In review: featured books and apps

How to develop your Healthcare Career: A Guide to Employability and Professional Development
Lisa Taylor (ed)
ISBN: 9781118910832

Given the current plethora of choice for many band 5 and 6 physiotherapists across the UK it could be argued why should you bother with this text? However, to maximise our chances of gaining our optimum job, this book provides an essential guide. The text is relevant for students thinking of their first post, those going for new roles and line managers encouraging career development.

The chapters are logically laid out and flow from areas such as career planning and management to service improvement. The format is very accessible with summary boxes in each chapter for ‘tips and trips’. Handily, there is a section in each chapter on potential interview questions that could prove useful for both interviewee and the new interviewer. The reader is actively encouraged to reflect on the text with regular ‘time for reflection’ boxes as you progress through the chapters, to ensure you apply the learning into a practical context.

In the foreword, Karen Middleton, the CSP’s chief executive, strongly commends the business skills chapter and refers to the key themes of ‘going the extra mile’ and ‘personal responsibility’. I would concur and found the chapter on professionalism offered a good starting place for a conversation around what professionalism looks like these days. This is a complex area that has shifted over the years and will continue to do so. Interesting constructs such as vocation and values are explored and one of the reflection boxes asks you if you are familiar with your code of ethics. Social media are addressed though there is less focus here on the positives.

This book would be a useful addition to a department or university library.

• Dr Stephanie Best, lecturer in health care management and leadership, Swansea University and public relations officer, Leaders and Managers of Physiotherapy Services (LAMPS)

IPrescribeExercise

This evidence-driven innovative app, developed by chartered physiotherapists, creates a tailored exercise based programme for its users. Using algorithms, the app creates a personalised 12-week programme based on screening questions and data input. The app has been developed with the UK’s 20 most prevalent non-communicable diseases in mind, making it accessible for all. www.iprescribeexercise.com

• Stuart Palma, CSP professional adviser

SBRI Healthcare competition

SBRI Healthcare, an NHS England-funded initiative, supports innovative approaches to unmet health needs, Up to 12 small business could each benefit from £100,000 in its latest competition for healthcare innovations that help manage patient flow in acute care and the care of children with long-term conditions. The competition closes at 12 noon on 28 July. http://sbrihealthcare.co.uk/competitions

Challenges in Professional Supervision: Current themes and models for practice
Liz Beddoe and Allyson Davys
ISBN: 9781849055895

This book explores issues, trends and developments in supervision work in health and social care and may also appeal to academics interested in developments in the field.

Hope and Grace: Spiritual experiences in severe distress, illness and dying
Monika Renz
ISBN: 9781785920301

Conventional coping strategies can be pushed to their limits when people find themselves in situations of suffering, illness, and dying. The author shows how care providers can recognise patients’ spiritual experiences.

Vulnerability: Challenging bioethics
Henk ten Have
ISBN: 9781138652675

This book looks at the new concept of vulnerability in today’s bioethics. Arguing that the language of vulnerability offers perspectives beyond the traditional autonomy model, the author aims to offer a new approach that will enable bioethics to evolve into a global enterprise.

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