burger

 

122 pp., Indianapolis, IN: Precedent Press, 2005, $38.00, paperback.

 

Review: This moving collection of ten articles opened my mind and my heart to new ways of thinking about poverty, justice and health care for the poor. Burger, a nurse-educator, has done an exceptional job in helping us relate to the needs of the poor and develop a new, practical vision for offering health care. Her opening article, "A Place in the Community," sets the tone for a Christ-centered approach to working with the poor. Burger makes a strong case for seeing the poor as people with the ability to define and solve their own problems as opposed to people who are deficient. She writes, "Programs that build on the deficiencies rather than the capacities of people in need tend to encourage dependency on systems and professionals instead of encouraging people to tap into their own gifts and potential" (p. 2). Such problem-oriented approaches to helping the poor focus on providers and how we can meet the needs of the poor/solve their problems. Sadly, these approaches usually create income for providers without effectively creating income for the poor, thus perpetuating poverty. Burger shows how to empower the poor, encourage their participation and build their capacity. She offers ways for nurses to recognize our mutual vulnerability, listen and offer presence, and view the poor as Jesus did.

 

Other contributors offer numerous mind-and opinion-changing insights about poverty. One well-known leader in the movement against poverty, Ron Sider (Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger), articulates his vision for overcoming poverty in America in a personal and riveting fashion. Other authors challenge us to rethink the politics of health care and poverty, overcome cultural barriers, develop holistic community approaches to care and design innovative health care models for the inner city and other poor. The public safety net system in the U.S., intended to protect those truly in need and without resources, is examined, along with factors contributing to the rising health care costs and the number of uninsured. The book concludes with an overview of three ethical frameworks for approaching health care for the poor: rule ethics; virtue ethics; and focus on oppression of vulnerable groups. A final fourth system, scriptural principles for ministering in a righteous manner, is offered, revealing what Jesus taught: right actions springing from a righteous character will bring about right results for the poor.

 

Added bonuses to this collection are numerous case studies, discussion questions, and scenarios for learning and growth that can be used by individuals, groups and educators. A detailed, sixteen-hour curriculum is available to educators at no extra charge. The goal of the publisher is to place this tool in the hands of anyone interested in providing instruction in poverty and health care; cost discounts are available, if needed, for schools and educators.

 

This book offers a hands-on journey into understanding and rethinking poverty and health care, discovering what Jesus would do and what he wants of me as a nurse. Expect your heart to be changed.

 

KSS

 

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