Introducing Psychology for Nurses and Health Care Professionals

Introducing Psychology for Nurses and Healthcare Professionalsis a refreshingly engaging, and accessible introduction to psychology written specifically to support nurses and other medical and health care professionals, such as Midwives and Care Assistants, in both their studies and in practice.  Assumingno previous knowledge, the text emphasizes the importance of understanding the psychological thought and action of patients in order for nursing and healthcare professionals to provide appropriate and satisfactory patient care in practice.

The seven chapters cover psychology topics relevant to nursing and health care including the various psychological approaches and how they can be applied, psychology across the lifespan, the psychology of communication, cognitive psychology, the basis of psychological thought and action, and the psychology of stress and pain.  In addition to being an ideal introductory text for all pre-registration nursing courses, this book is also suitable for those in practice requiring a refresher or reference text.

Upton: Introducing Psychology for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals

Introducing Psychology for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals is a concise and accessible introduction to psychology, which shows how psychology can be applied to day to day nursing and health care practice.

Written in a engaging yet robust way, every chapter has been honed to ensure that each element is directly related to both study and practical application in the workplace. The seven chapters cover psychology topics relevant to nursing and health care including the basis of psychological thought and action, the various psychological approaches and how they can be applied, psychology across the lifespan, the psychology of communication, cognitive psychology, and the psychology of stress and pain. To illustrate these to best effect, the text features numerous tools to support learning including:

• Your starting point - a short test at the start of each chapter designed to check initial understanding.
• Think about this - activities developed to open up discussion about specific issues discussed in each chapter.
• Key message - a single sentence summary of each section within a chapter.
• Quick check - regular short activities designed to test knowledge and application of what has been covered.
• Your end point - an end-of-chapter test intended to diagnose what you know and what you need to revise further.
• Future reading - targeted and annotated further reading lists developed to reduce time spent searching for other resources and focus on those that are most relevant and beneficial.
• Glossary - all major terms and definitions are covered in a comprehensive glossary.

This book has been written to support nurses and other medical and health care professionals, such as Midwives and Care Assistants, in both their studies and in practice. It is particularly suited to student nurses of any branch and works equally well for both undergraduates and those studying post-graduate qualifications. Finally, for those in practice requiring a refresher or reference text, this book will be an excellent companion.

Professor Dominic Upton is Head of Psychological Sciences at the University of Worcester. He is a Chartered Health Psychologist and teaches psychology to nurses and health care professionals.