92 NURSE EDUCATION TODAY

Although the book provides a comprehensive and

well written account of clinical nutrition, and may

be invaluable to dietitians and other health pro-

fessionals, I feel that, on some counts, it dots not

adequately meet the needs of most nurses. A major

difficulty is the medical model or framework from

which it is written. Many nurses are trying to move

forward from a medical perspective and, although a

problem-solving approach is used in applying care,

the fundamental approach taken is different. Clinical

nutrition is, of course, important to nurses, and the

topic obviously works best from within a medical

model context, but the nurse’s role in nutritional

care is more complex.

The issue within this book which may also present

problems for nurses is the poorly defined role of the

nurse in the nutritional care of the patient. A fault

not solely conlined to the authors; in general, this

aspect of the nurse’s role has been neglected by all

concerned. This book does provide good basic

nutritional knowledge for the nurse to use. However,

I do not feel that the approach taken in the text

can contribute to the development of that role,

which must surely begin from a nursing perspective

and include wider aspects of nutrition. Yet any re-

definition of the nurse’s role, or improvement in her

contribution to the nutritional care of the patient,

should essentially come from within the profession

This book can provide the nurse with a good

basic introduction to nutritional knowledge, which is

an excellent starting point for an improved contri-

bution to nutritional care. It offers the nurse teacher

easily accessible nutritional information on which to

base the framework of a course of lessions, but for an

understanding of the wider implications of nutrition,

the teacher will also need to look to current research

and developments in nursing, health education and

the social sciences.

SANDRA LASK BA MS PGCE SRM RNT

Phantasy in Everday Life J. Segal

Penguin Books

1985 234 pp L2.95

This book is about the ways in which, from a very

early age we use fantasy in our view of the world. It colours our perceptions and leads us to make erro-

neous conclusions about other people and ourselves.

This book views this fantasy world from the

Kleinian point of view. I looked forward to reading

it.

The experience of reading was difficult. The author

adopts a particularly discursive and meandering

style which offers few pointers as to direction or

order. Each chapter is written in this rhapsodic

style and the overall effect is confusing. The writer

also punctuates part of the text with ‘first person’

references and then abruptly changes into the ‘third

person’. Many examples are drawn from personal

esperiencc, which should have made the text live

but after a while it became tedious.

Some of the chapters of this book contain a

summary but others do not. Continuity would have

made the book more readable.

This is not an introductory text nor do I feel that

it clarifies what is a complicated field. It is very

reasonably priced, however and may interest nurses

who already have some knowledge of psychoanalysis.

PHILIP BURNAN) lzfsc RM.N SRN DipN Cert Ed RN7

Sexuality, Nursing and Health Christine Webb

John Wiley

1985 200 pp L5.95

This is an excellent book, both interesting and

informative. The contents are presented in an ob-

jective and realistic fashion with only the hint of a

feminist perspective peeping through on occasions.

As one would imagine from this author, the book

has a good bibliography with up-to-date references

and suggestions for further reading. I would suggest

that many of these books are not freely available in

the average Department of Nursing Library. which

probably reflects the state of this topic in nursing

curricula past and present. The real beauty of this

book is that it contains something for everyone, from

the newly arrived Student or Pupil Nurse to the

specialist who carries out sexuality counselling. I

read this book with enthusiasm and can readily

recommend it to any nurse who wishes to know

more about this important, but to date neglected

area of nursing care. The major challenge for many

nurses may be to get past the title, but once they

have overcome this hurdle a goldmine of useful and

enlightening information will be made available.

The cost of this book and its overall presentation

should find it a place in every library connected

with nursing studies.

MICHAEL GARRITY RGN O.NC DN RMT BEd (Hans) MSc