Study Skills for Nurses (2003) by Elizabeth Whitehead and Tom Mason.

Published by Sage: London. ISBN 0 7619 4128 2.

Book Review

In a market where there is considerable student diversity in nursing, this book

provides an extremely important resource to support student’s study. Although

this title is aimed at nurses the content is pertinent to all health care

professional students. The book promotes the concept that you can learn to

study. This will appeal to students who have either had a break from studying

or who are anxious about studying within higher education, which in my

experience is nearly all students.

It begins by setting the context and outlines how nurse education moved into

higher education and the significance of this for nursing. This introduction to

studying nursing makes it vital pre-course reading and would certainly be of

benefit to students. The book can be a read as a whole or used as a

reference guide. There are ten chapters covering a series of study themes;

time management, technology for nurses, managing literature, assignment

writing, referencing, passing examinations, theory and practice, reflection and

personal and professional development. Each chapter begins with a number

of learning outcomes and ends with a summary of the key points and includes

the option of a self-test. There is also a practical session for each chapter and

this interactive element enables the reader to immediately put into action the

learning from the chapter e.g. in the chapter on theory and practice the reader

is asked to; consider a nursing action that could be changed, write down the

underpinning theory, establish what would replace it and how the replacement

action would be tested. Within the chapters there are signposts to assist
reflections, learning aids to study and key concepts, which are explained in a

well-presented, accessible way.

All the sections are relevant and valuable and the authors discuss important

issues that promote this text beyond an aid to learning by analysing the milieu

of the issues raised to the student as a participant in learning in higher

education and professional practice. The chapter on time management is

excellent as it considers the diverse student population and sets out to enable

the student to manage their time whether they have just left school or whether

they are mature students with family commitments. The signpost in this

chapter highlighting the need to plan time for others and recognise

responsibilities to others is constructive and puts the idea of studying into the

context of the student’s life.

The chapter on passing examinations will also benefit students who are

nervous about this form of assessment. The authors recognise how different

students study and they give important advise on how to plan a revision

timetable and how to be prepared for an examination. The section within this

chapter that describes the examination process is particularly useful and will

enhance student’s perceptions of this assessment method in higher education

and the intricacies of the examination system.

In the chapter on theory and practice the authors set out to consider the

relationship between the practice context and theoretical constructs. Learning

within a healthcare profession involves analysing theory and practice and it is

the application and integration of these principles that develop nursing

practice. The authors place emphasis on practical experience based on

traditional nursing methods but argue these are enriched by the new

evidence-based ethos.

Only three chapters have been discussed here but all the chapters within this

text are pertinent to student’s learning. This book would be of benefit to novice

and experienced health care professionals. Any practitioners engaged with

continuing professional development would benefit from this book and this

includes clinical staff and nurses working in management. I recommend this

publication to all pre-registration and post-registration health professional

students who have an interest in learning and may feel concerned about the

rigours involved with undertaking a programme of study.

Ruth Pearce, Lecturer in Nursing, School of Health Sciences, University of

Birmingham