Talk:Open Source Handbook of Nursing

book title accuracy
The term "open source" refers to software, "open content" may be a more accurate title for this book, .--Tradimus (discuss • contribs) 14:52, 16 April 2011 (UTC)


 * In the context it may be hard to determine what source refers to, it can refer to source of information. I would support a project rename that removes both words from the title. "Handbook of Nursing" would be sufficient and general to any medium that the book is put on... --Panic (discuss • contribs) 05:39, 7 February 2012 (UTC)

I started a page in this book, but I am unhappy with the anonymous comments on the vocational nursing section which assert the superiority of registered nurses. Vocational nurses (however titled) have a place in the workforce for which a reference text would be useful. I would argue that disagreements about what is appropriate or sufficient for such a text are destructive to the clarity and sensitivity of relationships which a multi-tiered workforce endures. Likewise registered nurses deserve the text which reflects the rigour of their discipline. The Nursing Study Guide has been abandoned for two years at least. I am thinking that a separate book "Vocational Nursing" could be the way to go.--Tradimus (discuss • contribs) 12:06, 14 February 2012 (UTC) The opening sentence - Nursing is ... simpler medical tasks ... field of medicine. Nursing is not a field of medicine. Nurses do not focus on medical tasks. This is like arguing that police officers perform judicial tasks and that enforcement is a branch of legislature. Medicine and nursing have seperate faculties in every university I can find. Another good reason for a new book.--Tradimus (discuss • contribs) 12:26, 14 February 2012 (UTC) Name of book changed and definition tweaked to remove references to medicine as a parent discipline. 04:39, 24 February 2012 (UTC)

there is a navigation issue that requires admin assistance. If I go to the wikibooks homepage and type NURSING into the search window, the wikibooks engine takes me to category MEDICINE (no nursing books there) but should take me to category HEALTH SCIENCES where two nursing books are. A new NURSING subsection could be started under HEALTH SCIENCES for the two nursing books. One nursing book title has been used as a category in health sciences. I hope more contributors can find the book that way.Tradimus (discuss • contribs) 04:56, 6 March 2012 (UTC)


 * I disagree that nurses do not practice medicine, they do (the same is valid for the example given, police officers do perform judicial tasks). I would agree that vocational nurses may not practice medicine (here a clear definition of medicine must be provided for instance traditional and most palliative medicine do not require any special recognition of expertise). The work should also state why expertise recognition is required and how it evolved. There is also the other side of the issue most professional nurses rapidly acquire better understanding of general medicine that general practitioners doctors during the same time time-frame (doctors are also part bureaucrats and authority figure next to patients) there are even specific fields that dedicated nurses can substitute medical doctors on the most common cases (natural births, minor surgery, family planing, sexual transmitted diseases can generally be assigned to nurses with special cases referred to specialist). This also depends mostly on the quality of education of nurses and doctors (it can not be generalized). --Panic (discuss • contribs) 18:10, 6 March 2012 (UTC)

A few issues here. The internal health politics around role boundaries and titles are a little outside my intentions for an entry level nursing text. I don't think references to medicine belong on the front page, but in a later chapter on qualifications as you said. Police and judges roles overlap but are not synonymous, judges don't usually chase crooks down alleys and issue speeding fines - Analogies can go so far. On the whole I agree with your insights, but where do I put them? I was concerned about nursing being portrayed as subservient to medicine. A neutral stance would be to observe the reality that there is some parallel and nursing has expanded in some areas, but nursing training by medical faculties vanished a generation ago. There are only eight pages on nursing and many hundreds on medicine, so the challenge for me is to get enough material up to generate some interest. I think you have answered my lingering doubt a new book with your comments on the different role of vocational nurses - that is my area of interest. My class and I will start our own book where I can write about it and leave these empty shells to the registered nurses.Tradimus (discuss • contribs) 07:41, 9 April 2012 (UTC)

I would argue both Nursing AND medicine are sub-categories of health science. I have attempted to change a re-direct [] which leads people searching for "Nursing" to medicine, but the nursing books are not located there. The re-direct should be changed to Category: Health Sciences. The Health Sciences Category header has the wrong definition.Tradimus (discuss • contribs) 14:36, 8 April 2012 (UTC)