Customer Reviews

Nursing Home Administration: Fifth Edition

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I'm a few short weeks away from taking the NAB exam to become a licensed nursing facility administrator. This book was the core text for the 5 courses required for licensure (at least it was where I attended, anyway.....to be more specific, it was the only textbook required for all 5 courses) - - a little disturbing when you think about it.

The book is so ripe with typos, it gets to be absolutely laughable......completely unacceptable. The trick, I'm told, to using this book and passing the NAB exam, is to simply train your brain to think like James Allen, PhD.

As a former state nursing facility surveyor (in Texas, no less - -a state that is brutal on nursing homes from a regulatory standpoint), I've seen a'lot of things in nursing homes - - both good things and bad. In one moment, I read Dr. Allen's words and think, "This guy's pretty sharp.", and the next minute, he's prattling on like some idealistic 20 year-old, and I'm thinking, "Has this guy ever actually ran a nursing home in his entire life?" Another core issues is: this guy IS NOT A NURSE and if he knew how much he embarasses himself when trying to talk about clinical issues, he'd stop re-writing this book. Trust me.....if you're over 25 years old, and have spent more than 3 hours handling some part of geriatirc operations, you'll find some of this guy's rambling to be pure comedy. While not relegated completely to geriatrics, this book is proof once again that the whole "gotta pass the board exam"-schtick is growing to be such a gross racket in this nation.
The book will teach you a little bit....primarily about circa 1970's and 1980's generic management theory....which this guy's brain must be totally overloaded with. Funny thing, is: why doesn't the book have photos, line drawings, better graphics? Most of the graphics are centered around teaching you the ADA requirements pretty much as they relate to Life Safety Code requirements- - not altogether worthless, but kind of a cop-out in my opinion.

If you're taking your 5 core courses needed to sit for the NAB exam, you'll probably have to buy this book......sorry about that. Read it, learn what you can from it.....keep the section on personnel managment......then use the remainder of it as confetti for your, "Hey I passed the NAB exam" party!

I'll be short and sweet about this. So you wanna be an LNHA, I suggest you get a hold of a lot more reading material than just this book. James Allen should be ashamed of his publisher -- there are millions of typos in it, and it is written straight out of the mind of a PH.D.

The book is very convoluted, but does contain much needed information you'll have to have for the NAB test. So too, you should buy the NAB book, along with a book by Hacker. Get ready to take a loan out, these books are not cheap. Then comes the test at $440.00, then another $250.00 for your license. Oh yeah, be sure to buy the test book that comes with this book(for an additional $35.00 or so), it does help.

In sum, I wish studying for the NAB was assigned a single text written in an exact format for which the test was exactly written. How it stands now there are at least three (3) texts (2 listed above and Allen's book) which I stongly recommend -- skip any others, you'll be spending money needlessly!

Good luck to us all and God bless America -- what's left of it.

This tome, which is unfortunately required by most states as the core text for AIT programs, is a big stinking pile of horse manure. Information imparted here is horribly outdated and doesn't appear to have revised since at least the early 80s. It bothers me that Allen pretends to be either a nurse or a doctor in the section on resident health issues when he is in fact neither. I am also confused as to why so much of the chapters on government regulation focus on ADA while there is virtually nothing on the CMS survey process. This book teaches you nothing needed to actually practice as an administrator. The only foreseeable reason I can think of to get this book is to prepare for the NAB test, which is also horribly outdated and seems to be based on this book. The best way to change the culture of a nursing home is to burn this book and scatter the ashes, then never look back.

As stated in the other reviews, I found this book totaly out dated. Numerous typos, organization in some areas > what a mess. If Allen had spent 1/2 the time on the prefixes, suffixes, and abreviations > (which some I as a nurse of 25 yrs have never seen nor heard)and worked more on Life Saftey Code and Administrative Duties - we would all be happier.

The Overview and planning sections are good. The book presents some very broad topics and unique situations for Nursing Home Administrators. I would recommend the read for someone studying for Nursing Home Administrator licenses.

Without a lot of real specific plans, the book does take you through situations that require some real skills and thinking for the Nursing Home Administrator. I will recommend some Healthcare Management and Financial Management subject matter books in addition to this book to get some specifics on how to put together some Financial plans. Also, understanding of the Clinical Skills of your facility takes some additional study, not completely provided in this book.

This book is a very good investment. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in sitting for the Nursing Home Admiistration examination.

I don't know what all the hoopla is about. A few typos which is the editor's fault, not the writer's. I agree that its difficult to "get inside" of an administrator's head. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the book and I simply love it.You need to read it a few times, ponder the message, and make it your own. When you catch the flow, then you can answer the test questions. These days if readers don't "get it" right away, they whine. Understanding this book will help you think outside the box, which is where the creative solutions exist. Maybe the writer is a little eccentric, who cares? Albert Einstein was considered eccentric, too.

This product had obviously been dropped rior to shipment. One of the corners was smashed. It was sent without regard to cosmetic value. The next time I want books, I will have to see what I am purchasing.