and its manipulation via com- puter-based tools. A defini- tion of nursing informatics is the use of technology and/or a computer system to collect, store, process, display, retrieve, and communicate timely data and information in and across health care facil- ities. Advances in information and computer technologies have brought the importance of health care informatics to the forefront.

This textbook follows the curriculum of a nursing infor- matics program. It is divided into four sections, including introduction to health care, data analysis, health informa- tion and knowledge represen- tation, and organizational impact. The first section dis- cusses nursing information technology, and the last sec- tion covers informatics’ impact on the nursing envi- ronment, quality assessment, and communication between health care professionals. The format allows readers to study the sections in any order. The sections are divid- ed into 29 chapters.

One very interesting chap- ter deals with how the organi- zation of health care has changed and will continue to change. It discusses how health care practitioners use information systems for cost containment and accountabili- ty, as well as for improving quality and measuring and comparing alternative forms of treatment. The editors also acknowledge the very real issue of resistance to change and provide some ideas for

deal- ing

with it. They point out that resistance may come from nursing staff members, but it also frequent- ly comes from physicians.

Nurses use new tools, but the ideals of the profession stay the same. This book is designed specifically to edu- cate nurses, and it provides information about health informatics that relates to nursing practice. Using the advances discussed, nurses can spend more time with patients because they will need less time to look for answers to questions. One example is treating a patient who is diabetic. Traditional paper records cannot cope adequately with the mass of data accumulated on such a patient, but new computer systems can handle large amounts of data and help nurses organize the data.

A few of the chapters are highly specialized and will be of most interest to nurses who specialize in related areas. One example is a chap- ter on image processing and analysis that is rife with for- mulas and technical informa- tion beyond the scope of most readers. The book contains a glossary, subject index, and list of contributors that includes addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and affiliations.

There are contributors from the United States, Europe, and Australia. Readers will gain an under- standing of how technology

education in nursing differs in various areas in the world. For example, at the Univer- sity of Athens, Greece, stu- dents must take two full semesters of informatics education.

The importance of the information presented in this book is emphasized by the president of the International Council of Nurses who believes that without this information, nurses will be limited in their ability to con- tribute to future develop- ments in nursing and health care information systems. This book provides an in- depth look at nursing infor- matics. It would be great for classroom use and could be used in nurse education pro- grams for hospital inservice discussion groups.

IS0 Press, Inc, 5795-G Burke Centre Pkwy, Burke, VA 22015; isobooks@kopress.com.

SUSAN JENSEN RN, BS, CNOR

GLEN FALLS HOSPITAL NY

This book is available from

PERIOPERAnVE STAFF NURSE

Internet Resources for

Nurses, second ed

Joyce J. Fitzpatrick, Kristen 5. Montgomew, eds

2003,448 pp $44.95 paperback

As a result of recent tech- nology, the amount of infor- mation available to health care

152 AORN JOURNAL

workers through the Internet has increased dramatically. The challenge of balancing multiple job responsibilities leaves little time to explore health care Internet resources independently. This book is a quick resource and reference guide for professional nurses developing familiarity with the Internet. It discusses web- based resources available to help nurses improve their practice. The editors are pub- lished widely in nursing and health care and have received several book awards. There are numerous qualified con- tributors, and each gives an informative introduction to his or her specialty. Each contrib- utor provides six to 10 links to information, so an extensive number of web site addresses are included.

This is a well-organized reference book that will be useful to all members of the health care team and to stu- dents seeking resources that provide professional or clini- cal information. It is divided into three parts, and each gives a comprehensive review of resources that provide pro- fessional information. The

methodology of describing and evaluating each web site is consistent and clearly con- veyed to readers. It includes a brief description of each organization and its purpose, as well as analysis of the site’s accuracy of information and ease of use. Each section is comprehensive and relates to current areas of interest in health care.

ics, includes web sites that provide timely information on issues such as evidence- based practice and leader- ship. General and specialty professional nursing organi- zations, nursing job sites, and nursing administration sites are explored. This section would be beneficial to vari- ous nursing professionals, including managers, educa- tors, staff nurses, and stu- dents. The second part of the book, clinical topics, presents information that would be of interest to professionals as well as health care con- sumers. Web sites included in this section provide informa- tion to patients and their fam- ily members on topics such as women’s health, pain control,

Part one, professional top-

and Alzheimer’s disease. Part three, evaluation information, is a listing of those web sites that may prove helpful to educators or researchers interested in gaining informa- tion on how to successfully evaluate data obtained from a web site.

The book is effective in its ability to relay the general context of web site informa- tion available to readers. The book is outlined clearly, alphabetized, and easy to follow. The index is helpful for finding web sites; it notes whether sites are appropri- ate for consumers and the language in which informa- tion is given. I would recom- mend this book to health care providers and students who are comfortable obtain- ing educational material via the Internet.

This book is available from Springer Publishing Co, 536 Broadway, New York, NY

.springerpub.com. 10012-3955; http://wwlo

LORI A. PELLETIER RN, BSN, CNOR

PERIOPERATIVE STAFF NURSE NEW BRITAIN GENERAL HOSPITAL

CONN

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