Nursing into the 21st Century. Curtin L. Springhouse (PA): S p r i n g h o u s e Corpora t ion , 1996, 344 pp., $29.95., ISBN 0-87434834-X.

P lann ing to b e act ively involved in nur s ing in t he year 2001? Nursing into the 21st Century is an in t r igu ing com- pilat ion of Leah Curt in ' s essays, offering an ins igh t into the i ssues inf luenc ing the delivery of nur s ing care as we enter the twenty-f i rs t century. This is an easily read anthology d i rec ted at an a u d i e n c e of all nurses w h e t h e r they are involved in the clinical area, leadership, or educat ion. Ms. Curtin addres ses such i s sues as hea l th care reform, work redesign, s t ra teg ic p lanning, nu r s ing ' s image, empower- men t , quality, technology, profess ional ism, t e s t i n g for h u m a n im.munodef ic iency virus, and a d v a n c e d l icensure. She proposes s t ra teg ies to u n d e r s t a n d these i ssues and, a t t he s a m e time, cont inuous ly focuses on all tha t ' s r ight wi th nurs ing. Ms. Curt in wri tes wi th a s e n s e of humor and the ins igh t of one who has b e e n act ively involved in each of the facets of nur s ing t ha t she addresses . Readers will apprec ia te t ha t she has walked in our shoes.

Nursing into the 21st Century conta ins a collection of shor t e ssays (five to six pages) a r ranged in s even cate- gories: nurs ing, e thics , leadership, m a n a g e m e n t , hea l th care reform, res t ructur ing, and society. The es says are timely, wr i t ten b e t w e e n 1990 and 1995.

This is no t an in -dep th tex tbook on aspec t s of clinical nu r s ing or nu r s ing m a n a g e m e n t , bu t a collection of the au thor ' s in s igh t s on the p r e sen t s t a tu s of nursing. Nursing into the 21st Century is a "mus t read" for any nu r se who w a n t s to feel good abou t w h a t he or she does and w h o would like to develop an a w a r e n e s s of the scope of i ssues affect ing his or her practice.--DAS and MC

Wilderness Medicine: Management of Wilderness and Environ- mental Emergencies. 3rd ed. A u e r b a c h PS. St. Louis: Mosby-Year Book, 1995, 1506 pp., $157, ISBN 0-8016-7044-6.

"Nurse call, Line 2." "Hello, th is is a nurse. Can I help you?" "Uhm, yeah, I mean , I hope so. I 'm going to Austra l ia

to go d iv ing on the Great Barrier Reef and someone told m e I couldn ' t dive dur ing m y per iod b e c a u s e it would a t t rac t grea t wh i t e sharks. Is t ha t true?"

J Emerg Nurs 1996;22:426. Copyright �9 1996 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/96 $5.00 + 0 18/64/75931

You th ink to yourself, "Do t h e s e people s tay awake n igh t s th ink ing up th is stuff?"

We've ali h ad similar nurse calls for unusual information and advice. Wha t about the pa t ient wi th profound hypother- mia? Or maybe you're the outdoor en thus ias t preparing for an expedit ion up Denali and wonder ing h o w to prevent high- altitude illnesses. Where do you turn for the information? Wilderness and environmental emergenc ies are sufficiently u n c o m m o n in mos t se t t ings tha t a reliable reference book is a m u s t for those "strange and unusual" calls and cases.

This recent ly revised bible of wi lde rness and environ- men ta l emerg en c i e s is b igger and be t t e r t han ever. Every e m e r g e n c y d e p a r t m e n t should have a copy. The authors are wel l -known exper ts in thei r subspec ia l ty areas, and the b r ead t h and d e p t h of sub jec t ma t t e r covered is impressive. The information is extensively re fe renced to research- b a s e d literature. However, b e w a r e - - i t is easy to get side- t racked by in te res t ing information as you try to look up your original ques t ion (hmmm, do the "breast stroke" or "tread water" if you ' re ever c a u g h t in an ava lanche . . .). The 139 full-color p ic tures are a specia l treat. They will b e helpful as you try to identify the snake t ha t your pa t i en t b ro u g h t wi th h i m to the e m e r g e n c y d e p a r t m e n t ("Yes sir, t ha t ' s a coral snake an d it 's alive0.

Now, to conc lude t ha t nu r se call. A s s u m i n g you have the t ime to look it up an d you are al lowed to give advice an d information over the phone, you can share the follow- ing information wi th your caller: m e n s t r u a t i n g w o m e n should not dive in shark- infes ted waters . But, mos t of the grea t wh i t e sharks in Austral ia are in sou the rn Australia. Shark s igh t ings off the Grea t Barrier Reef are rare, espe- cially grea t whites. However, t he caller will have to make the dec is ion herself abou t w h e t h e r to d i v e r - - J A P

BOOK REVIEWERS

Daun A. Smith, RN, MS, CEN, is a staff nurse, Emergency Department , Dar tmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Martha Coutermarsh, RN, is a staff nurse, Ambula tory Care, Lahey-Hi tchcock Clinic, Lebanon, N e w Hampshire .

Jean A. Proehl, RN, MN, CEN, CCRN, is t h e Emergency Clinical Nurse Specialist , Dar tmouth-Hi tchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, N ew Hampshire .

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