By Christy Fettinger, College of Nursing communication intern
SPOKANE – For the second year in a row, Ruth Bindler has won the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award. Bindler, professor and associate dean for graduate programs in the College of Nursing, won for “Child Health Nursing” in 2009 and “Maternal and Nursing Childhood Care” in 2010.
The newest textbook offers comprehensive “one stop shopping” for information on maternity, pediatric and women’s health nursing.
“This is the book I want my students to own,” said Margaret Comerford Freda, a judge who chose Bindler’s book.
Bindler said she tries to integrate new features in each new edition of her books, ranging from new pedagogy to current issues and problems facing nurses. She and her co-authors devise innovative ways to make concepts clear by integrating technology, visuals and the human side of nursing. The next edition will include simulations.
“It’s an honor,” said Bindler about receiving the awards back-to-back. “Writing’s a really important part of what I do because it influences a lot of people around the world.” Her books have been translated into Spanish, French, Greek, Italian and Japanese.
Bindler loves teaching as well as writing. Her connection with students and firsthand experience give her an edge when preparing her textbooks.
“You’ve got to be enmeshed in the literature and practice,” she said. “I think that’s what really brings a book alive. You’ve got to know the field and how to bring it alive for students. Every edition is different; it constantly changes.”
For example, “Maternal and Nursing Childhood Care” is the first book to have a social environmental chapter. This chapter includes topics such as drugs, child abuse, even tattoos – more contemporary topics – and how they relate to nursing.
The book also incorporates photo articles, where a large part of the story is told visually.
Bindler began writing in 1981, when she published a pediatric drug guide.
“I could quit nursing and just write, but then I wouldn’t have the experience,” she said. “I want to make the books as good as can be.”