Disaster Nursing and Emergency Preparedness for Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Terrorism and Other Hazards, 2nd Edition

ISBN: 9780826121448
ISBN-10: 0826121446
Copyright: 2007
Edition: 2nd
Editor: Veenema, Tener Goodwin
Doody's Expert Review    Score: 96
Reviewer: Charlotte Walker,  MNSc  (Central Arkansas Veterans Hospital)
Description
This multipurpose book provides nurses with a foundation of knowledge, a tool box of skills, and a ready reference for preparing and dealing with disasters. The first edition was published in 2002.
Purpose
With the heightened awareness of potential disasters, books on disaster nursing and emergency preparedness are now in high demand. The purpose of this book is to provide the most current, valid, and reliable information available to help prepare nurses keep themselves, their patients, and families safe during any disaster event. This book meets the author's objectives with well organized information and engaging text.
Audience
This book targets nurses and nurse practitioners, instead of the usual audience of physicians and public health officials. Dr. Veenema and the numerous contributors have extensive and impressive credentials in disaster nursing and emergency medicine.
Features
To quote the author, "This book is broad in scope and deep in detail." The book is set up as a teaching, learning, and reference tool. Each chapter begins with key messages, learning objectives, and a chapter overview. Most chapters end with a summary, critical actions, and a vast reference list. Some chapters add study questions and Internet activities and links. The chapters cover general topics such as disaster management, triage, and restoring public health as well as specific like burn casualty, biological agents, and the unique needs of children during disasters. The book ends with several appendixes of disaster summaries, a glossary, and an index.
Assessment
The first edition of this book was published shortly after the 9/11 attacks and several years before Hurricane Katrina. This second edition strives to include the many lessons learned from these and other disasters. I would recommend this book to anyone who is involved in disaster preparedness and to any nurse who is intelligent enough to recognize the dangers in today's world.
Review Questionnaire
Range Question Score
1-10 Are the author's objectives met? 10
1-10 Rate the worthiness of those objectives. 10
1-5 Is this written at an appropriate level? 5
1-5 Is there significant duplication? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5
1-5 Are there significant omissions? (1=significant, 5=insignificant) 5
1-5 Rate the authority of the authors. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient illustrations? 5
1-5 Rate the pedagogic value of the illustrations. 5
1-5 Rate the print quality of the illustrations. 5
1-5 Are there sufficient references? 1
1-5 Rate the currency of the references. 5
1-5 Rate the pertinence of the references. 5
1-5 Rate the helpfulness of the index. 5
1-5 If important in this specialty, rate the physical appearance of the book 5
1-10 Is this a worthwhile contribution to the field? 10
1-10 If this is a 2nd or later edition, is this new edition needed? 10