Book Review

It is my adorably optimistic aim to read a book a week over these 8 weeks off. On average, since some weeks won't involve anything near a book.

Last week I finished:

TRANSCULTURAL CONCEPTS In Nursing Care: Second Edition (1995)by Margaret M. Andrews and Joyceen S. Boyle, J.B. Lippincott Company: Philadelphia

On the plus side I received this book as a gift, which means it's all mine. That gives me the option to underline, note and scribble endlessly in it, which is one of my guiltishly geeky pleasures.

So, what's it like? Well, it was a gift. I would not have bought this book, personally. It's old (most of the sources are from the 80s, making their reliability and relevance questionable) and American, which means it refers to processes and - more importantly - cultures and sub-cultures which are not very prevalent in this country. I am, for example, unfortunately not going to meet many Native Americans in my neck of the woods. Whereas I am statistically more likely to look after men and women of Arab descent, a culture not greatly covered in the book.

So it has it's down sides. Generally, if taken with a pinch of NHS salt the book is an interesting and valuable insight into the ideas behind transcultural nursing and does provide a few relevant examples that prove useful. Did you know, for example, that people of Asian descent find blowing one's nose to be rude, and consider sniffling more polite? Interesting stuff.

Would I recommend this book? To check out from the library, certainly, but not to buy. There may also be a later edition or even a British analogue out there which would be a much more sensible idea. Most certainly better than a kick in the teeth, though.